Day 4 — A Different Side of Jesus
In John 11, we see a side of Jesus we may not always picture. In all four Gospels, Jesus is revealed as a healer, helper, listener, and One who loves. Jesus restores hands, sight, and lives. Jesus cares for the poor, the overlooked, and even the children others try to turn away.
Yet in John 11, we see one of the most tender accounts of the person of Jesus as we read a verse many of us can easily memorize:
“Jesus wept.” — John 11:35
Why did Jesus weep?
He knew that soon Lazarus would be raised. Yet knowing what he was about to do did not keep him from grieving in that moment.
John tells us that when Jesus saw Mary and the others weeping, he was deeply moved and greatly troubled. He loved Lazarus. He loved these grieving sisters. In the presence of death and sorrow, Jesus wept.
He was deeply moved and greatly troubled by a problem he would soon remedy.
This is the side of our God that we often forget. God is not indifferent to the pain we experience. God knows, cares for, and loves his creation.
God knows, cares for, and loves you!
When you weep, worry, or feel discouraged and rejected, God knows your pain. In Jesus, we see that our grief is met with compassion.
You may ask, “Then why does he allow bad things to happen?”
We do not always know why God allows a particular hardship. His ways are higher than ours, but that does not mean he is unaware of our situation or unmoved by our pain.
God works for our good and his glory. We can trust that. We can cling to that. We can hope in that.
He is the God who gives and takes away. The Good Shepherd who does not abandon us even in the valley of the shadow of death. He is the One who never sleeps or slumbers and who is not confused, surprised, or overwhelmed by our situation.
In John 11, God’s love is on full display in the tears of Jesus.
