Jesus Feels!

There are three more verses that I have been further drawn to in the story of Lazarus in John 11. The first is verse 33, the second is 35, and the third is 38:

John 11:33 - "When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had also come along with her weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled."

John 11:35 - "Jesus wept."

John 11:38a - "Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb."

We see here a picture of a Jesus who was obviously troubled and deeply saddened. Jesus did not simply have a weird feeling in His stomach, but rather he was "deeply moved" and "troubled." Jesus did not simply shed a few tears but rather "wept." And then, for a second time, Jesus was "deeply moved." But why was Jesus deeply moved and why did he weep?

Our initial answer tells us that Jesus felt this way because Lazarus, whom He loved, had died. I'm not sure that is the case. Jesus knew he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead (11:11), so why would He cry over the fact that Lazarus was dead; Lazarus' death did not matter, Jesus was going to reverse it. Throughout the gospels, we see that Jesus was filled with compassion or had pity on those who were suffering and needed healing, but He was not "deeply moved" (these are the only two times in the NIV or ESV that state Jesus was deeply moved) and He did not weep (this is only one of two times recorded where Jesus wept); He was filled with compassion and had pity but then healed them and moved on, so to speak. So why did Jesus react so strongly in this instance?

My theory is that Jesus emotionally-charged response was in fact a response to the suffering of Martha, Mary, and the others weeping. Jesus was not deeply moved, troubled, or weeping because Lazarus died, He was deeply moved by the suffering and grief of those who were left alive. He was troubled by the suffering of Martha and Mary. He wept because of the pain they were experiencing due to Lazarus' death.

How does this apply to today? We serve a Lord who is troubled by our grief and a God who is deeply moved when we suffer. And maybe more importantly, we serve a God who has the power to put an end to that grief, that sadness, that trouble, even if it means reversing death itself.