“Written at the Foot of a Crucifix” by Victor Hugo Therefore, when we weep, we can find refuge and strength in Him, and we can know that He is our very present help in all our troubles (Psalm 46:1). And in His life, Jesus experienced all the pain and suffering that we know. He lived the life we could not live, and He died the death that we should die. Jesus was the only One who could take upon Himself our sin, pay the penalty for it, and secure forgiveness and eternal life for us. We are the ones who should have hung on that cross. It is the love of the Father for us that we are made alive in Christ through His life, death and resurrection (1 Cor 15:20-22). It was the love of the Father for His creation that sent Jesus to live among us and die for us (John 3:16-17). Jesus hated sin and wept, knowing the high price He would pay to redeem mankind.Jesus loved His city, Jerusalem, and wept at the thought of its demise.Jesus loved His friend, Lazarus, and wept at his death.But with such intense anguish, it’s likely these “tears of blood” were accompanied by tears flowing from His eyes. Perhaps these were “tears” from the essence of His being. The Scripture tells that His body now “wept” with “his sweat was as it were great drops of blood.” This certainly was deep grief accompanied by weeping “great drops of blood.” Some will debate whether He wept tears from His eyes. He was in extreme anguish and we read in the Gospel of Luke:Īnd being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed to His Father, knowing what was soon to take place. Jesus loved Jerusalem and He wept over the city. In Luke 19:41 Jesus looked out upon God’s city, and, just as in times past, Jerusalem was now a city controlled by a pagan world power. And yet, in their disobedience, they failed to keep it holy and set apart for God’s purpose and plan. God first gave His people a garden and next He gave them a city-a place to dwell, a city on a hill, shining as a light in the land of Israel. In that Promised Land was God’s city, Jerusalem, the city of peace. He raised up a people and gave them a land that would be their own. But God in His mercy and grace began preparing a way to rescue mankind. God had given Adam and Eve a perfect Garden and perfect communion with Him. In Luke 19:41, we are told that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Jesus loved His friend and He wept over sin and death. And the next verse tells of the depth of his sorrow, “Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!” (John 11:36) We weep when a loved one dies and Jesus wept when Lazarus died (John 11:35). God gave Adam and Eve His perfect love, but they succumbed to their own lusts, and sin and death entered into the world. Death is a consequence of sin, and will always be a reminder that things on this earth are not as God intended them to be. Of course, Jesus knew that He could, and would, raise Lazarus back to life, but He also knew of the pain and suffering that death brings to those who lose a loved one. In the John 11 passage, Jesus wept when He heard of the death of His friend Lazarus. Scripture Records Three Times When Jesus W ept The First Time Therefore, Jesus is able to not only comfort us in our trials and tribulations but also in our sorrow and sadness. But what I do know is that we all weep, we all grieve, and that our Lord experienced the same depths of sorrow and sadness that we do. Maybe still, that verse had told him, it was okay to cry in a time of grief. Or maybe it was his way of telling me that Jesus understood the pain of losing a loved one - and that it’s okay for me to cry. Perhaps the verse was his way of remembering Jesus was human, like us. Maybe there was a reason he liked that bit of trivia. I lost my father when I was only 21, so I’ve never been able to ask him. (Read to the end of this article to find out the real shortest verse in the Bible.)Īs an adult, I have often wondered why my father asked that question so often. I don’t remember how often he asked, or how many times, but I do know that it was enough so that I remember it being repetitive. I always got it right, but still, my father would continue to ask the question from time to time. When I was a young child, my father would quiz me with this trivia question: “What is the shortest verse in the Bible?” The answer was simple, “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
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