Jesus Weeps at Collegiate Week

Still in Glorieta at what has turned out to be a really great event with 1200 college students and leaders. Yesterday morning I shared from a text and has become really dear to me. John 11 is the well known story of when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. But before doing so, the Son of God did something else miraculous…

He wept.

Can you imagine it? God weeping? Amazing. It’s a picture that reminds us that God does not sit on His throne simply telling us to “Do better;” “Be better;” “Stop complaining about your problems.” This is a picture of the closeness of God. Here we see Jesus, though He knows He will turn Lazarus’ funeral into a party, pausing to weep alongside a grieving sister.

We have the tendency as Christians to not give each other permission to grieve loss in our lives. We tell each other that everything will be okay in heaven someday, or that God is using this tragic event in our lives for His glory. Those things may be true, but notice that Jesus does neither in this passage. He offers no theological explanation for suffering. He does not offer a Hallmark card of sympathy. Instead, He weeps.

I say again—amazing. We follow a Jesus who knows the end of the story, yet He engages emotionally with us in the meantime.