https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/Why-Does-John-Mention-that-Jesus-Wept.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n\tby Jeffrey W. Hamilton<\/p>\n\t
Text: John 11:17-44<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nI. Ask someone even slightly familiar with the Bible what the shortest verse is and they can\ntell you: “Jesus wept.” – John 11:35\n A. I was reading an article by Phil Gardner and he asked an interesting question,\n“Why does John show us a weeping Jesus?”\n
1. Not, “Why did Jesus weep?” <\/p>\n
2. But why did John record this fact?<\/p>\n B. John admits that there wasn’t room enough to record all the events of Jesus’ life –\nJohn 21:25\n 1. So given the limited space, why did God, through John, made sure that we\nknew of this fact?\n 2. In one sense, John doesn’t say. He doesn’t provide commentary on why\nGod selected this event to be recorded.\n
3. But there are some clues.<\/p>\n
II. The Word made flesh<\/p>\n
A. On a very basic level, reinforces our knowledge that Jesus was truly a man.<\/p>\n
1. He wasn’t a divine being playing at being a human.<\/p>\n
2. Those who were with him had no doubts about it – I John 1:1-4<\/p>\n
B. But Jesus was the Word made flesh – John 1:1-4, 10-14<\/p>\n 1. Consider the deeper impact, the Word who made the universe stands and\nweeps at the grave of a friend.\n 2. John is opening the door a crack that we might see a glimpse of the\ncharacter and nature of God. God who stood at the grave of a man and\nwept.\n
C. Jesus wept at a time when Mary and others were weeping – John 11:33-35<\/p>\n
1. Isaiah told us that this would be – Isaiah 53:4<\/p>\n 2. But consider how different this was from earlier, but vaguely similar\nevents\n a. When he met a funeral possession, he told the grieving mother not\nto weep – Luke 7:12-15\n b. When a ruler’s daughter had died, he scolded those who were\nweeping – Mark 5:38-42\n
c. But this time his reaction is different<\/p>\n
III. At what was Jesus grieved?<\/p>\n
A. Some there and afterward guessed that it was grief at Lazarus’ death – John 11:36<\/p>\n 1. But others noted that it didn’t make sense since he could have prevented\nthe death – John 11:37\n
B. Others suggest that it was a sympathetic reaction to Mary’s grief.<\/p>\n
1. That, too, is likely, but it doesn’t adequately explain all that we see.<\/p>\n
C. Martha’s reaction – John 11:17-27<\/p>\n
1. Martha knew that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus’ death<\/p>\n
a. But she thought that Jesus had to be there to have stopped it.<\/p>\n 2. Though she must have known about the other resurrections, she doesn’t\nconsider that possibility for her brother.\n
a. She knew that God would give Jesus anything he asked<\/p>\n b. But when told that Lazarus would rise again, she only thought in\nterms of Judgment Day. She saw him as gone for now.\n 3. When Jesus assures her that he is the resurrection and life, she merely\nagrees that he is the Christ.\n 4. Martha knew and had faith, but she didn’t see what Jesus was offering or\nsee that it applied to her situation at the moment. She didn’t understand.\n
D. Let’s back up in time to when Jesus first heard about Lazarus’ illness – John 11:3-7<\/p>\n
1. He tells his disciples directly what he will do – John 11:11-13<\/p>\n a. Even in plain terms, the disciples, like Martha later, do not\nunderstand.\n
2. He makes it even plainer – John 11:14-15<\/p>\n a. Notice that Jesus is glad that Lazarus died because it created an\nopportunity to cause greater faith.\n
b. Lazarus’ illness was a chance for God’s glory to shine<\/p>\n
c. Lazarus’ death would result in belief<\/p>\n 3. Like Lazarus’ illness and death, Jesus stated his own death would lead to\nthe glory of God.\n E. Now let’s jump forward in time as Jesus’ own death was rapidly approaching –\nJohn 12:23-28\n
1. Like Lazarus’ death it would produce faith.<\/p>\n 2. There is a connection between Lazarus’ death and Jesus’ death that John\nwants us to see.\n
3. Still, notice that facing his death, Jesus was troubled.<\/p>\n a. Look back at John 11:33. Notice the same term – Jesus was\ntroubled.\n b. Troubled (tarasso<\/i>) means to be agitated, stirred up, disturbed – in\nthis case emotionally.\n
4. That Jesus was deeply moved by the scene is understandable.<\/p>\n a. But knowing that he would raise Lazarus’ from the dead, what was\ntroubling him?\n b. Connecting it to the events in the next chapter, Jesus is again\ntroubled when he speaks of his death.\n
5. The descriptions point from Lazarus’ death to Jesus’ own death<\/p>\n
IV. There is another connection. Compare John 11:34 to John 20:13<\/p>\n A. What we witness is subtle foreshadowing between Lazarus’ death and Jesus’\ndeath.\n
B. The answer was “come and see.”<\/p>\n C. Recall that when John opened his book and the disciples first discovered Jesus –\nJohn 1:45-46\n D. Here is the core of the gospel message: don’t just take my word for it, come and\nsee for yourself.\n
E. And when Thomas was uncertain that Jesus truly was alive – John 20:27<\/p>\n
F. It echoes to the very end of the New Testament – Revelation 22:17<\/p>\n
V. The apostles wrote to share their insight – Ephesians 3:4<\/p>\n
