The Tears of Jesus | Portrait of Jesus | John 11: 17-44
“Jesus wept.” John 11.35 is the shortest verse in the Bible and yet it contains some of the most potent messaging. It’s part of the resurrection of Lazarus story we’ll look at and, in many ways, is at the heart of the whole story. You can’t build an accurate portrait of Jesus without engaging His tears. Those tears speak volumes of not only His humanity but ours. They confer to us a way of moving in a troubled, broken world that allows us to be not only be more fully human, but also more godly. And as we’ll see, it is through the tears of Jesus that we find salvation and, paradoxically, one day freedom from tears themselves.
Where do you find yourself in sorrow today?
Scott said the tears of Jesus represent both His humanity and His true presence with us—is it hard for you to “see” Jesus as one who weeps for you or is it easier to see Jesus as simply distant power who defeats sin and death? What difference does it make that He is the “God who weeps”?
Scott said the revolution in this passage is knowing the meaning of His tears—the angry tears of determination and the His tears over His impending death. How does a better understanding of why Jesus weeps change your faith?
Scott concluded by saying Jesus transforms our tears—away from grief without hope to hope within grief. We don’t dismiss our tears but neither do we get lost in them without hope. Are there places in your sorrow today that need to be informed by the hope of Jesus Christ?