John 11:33-38 -- When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. 34 And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Jesus wept. 36 So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” 37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?” 38 Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Lord thank You for this new day. I trust you with all my heart and acknowledge You in every single part of this day. I will not lean on my understanding, and I ask for Your wisdom and discernment to recognize if I try to do so. I thank You Lord that You and You alone will make straight the path in this day, and I ask for your guidance for each step I take on it. Thank You for healing in my sick boys and in our family. In Jesus name I pray. Amen!
As we move back into our journey in John chapter eleven, we find Jesus standing before Mary. She'd come from mourning her brother's death, followed by many other people who were mourning with her, and fell at Jesus' feet.
In this passage of scripture, I've heard it talked about many times that it contains the shortest sentence in the English translated Bible… "Jesus wept.". We often hear of this verse to show this tender and genuine emotion from Jesus. It's a powerful and moving thing for sure. However, that isn't what jumped out to me today.
Before we get to "Jesus wept." in verse thirty-five, there is something major for us in verse thirty-three, "…He was deeply moved in His spirit and greatly troubled.".
This is not something I've ever heard taught on or fully registered before in my own reading. It would be easy to just read this and roll right into "Jesus wept", then sum it all up that He was sad/sorrowful over everything. However, as I was led to dig into this it goes much deeper.
In verse thirty-three the "deeply moved" in Greek is one word, embrimaomai. Most translations render this word as "deeply moved" or "groaned". However, the Greek definition in Vine's Expository Dictionary says, "it primarily signifies "to snort with anger, as of horses." Used of men it signifies "to fret, to be painfully moved;"".
In the same verse the "greatly troubled" in Greek is tarassō and it means: to stir or agitate (roil water): trouble. So, this wasn't just He had a bad feeling this was Jesus being stirred up inside with emotion, with not just sadness or sorrow, but with so much more.
Now, put this together in your mind's eye. Jesus doesn't just see Mary and start weeping. He sees and hears Martha. Then Mary comes and falls at His feet. She is weeping, along with a group of others. Something inside Him builds until His spirit responds with this anger/indignation/groaning/moving, to the point it's like that of an angry horse snorting loudly. (Note: I'm not saying Jesus was making horse noises! LOL.) Then from that place He becomes stirred up and agitated inside over it all.
There is so much going on here, such deep, powerful emotions over these sisters who He loved deeply. Over Lazarus who He loved just as much. Over the hurt, pain, and loss of Lazarus' death. He is fired up inside and asks, "Where have you laid him?", then it happens. Jesus Wept.
Christian, our God understands how we feel and knows exactly what it's like to be filled with emotions that are stirred, agitated, and boiling inside. This wasn't just Jesus being sad over Lazarus dying. This was our Lord and Savior groaning deeply, stirred up in His spirit over death, hurt, pain, mourning, and loss over His sheep.
Beloved, the next time you hesitate to go to prayer or read your Bible because you feel disconnected or distanced from God, stop, and think about John Chapter Eleven. When you genuinely see and hear Jesus, you simply cannot use the excuse of Him being some big, uncaring, distant God, that stands over you with arms crossed. That's not who He is.
Just some things to think about today. Don't take my word on anything, get into your bible and see for yourself!
You are loved. You are prayed over. You are not alone.
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