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The Real Reason Jesus Wept
John 11:14 and 35 (KJV)
14 Then said Jesus unto them plainly, Lazarus is dead… 35 Jesus wept.
Many people assume that Jesus wept because His friend Lazarus was dead, but this isn’t true. It was no different than it is today, he wept because of their unbelief.
We call Him Lord, but our actions pull Him off His throne. The word Lord means we recognize Him as our Master, but if we treat Him like a servant, is He our Lord? We call Him friend, yet treat Him like a stranger. Do we know Him?
In John 11:21, Martha accused Him of being the reason Lazarus died.
John 11:21 (KJV)
21 Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
Then Martha’s sister, Mary, did the same again in John 11:32.
John 11:32-36 (KJV)
32 Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. 34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. 35 Jesus wept. 36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
He didn’t weep because Lazarus was dead, he wept because of their unbelief. They had seen so much, they heard him speak, they saw the miracles, but the accusation was, ‘If you had come when I sent for you, if you hadn’t been late, Lazarus would not have died.’
It’s evident that they knew he could heal Lazarus, that’s the reason they sent for him. They had probably seen Him work miracles more than once, but they were convinced that he had come too late.
Isn’t that the mentality of most so called believers today? If you perform for us we have faith in you, but if not we will accuse you of being too late.
Their accusations dug deep into His feelings. “If you had been here he wouldn’t have died.”
John 11:33 says that when he heard them crying, he groaned in the spirit and was troubled. He felt their unbelief, not their sorrow.
I don’t know what Martha and Mary were saying on the inside, perhaps it would have sounded something like this, “What a great friend He turned out to be… I thought he was the one who came to do all these great things for us… Maybe we were wrong…”
Or maybe they were like the people today, accusing Him of not caring about what happens to us. “He doesn’t care if we lose our house… He doesn’t care if my family is sick… He doesn’t care if we die…”
This mentality isn’t giving God any praise, it’s judging Him. Are we any different than King Herod when Pilate sent Jesus to him to be judged? Aren’t we judging Him also?
Luke 23:8 (KJV)
8 And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him.
Do you think he weeps when we come to the house of God and treat Him the same way? We fail to honor Him for what he has done!
We aren’t even as good as Mary and Martha. At least they expected to get something from him, they expected a miracle.
At least King Herod expected some great thing from Him. What did you expect when you walked in the door?
Matthew 26:41 (KJV)
41 Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.
Was he still weeping at the garden when he found his disciples asleep? What he told them wasn’t a suggestion.
Matthew 26:38-40 (KJV)
38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39 And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. 40 And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?
He wasn’t mad at them, He was disappointed in them. Granted, they were tired. They may have been walking all day, they could have just finished preaching, anything could have worn them out, but what He said didn’t affect them.
How many times have you came in here and not even considered praying or worshipping him?
You sat there half asleep, playing with kids, or distracting someone else with your talk. Do you ever consider why you are so weak in your faith? Jesus asked this question, “What, could ye not watch with me one hour?”
He wept at Lazarus’s grave, because they just wanted him to do something for them; it’s a me, me, me, me world. I want to let you in on something; Jesus has done enough and we don’t deserve anything else!
John 11:23-26 (KJV)
23 Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: 26 And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this?
John 11:37-40 (KJV)
37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? 38 Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. 39 Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. 40 Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
Verse 39 is the result of knowing what power you possess even among such carnality. Jesus said, “Take ye away the stone.”
She said she ‘believed,’ but listen: Martha, the sister of him that was dead, said unto him, “Lord, by this time he stinks: for he hath been dead four days.”
She didn’t believe him. She was telling him it’s impossible; he has been dead four days. She didn’t have any faith in what he said. She told him I believe whatever you ask of God he will do it.
Well I’ve said it before and I will say it again, “THE STINK CAN’T STOP HIM!”
- Your stinking attitude can’t stop him!
- Your stinking thinking can’t stop him!
- Your stinking unfaithfulness can’t stop him!
- He knew they were spiritually dead, but that didn’t stop him!
He was in the will of God, nothing they could think, say, or do could stop him. They made Him weep with their unbelief, but they couldn’t stop what God was about to do.
John 11:41-48 (KJV)
41 Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. 42 And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. 43 And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. 44 And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with graveclothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go. 45 Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. 46 But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done. 47 Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many miracles. 48 If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him: and the Romans shall come and take away both our place and nation.
In closing: Jesus told the Religious leaders about his relationship with God and here’s how they reacted.
John 10:30-33 (KJV)
30 I and my Father are one. 31 Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. 32 Jesus answered them, Many good works have I shewed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? 33 The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.
We never consider God’s feelings. We need to think about how we’re treating God, especially when we enter into His house, the church.
