John 11:33

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, WHEN JESUS THEREFORE SAW HER WEEPING, AND THE JEWS ALSO WEEPING WHICH CAME WITH HER, HE GROANED IN THE SPIRIT, [ enebrimeesato (G1690)]. The word here is not that usually employed to express groaning. It denotes any 'strong manifestation of inward emotion;' but here it probably means, 'made a visible and powerful effort to check His emotion'-to restrain those tears which were ready to gush from His eyes. AND WAS TROUBLED, [ etaraxen (G5015) heauton (G1438)] - rather, as in the margin, 'troubled Himself;' that is, became mentally agitated. The tears of Mary an...

33._He groaned in his spirit. _If Christ had not been excited to compassion by their tears, he would rather have kept his countenance unmoved, but when, of his own accord, he conforms to those mourners, so far as to weep along with them, (323) he gives proof that he has sympathy, ( συμπάθεια.) For the cause of this feeling is, in my opinion, expressed by the Evangelist, when he says that _Christ saw Mary and the rest weeping _Yet I have no doubt that Christ contemplated something higher, namely, the general misery of the whole human race; for he knew well what had been enjoined on him by the Father, and why he was sent into the world, namely, to free us from all evils. As he has actually done this, so he intended to show that he accomplished it with warmth and earnestness. Accordingly, when he is about to raise Lazarus, before granting deliverance or aid, by the groan

33-46 Christ's tender sympathy with these afflicted friends, appeared by the troubles of his spirit. In all the afflictions of believers he is afflicted. His concern for them was shown by his kind inquiry after the remains of his deceased friend. Being found in fashion as a man, he acts in the way and manner of the sons of men. It was shown by his tears. He was a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Tears of compassion resemble those of Christ. But Christ never approved that sensibility of which many are proud, while they weep at mere tales of distress, but are hardened to real woe. He sets us an example to withdraw from scenes of giddy mirth, that we may comfort the afflicted. And we have not a High Priest who cannot be touched with a feeling of our infirmities. It is a good step toward raising a soul to spiritual life, when the stone is taken away, when prejudices are removed, a...

Verse 33. _HE GROANED IN THE SPIRIT_, c.] Here the blessed Jesus shows himself to be _truly man_ and a man, too, who, notwithstanding his amazing dignity and excellence, did not feel it beneath him to sympathize with the distressed, and weep with those who wept. After this example of our Lord, shall we say that it is weakness, folly, and sin to weep for the loss of relatives? He who says so, and can act in a similar case to the above according to his _own doctrine_, is a reproach to the name of _man_. Such apathy never came from God: it is generally a bad scion, implanted in a nature miserably depraved, deriving its nourishment from a perverted spirit or a hardened heart; though in some cases it is the effect of an erroneous, ascetic mode of discipline. It is abolishing one of the finest traits in our Lord's human character to say that he wept and mourned here because of sin and its co...

HE GROANED IN THE SPIRIT - The word rendered “groaned,” here, commonly denotes to be angry or indignant, or to reprove severely, denoting violent agitation of mind. Here it also evidently denotes violent agitation - not from anger, but from grief. He saw the sorrow of others, and he was also moved with sympathy and love. The word “groan” usually, with us, denotes an expression of internal sorrow by a special sound. The word here, however, does not mean that utterance was given to the internal emotion, but that it was deep and agitating, though internal. IN THE SPIRIT - In the mind. See Acts 19:21. Paul purposed in the spirit that is, in his mind, Matthew 5:3. WAS TROUBLED - Was affected with grief.

EXPOSITION JOHN 11:1 7. _Christ the Antagonist of death—a victory of love and power_._ _The narrative of this chapter is a further advance in the proof that the unbelief of the Jews was aggravated by the greatness of the revelation. The issue of his sublime and culminating act of power, of his supreme and self-revealing work of transcendent tenderness and beauty, was a deeper and wilder passion of hatred. The evangelist completes his series of seven great miracles with one that in true and believing minds, evokes a new sense of the glory of God. This great last sign corresponds with the first (John it.) by being enacted amid the domestic and family life of a small and insignificant town, and also by express reference to the veritable manifestation involved in it of the δόξα Θεοῦ, on which we have frequently commented. Baur

WHEN JESUS THEREFORE SAW HER WEEPING,.... At his feet, who, for sorrow and grief of heart, could say no more to him; but having expressed these words, burst out into floods of tears: AND THE JEWS ALSO WEEPING, WHICH CAME WITH HER; either through sympathy with her, or hypocritically: HE GROANED IN THE SPIRIT; in his human soul; and which shows, that he had a real human soul, subject to passions, though sinless ones. The word signifies an inward motion of the mind, through indignation and anger; and it may be partly at the weakness of Mary's faith, and at her immoderate sorrow; and partly at the hypocrisy of the Jews: or else this inward groaning was through grief, sympathizing with Mary, and her friends, his human soul being touched with a fellow feeling of their griefs and sorrows: AND WAS TROUBLED; or troubled himself; threw himself into some forms and gestures of sorrow, and mournin...

John 11:1. _Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha._ To many people, it may have seemed an event of no particular importance that «a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany,» but great consequences often depend upon what appear to us to be very minor matters, and we must not despise the least of the Lord's people, nor think slightingly of anything that concerns them. When a king or an emperor is ill, the news is published in all the papers; but when a friend of the Lord Jesus, a man «named Lazarus of Bethany,» was sick, that event was recorded in the Bible because of something very remarkable which was to follow that sickness. Lazarus was a son of God, and grace makes greater distinctions than earthly rank and worldly honours ever can make....

JOHN 11:33 evnebrimh,sato tw|/ pneu,mati kai. evta,raxen e`auto,n Instead of the reading adopted as the text, several witnesses (î45 (î66?) D Q ¦1 22 131 660 1582 2193 itp copsa, ach arm) read evtara,cqh tw|/ pneu,mati w`j evmbrimou,menoj. Since the latter is the easier reading (for it softens the statement by inserting w`j), a majority of the Committee regarded it as a secondary improvement, introduced from a sense of reverence for the person of Jesus....

CHAPTER 11 _ 1. The Sickness of Lazarus Announced. (John 11:1 .)_ 2. The Delayed Departure and the Death of Lazarus. (John 11:5 .) 3. The Arrival at Bethany. (John 11:17 .) 4. Weeping with Them That Weep. (John 11:28 .) 5. The Resurrection of Lazarus. (John 11:39 .) 6. The Prophecy of Caiaphas. (John 11:47 .) 7. Seeking to Kill Him. (John 11:53 .)...