A. John shows us what he saw – I John 1:3<\/p>\n
B. John 1:14<\/p>\n
1. John shows us that the Word became flesh.<\/p>\n
a. That is the humanity of Jesus.<\/p>\n
2. And we saw his glory<\/p>\n
a. That is the deity of Jesus<\/p>\n
C. Jesus weeping at the tomb of Lazarus is a demonstration of both themes.<\/p>\n D. In this one event we see both the humanity and deity of our Lord while he was\nhere on earth.\n
1. Jesus did not merely cure sorrows, he shared in them.<\/p>\n 2. He shared grief with those weeping before Lazarus’ tomb while looking\nahead to his own time in the grave.\n 3. The time he would give the ultimate cure for our ultimate need – Romans\n5:6-8\n
E. This, then, is what John shows us and why he told us “Jesus wept.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: John 11:17-44 I. Ask someone even slightly familiar with the Bible what the shortest verse is and they can tell you: “Jesus wept.” – John 11:35 A. I was reading an article by Phil Gardner and he asked an interesting question, “Why does John show us a weeping Jesus?” 1. Not, “Why…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[119,32],"tags":[73,959],"class_list":["post-46404","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-audio","category-sermon","tag-jesus","tag-john"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":32449,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-does-matthew-mention-the-exception-to-divorce-but-mark-and-luke-dont\/","url_meta":{"origin":46404,"position":0},"title":"Why does Matthew mention the exception to divorce but Mark and Luke don’t?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 7, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why is the exception clause \"except it be for fornication\" in Matthew 19:8 regarding the teaching of Jesus on divorce and remarriage not included in Mark's account of this teaching (Mark 10:2-10) or in Luke's account (Luke 16:18)? Answer: Each gospel account was written to different audiences with different\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":615,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-man-must-be-baptized-to-be-saved-why-do-so-many-passages-only-mention-faith\/","url_meta":{"origin":46404,"position":1},"title":"If man must be baptized to be saved, why do so many passages only mention faith?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 10, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: The Bible teaches throughout the New Testament that faith\u00a0and faith alone\u00a0is necessary for salvation. John 1:12-13; John 3:15; John 3:16; John 3:18; John 3:36; John 5:24; John 6:35; John 6:40; John 6:47; John 7:38-39; John 11:25-26; John 20:31; Acts 2:21; Acts 10:43; Acts 11:17; Acts 13:38-39; Acts 15:11; Acts\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":79216,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-didnt-jesus-mention-baptism-to-nicodemus\/","url_meta":{"origin":46404,"position":2},"title":"Why didn’t Jesus mention baptism to Nicodemus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Why didn't Jesus mention baptism to Nicodemus in the gospel of John when he asked? Answer: Great question. I love Nicodemus's story, and I believe it can help us understand the need for water baptism. Firstly, I would like to say we don't see the whole story of Nicodemus\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":68973,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/jesus-wept-at-human-pain-and-hurt\/","url_meta":{"origin":46404,"position":3},"title":"Jesus Wept at Human Pain and Hurt","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 23, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton He saw and cared deeply about how His disciples hurt over Lazarus' death (John 11). Jesus cared so deeply that He wept with them. He suffered with them, and He knew the larger plan would be to raise Lazarus so that more good could come out\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":19346,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-jesus-had-brothers-and-sisters-why-did-he-give-the-responsibility-of-mary-to-his-disciple-john\/","url_meta":{"origin":46404,"position":4},"title":"If Jesus had brothers and sisters, why did he give the responsibility of Mary to his disciple John?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 1, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Since Jesus had brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3), why would the disciple John be given apparent responsibility for Mary, the mother of Jesus in John 19:25-27?\u00a0 Wouldn't it seem better for Mary to be cared for by her own children?\u00a0 This would be particularly so because two of them,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":33385,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-does-it-say-that-salome-was-james-and-johns-mother\/","url_meta":{"origin":46404,"position":5},"title":"Where does it say that Salome was James and John’s mother?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Where does it say that Salome was James and John's mother? 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