If you are here, then chances are that you already believe in Jesus as the son of God and claim him as your savior. When we think of Jesus, we typically think of his sacrifice that granted us forgiveness for our sins. We do not commonly think of Jesus as a man of sorrows. However, there are three different times within scripture where Jesus was noted to be weeping or experiencing emotional turmoil. That’s exactly what we will be dissecting in this post, the three time in the holy bible where Jesus wept and why.
The Book of John
One of the most infamous times where Jesus wept within scripture was when witnessing the death of his friend Lazarus. This was actually the second occasion that Jesus wept in scripture.
When Mary reached the place where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet and said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled. “Where have you laid him?” he asked.
“Come and see, Lord,” they replied.
Jesus Wept.
Then the Jews said, “See how he loved him!”
But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man kept this man from dying?”
Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man cam out, his hands and feet wrapped in linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
John 11:32-44
Interpreting This Scripture
During this piece of scripture, Jesus shares tears of sorrow after seeing his mother Mary crying, in addition to the Jewish people. They were all witnesses to the tomb of Lazarus.
I believe this piece of scripture reveals Jesus’ heart and his divine love for his people. The heart of Jesus was experiencing real pain alongside his mourning people, and with that he relieved their pain by calling onto his loving father and essentially reversing Lazarus’s death.
I know there are many times that I have cried to the heavenly father in prayer, there have even been (many) times where I have doubted that he would actually show up for me, perhaps that is the greatest struggle of faith. However, stories in the Bible such as this serve to remind us that Jesus feels our pain. He can do impossible things, and he will relieve our pain through the will of God. Jesus loves us and he does not want to see us in pain, he wants us to experience full joy.
The Gospel of Luke
The first occasion where Jesus wept was in the book of Luke.
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” He replied, “If they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known this day what would bring you peace–but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies build and embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Luke 19:35-44
Why Did Jesus cry over the city of Jerusalem
When Jesus sees the people of Jerusalem and the city, he is brought to tears because he knows their past sins and the sins yet to come. He knows the wages of sin within the city. Jesus’ heart is broken for them.
It is no secret that God wants us to follow him and his word. He does not want us to experience the pain and suffering that he knows our sin will cause us. God’s grace is endless, and Jesus did die for our sins, however it is critical that we do not take advantage of God’s grace and the price that Jesus paid for our sins. Our sins lead us further from God, they lead us down the path of destruction. God knows that he has warned us of that. He knows what is to come from our sins, just as Jesus knew what would come to Jerusalem. It is imperative that we turn from and do not allow it to ruin our lives.
The Crucifixion in Hebrews
Jesus knew he was going to die on the cross, he knew about the pain that he was going to experience, and he knew why. It was not a surprise to him, in fact many times Jesus said “it is not my time” within scripture. He willingly went to the cross on God’s timing and sacrificed his life. Can you imagine? However, he did feel real human emotions leading up to this event.
The third time Jesus wept was in Hebrews.
Every high priest is selected among the people and is appointed to represent the people in matters related to God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal gently with those who are ignorant and are going astray, since he himself is subject to weakness. This is why he has to offer sacrifices for his own sins, as well as for the sins of the people. And no one takes this honor on himself, but he receives it when called by God, just as Aaron was.
In the same way, Christ did not take on himself the glory of becoming a high priest. But God said to him,
“You are my Son; today I have become your Father.
And he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever, in the order of Melchizedek.”
During the days of Jesus’ life on Earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
Hebrews 5:1-10
What is the Meaning behind the Verse in Hebrews?
Jesus’ tears were shed three time within the new testament. The passage in Hebrews describes a time when Jesus was offering prayers and supplications to God filled with loud cries and many tears. He was begging God to save him from death, and God heard him because of his reverence. This passage highlights Jesus’ human experience and his prefect life that was filled with suffering and dependence of God. It is important to note, that Jesus did still die on the cross although God did answer him. The way that God answered Jesus’ prayer was through his resurrection and becoming the source of our eternal salvation.
We can learn many things through this passage, however I think the most important things to take away would be 1) God wants us to pray to him from the heart and 2) God will use our trials and suffering to answer our prayers.
Jesus still suffered, he still felt the pain, he still went through his own testimony…but God still answered his prayers through his resurrection.
A common question is how did Jesus die the second time? He didn’t. Like I said, God answered his prayers. 40 days after Jesus’ resurrection he was ascended into heaven. This is something that Christians call Ascension.
Final Thoughts
Our Lord Jesus Christ lived a perfect life and we should stive to be like him. However, even with his perfection during his days of flesh he still felt human emotion. He felt a deep love and a genuine love for his father’s people, he felt intense sorrow in human form, and he even felt anger. However, Jesus still had an empathetic nature throughout his Earthly life–he still fulfilled the prophecy and died on the cross for all of us.
Personally, I think that is something that we can all relate to. Often times we let our human emotions lead our flesh to sin versus simply experiencing our emotions and taking them to God or leaving them at his feet. We should all strive to be more like Jesus by talking to God and leaving our burdens at his feet, I know that it is easier said than done. But just remember, God does not expect us to be perfect. God knows that we sin, he knows that we often give in to fleshly desires, but he still desires us to turn to him. He still desires us to repent to him and for us to bring our heart to him. He wants to love us, he wants to heal us, he wants us to prosper, and he wants us to fully enjoy life.
I genuinely hope that you learned something about Jesus through this post and I pray that God finds a purpose for your pain.
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