“Jesus wept” John 35:11, the shortest verse in the bible. Two short and simple words, that change everything for us. I have read this notorious tiny verse several times without stopping to think about what is actually being stated. To fully understand this verse we must first ask ourselves who is Jesus?
Very literally, Jesus is the son of God, Jesus is God. Now if we truly believe that Jesus is who he said he is, God, then the next word in this verse should throw us for a curve ball. What did Jesus do? He wept.
Take a moment to understand the importance of what this means. God himself wept, he cried real human tears through Jesus Christ. God, all loving, all knowing, all forgiving, completley sinless, magnieficent, wonderful, compasonite, perfect God….. felt deep sorrow, so much so that he wept.
So what does this mean for us? What does it have to do with us? It means that we are not alone when we face the deep and troubling sorrows of this world, for God himself did as well. It means that when we feel like complete chaos on the inside, and when we feel trapped by sin, and feel darkness surronding us, God knows and understands our pain, for he himself wept out of sorrow on the same Earth that we weep upon today.
It is nearly impossible to try to fathom the kind of love God must feel for us when contemplating this verse. The Lord is perfect and holy in all his ways yet allowed a part of himself to be exposed to the sinful and dark ways of our world knowing that he would suffer greatly amd terribly.
Often I am quick to feel consumed by the darkness and sin that is present in this life. I am quick to feel like I am being treated unfairly when faced with trials and tribulations, sorrow and sin. But what does this verse teach us? It teaches us that The Lord our God was also faced with the deeps sorrows of this world, he understands. He has literally “been there, done that.” What good is it to allow our soul to become bogged down with the weight of the world? Let us always trust in God as he understands our sorrow, and has overcome the trials of this world. Let us take joy in our pain as the Lord uses it to bring us to his great and perfect love.
It is truly a beautiful thing to know that we are in the hands of a God who would sacrafice his all for the sake of our souls, that he would come to Earth and weep out of pain for our sake. In our weeping let us glorfiy the Lord, he has overcome sorrow.
