Why did Jesus weep at the death of Lazarus?
John 11:33-36 (NKJV)
33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.
34 And He said, “Where have you laid him?”
They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.”
35 Jesus wept.
36 Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”
People often wonder that since Jesus is God and would have known of Lazarus’s outcome (the resurrection), why then would He weep at Lazarus’s death?
Even though this verse is the shortest in the Bible, it is rich with meaning.
Jesus’s humanity on display
Firstly, it emphasizes Jesus’ humanity; He was truly “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3).
He felt what we would feel, was induced in the same temptations as us, and was allowed to experience first-hand our human emotion. The Hebrews verse portrays this beautifully;
Hebrews 4:15 (NASB)
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus’ anger
As Jesus observed the chaotic scene, He “was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” Unfortunately, the use of the words “deeply moved” is not an accurate translation (by some bible versions) of the verb embrimaomai, which literally means to snort like a horse.
Apart from its use in verse 38, it appears only three other times in the New Testament (Matt. 9:30 / Mark 1:43 / Mark 14:5), where it is translated “sternly warned” or “scolding” giving an expression of anger, outrage or indignation.
Jesus appears to have been angry over the painful reality of sin and death and by the mourners around who were acting pagans who had no hope (1 Thess. 4:13).
Furthermore, the use of the word “troubled” (Tarasso) further emphasizes the intensity of the Lord’s reaction. A similar term is used elsewhere in the scriptures to describe strong emotion.
Herod’s reaction to the magi’s arrival (Matt. 2:3), the disciples’ terror when they saw Jesus walking on water (14:26); Zacharias’s fear when he saw the angel in the temple (Luke 1:12); the disciples’ amazement at seeing Jesus after His resurrection (24:38); Jesus’ reaction to His impending death (John 12:27); and His response to Judas’s imminent betrayal (13:21).
Jesus weeping over sin
When Jesus wept at the death of Lazarus, He was moved with compassion. However, He wasn’t weeping because of the end of Lazarus, because the end of Lazarus was going to be the resurrection.
The Jews correctly identified Jesus’ sorrow as evidence of His love for Lazarus; however, they were wrong to assume that His tears reflected the same hopeless despair they felt.
When the others had wept, the Greek verb used is “klaio” as in verse 33 (commonly used for a loud wailing – like the typical funeral mourners), but the word to describe Jesus’ grief is “dakruo,” a rare word used only here in the New Testament which means to burst into tears silently.
Jesus’ tears were generated both by His love for Lazarus and His grief over the deadly ongoing effects of sin in a fallen world.
This is the empathy, sympathy, tenderness, kindness, and the love of Christ manifested in this verse.
This is the empathy, sympathy, tenderness, kindness, and the love of Christ manifested in this verse.
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