The shortest verses and sayings
Jesus wept … Father, I thank You (John 11:35, 41).
John 11 teaches us profound lessons about human suffering and the heart of God. The chapter begins with a message, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick” (v. 3). The family knew that the Lord loved them, and this is confirmed in verse 5, “Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.” There is no doubt about the love of Christ and, at the same time, there is no doubt about the bitterness of the circumstances when Jesus declares, “Lazarus is dead.”
What follows is a unique record of the feelings and actions of the Son of God amid sorrow, grief and death. Jesus promises Martha that Lazarus will rise again, and Martha expressed her belief in the future resurrection. Jesus uses this conversation to declare that He is the “resurrection and the life” (v. 25). Martha responds in faith from her heart, “Yes, Lord, I believe that You are the Christ, the Son of God, who is to come into the world.” Martha’s heart was broken: her faith in the Lord was not.
When Mary appears, she falls in distress at the Lord’s feet. The overwhelming and genuine sorrow that filled her heart and those who surrounded the Lord Jesus caused the Lord of Glory to weep. It is a moment which brings home to our hearts the love of the Lord as we pass through the pain of loss in our lives. But it was not only the tears of the Lord but also the inner groaning which expressed His depth of feeling. This groaning at the same time described His preparation to act in power as He orders the rolling away of the stone at the tomb of Lazarus. The Lord’s tears and groaning were not the final emotions of the Lord as He was about to demonstrate His power over death. The Lord lifted His heart in thankfulness to the Father. In the same way, when He later instituted the Lord’s Supper, before breaking the bread which speaks of His perfect sacrifice, He gave thanks. It was with a heart of thankfulness that the Lord says, “Lazarus, come forth!”
There is a day coming, for which we groan, when “God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:4). That day has not come. And we are subject to the distress and sorrow which so profoundly affects our lives now. But we do have the assurance of the Lord’s presence, love and power to carry us through such circumstances. When Jesus raised Lazarus, He called him by name. Our hope looks forward to a day when the Lord will call us by name into His presence. His love will reign eternally. Now day by day, we are sustained by the One who is the resurrection and the life.
The shortest verses in the Bible teach us so much. Because “Jesus wept” we know His love. Because Jesus cried, “Finished”, we know His eternal salvation. Now He wants us to know joy: “Rejoice evermore” (1 Thess. 5:16, AV).
