John 11:28-37

JESUS WEPT

Text 11:28-37

28

And when she had said this, she went away, and called Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Teacher is here, and calleth thee.

29

And she, when she heard it, arose quickly, and went unto him.

30

Now Jesus was not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met him.

31

The Jews then who were with her in the house, and were consoling her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up quickly and went out, followed her, supposing that she was going unto the tomb to weep there.

32

Mary therefore, when she came where Jesus was, and saw him, fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

33

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.

34

and said, Where have ye laid him? They say unto him, Lord, come and see.

35

Jesus wept.

36

The Jews therefore said, Behold how he loved him!

37

But some of them said, Could not this man, who opened the eyes of him that was blind, have caused that this man also should not die?

Queries

a.

Why did Jesus call Mary out to meet Him?

b.

Why would Mary fall down at Jesus-' feet?

c.

What caused Jesus to weep?

Paraphrase

After Martha expressed her belief in Jesus she returned to the house and went in alone to her sister Mary and whispered to her secretly, The Teacher is here and is asking for you to come out and meet Him. Immediately upon getting this message Mary arose and started out to meet Him. (Now Jesus had not yet entered the village but was remaining at the place where Martha had met him.) When the Jews who were mourning with Mary in the house noticed that she had gone out in such a hurry, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep for her brother there. When Mary arrived at the place where Jesus was waiting, and saw Him, she fell at His feet sobbing, Lord if you had only been here my brother would not have died of his sickness. When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had followed her also weeping, He was deeply moved in the spirit and visibly distressed but He asked gently, Where have you buried him? Then some of them said, Lord, come and we will show you. Jesus wept openly. Some of the Jews beholding this said, to one another, See how much he loved Lazarus! Others of the Jews said, But He opened the eyes of the blind manwhy could He not have kept this man from dying?

Summary

Jesus, sending for Mary to meet Him, evidently wants to talk with her apart from the crowds. Aware of the deep grief of Mary and those who mourned for her brother, Jesus wept openly. The Divine Son of God and the Son of man manifested in Jesuswe behold His participation in the sufferings of our agonies.

Comment

As close as Jesus was to this family, Mary, Martha and Lazarus, we can understand why He sent Martha to tell Mary that He wished to see her apart from the crowds of mourners. This family had no doubt tenderly cared for and befriended Jesus when it seemed as if the whole nation was against Him (cf. Luke 10:38-42). Further, Mary, at least, was sympathetic with the tragic end which would culminate His ministry (cf. John 11:1; John 12:1-8; cf. also Matthew 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9)when even the closest of the disciples could not foresee it. So Jesus wanted to speak with these beloved friends in privacy and strengthen their faith and comfort them.

Mary, hearing that the Master was asking for her, fled to His side. How we all ought to hear Him call and flee to His side when our hearts are broken with grief. Hear Him call, Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light (Matthew 11:28-30). They met somewhere outside the village-proper. But their meeting was not as private as Jesus had wished for the Jews who had been with Mary in the house thought that she was going to the cemetery to mourn by her brother's tomb. We do not know why they followed herperhaps out of curiosity, but more likely out of sympathy. Someone should be at her side there in the graveyard. A women, so overcome with grief, should not be left all alone.

When Mary arrived where Jesus and His disciples were waiting, just outside the city, she fell down at His feet repeating what her sister had said to Him. If you had only been here, my brother would not have died of his illnessyou would have healed him. We believe this is expressive of the great faith of Mary in the Teacher. Of course, her faith was not yet strong enough to keep her from grief or from uttering the same lament that her sister had made. But which of us has such perfect faith? We believe that this manifestation of utter dependence upon Jesus in her hour of deep sorrow shows that Mary had as much faith in Him as Martha had just confessed.

John 11:33-35 picture the Son of God weeping unashamedly. Oh, sweet and comforting picture! The heart of God going out to suffering, sorrowing mankind in the tears of His Only Son. Our Saviour is not aloof and cold and unfeeling. For we have not a high priest that cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but one that hath been in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Seeing the woe and deep grief which sin caused among men, Jesus was visibly troubled of spiritso visibly overwrought that John remembered it and recorded it here. There were other times when Jesus was visibly troubled within because of sin and unbelief. He was grieved at the unbelief of the Jews (Mark 3:5). He was troubled at the last supper over the one who was about to betray Him (John 13:21). He was troubled of soul when the Greeks were brought to Him and He was made vividly aware of the cruel suffering He was about to endure (John 12:27).

But there is more than agitation of spirit here. His heart was touched with their grief! He wept with those who were weeping (cf. Romans 12:15). Soon He would shed tears of grief and sympathy for the rebellious people of Jerusalem (cf. Luke 19:41-44) because, seeing prophetically the future holocaust of the city's destruction in 70 A.D., He knew the terrible grief that would be theirs. We also know that He must have wept many times as He prayed (Hebrews 5:7-9).

Does Jesus care,

when I-'ve said good-by

To the dearest on earth to me,
And my sad heart aches,

till it nearly breaks

Is it aught to Him? Does He see?
O yes, He cares, I know He cares,

His heart is touched with my grief;

When the days are weary, the long nights dreary,
I know my Saviour cares.

This heart-touching demonstration of love by Jesus as He wept with Mary was not lost upon the Jews. They marveled at His love for Lazarus. But many of them were critical of Him. No doubt some of the Jews knew that Martha and Mary had sent for Him when Lazarus was only illperhaps they felt that He should have come sooner and healed Lazarus. After all, He had just a few months before opened the eyes of the man born blind. On the other hand, perhaps this was not a criticism, but an expression of a halting faith.

In this section we have another of John's word-pictures of the Divine Son expressing His participation in the infirmities of His brethren of flesh and blood (cf. Hebrews 2:14-18). When Jesus wept, He wept with Mary and Marthabut He also wept with all humanity.

Quiz

1.

How close was the relationship of Jesus to this familyon the human side?

2.

How does Mary express her dependence upon the Master here?

3.

May we all have the same dependence upon Jesus?

4.

Why was Jesus troubled in His soul? Can you give other incidents when He was thus troubled?

5.

What is the significance of His tears? Did He cry at any other time? When?

6.

What did the Jews say about His tears?

7.

Were Jesus-' tears only for Mary and Martha? Explain.