Feeling sorrow demonstrates not just our emotional capacity but also where we place significance—our tears show our hearts. The Bible reveals many intensely sad and trying moments Jesus faced. Even long before the incarnation, our Lord was prophesied to be a “Man of sorrows” (Isa. 53:3). If we were in His position, we would no doubt find many occasions to cry over our difficult circumstances. However, when the Bible describes Him weeping, Jesus most often shed His tears for others.
First, Jesus wept at the tomb of Lazarus. Of course, the power of His divinity is on display when the Lord raises up Lazarus, calling him from the tomb (John 11:43-44). We should take the time to consider the power of His humanity on display as well. Yes, He is the King of kings and Lord of lords (1 Tim. 6:15-16), but He is also a man who has lost a friend. In one of the most beautiful windows into the caring nature of the Lord Christ, Scripture reveals not only His tears, but also the powerful reaction of the Jews, “See how He loved him!” (John 11:35-36). This is the promise of “God with us” (Isa. 7:14; Matt. 1:23) and the Word becoming flesh (John 1:14). As a man, Jesus was not devoid of feeling and not afraid to display appropriate emotion. This trait is shared among those who are strong in the faith. For example, the Ephesian elders “wept freely” at Paul’s departure “sorrowing most of all for the words which he spoke, that they would see his face no more” (Acts 20:37-38). In like fashion, our tears for the brethren testify to the powerful bonds we share in the family of God.
Second, Jesus wept upon seeing and considering the state of Jerusalem. Immediately following His triumphal entry into that great city, we see a change come over Jesus. He wept over their false belief and approaching destruction (Luke 19:41-44). The Bible explains how the people had Moses and the prophets to teach them, and yet they still failed to comprehend the promise of the Messiah (Luke 16:29; John 5:45-47). Although they initially welcomed Him, the people would later reject their Messiah and cry out for His death (Luke 23:23). As you and I consider enemies of the truth and those who are lost, what do we feel? Of course there is an appropriate place for righteous indignation, but shouldn’t sorrow come first? To match the heart of God we need deep-seated and sincere mourning over “what might have been” in the lives of those who spurn the Lord’s invitation. Do we weep for the lost? Can we echo God’s pleading message through His prophet, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why should you die?” (Eze. 33:11).
Third, Jesus wept as He prayed. The writer of the book of Hebrews describes Jesus as praying with “vehement cries and tears” (Heb. 5:5-9). Many Bible commentators consider this a reference to what must have occurred in the Garden of Gethsemane. Although the Gospel accounts do not specifically mention tears at this scene, they describe Jesus as “being in agony” as well as “sorrowful and deeply distressed” (Matt. 26:36-46; Luke 22:39-46). This most intense moment for our Lord shows His great devotion to God. Doing the will of the Father was His business and His food (Luke 2:49; John 4:34). The Lord’s obedience is consistently on display for our edification. Greatly sorrowing for the wickedness and separation of sin, yet committed to the cause, Jesus said, “not My will, but Yours, be done” (Luke 22:42). Here the Lord exhibited great strength, not by “bottling up” His emotions, but through acknowledging and expressing them!
To live as Jesus lived, we need to feel as Jesus felt. As you and I work toward that end, we would do well to study not just the good moments, but also the heartaches and laments in the record of inspiration. By tracing the tears of Jesus through the Bible we learn more and more of God’s amazing care, lessons which are too easily missed by those men and women of God who have allowed themselves to grow cold and unfeeling. May we appreciate the beauty of sorrow and ever strive to learn from the awesome compassion seen in the tears of our selfless Redeemer.