Jno. 11:33-35 "When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, 'Where have you laid him?' They said to Him, 'Lord, come and see.' Jesus wept."
Through the long span of human history people have worshiped countless gods. But the God whom Christians worship and serve is unique in every way. First, He is real, whereas they are either idols manufactured by human hands or else forces of nature which men have deified. Any similarity which the true God and the gods of human imagination might appear to have is immediately erased when considered in the context of the real versus the imagined. The gods worshiped by the Gentiles in Jesus' time were all the creation of human fantasy, yet the people had their faith fixed upon them. Jesus' visit to earth was in part designed to show us what God really is. This goal He accomplished so perfectly that He was able to say, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father," (Jno. 14:9). In the initial text above, Jesus is showing us a fundamental feature of God's character that has great significance for suffering humanity.
The predominant world view in the First Century was derived from Greek culture, which had been spread across the realm of civilization by Alexander and his successors. Even Judaism had felt the irresistible pressure of this Hellenizing influence. To the Greek mind the major characteristic of God was what they called apatheia. Our word "apathy" is derived from that term, but the Greek original conveyed a different meaning. Apatheia referred to the absolute inability to feel emotion, whereas our word "apathy" means the ability is present but is not used. The Greek people believed that feeling emotion is impossible for gods because it is the result of an external power imposed upon them, and the gods are not subject to any power other than their own. Our featured text is important because it shows Jesus, who was God in the flesh, feeling emotion very keenly.
The essential meaning this holds for us is revealed in Heb. 4:15, "For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses." Jesus, our great High Priest, is not detached from the impact upon our emotions of the "weaknesses" which plague us. Mary and Martha were in agony of grief over the loss of their beloved brother Lazarus. When Jesus observed their agitation, He was "deeply moved in spirit ... troubled ... (and) wept." He did not weep over the death of Lazarus, as they helplessly did, because Lazarus was not beyond the reach of power of this One who said, "I have the keys of Death and Hades," (Rev. 1:18). Within a few moments Jesus used those "keys" to unlock the sinister gates of Hades, release the soul of Lazarus, and reunite it with his already decaying body (which He renewed), thus depriving Death of its victim. In reality, "Jesus wept" through empathy. He entered into the emotional distress of the two sisters and helped bear their burden by weeping with them.
Jesus is a close and very personal God who will sincerely "sympathize with our weaknesses." Consequently, as the Hebrew writer points out, we as Christians may "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need,' (4:16). Jesus extended grace and mercy to Mary and Martha by restoring their brother alive to them. That was certainly "help in time of need." If we are as devoted to Jesus in faith and love as this humble family in Bethany of Judea two millennia ago, we can be sure our Lord will sympathize with us in our difficulties and bestow upon us whatever help we need to shore up our sagging spirits and bear us through to more stable times. That is the valuable lesson we may learn from this amazing event of so long ago, but so contemporary in meaning.
