Why Jesus Wept

Text — Fesus wept.” Fohn 11 +35. HIS WHOLE NATURE STIRRED. — CONFRONTED WITH DEATH, THE PRODUCT OF SIN. — WHAT CAUSED THE SINLESS ONE TO “ea WEEP. — I. HE WAS TRULY MAN.WITH HUMAN EMOTIONS AND — i, t SYMPATHIES. — THE THREE OCCASIONS OF HIS WEEPING. — II. NOT ASHAMED OF HUMAN WEAKNESS. — ADMITTED HIS POV-ERTY. — DID NOT CONCEAL HIS SUFFERING. — III. AN INSTRUC-TOR IN WEEPING. — IN PRAYER. — IN AWAKENING DEAD SOULS.; — IN MOURNING THE LOSS OF FRIENDS. — IV. AS A COMFCR-TER. — EXPERIENCED IN SORROW. — HIS WEEPING OVER.- — V.. AS AN EXAMPLE. — HE WEPT FOR OTHERS. — HELP FOLLOWING. cue

A GREAT storm was stirring the mind of Jesus. We find, on looking at the original, that He was indignant and troubled.. We have a very literal translation in the margin of the Revised Version; and ‘ instead of reading, “He groaned in the spirit, and ae was troubled,” we find it, ‘He was moved with indignation in the spirit, and troubled Himself.” What was. this indignation? We cannot think that it was caused by the unbelief of His friends, or even by the pre-. tended sympathy of those malicious Jews who has- - tened to accuse Him to the Pharisees; but we look further and deeper for the reason of this heat. He now stood face to face with the last enemy, death. He saw what sin had done in destroying life, and even in corrupting the fair handiwork of God in the human body: He marked, also, the share which Satan had in all this, and His indignation was aroused; yea, 214;

Pecan toe at fe powers of evi grief for the family who had been bereaved by death, sorrow aN over those who stood by in unbelief, and a distressing

realization of the effects of sin, the Lord’s heart was

evidently in a great storm. Instead of the thunder of

threatening, and the lightning of a curse, all that was perceptible of the anwabd tempest was a shower of

- tears; for ee wept.”

“Jesus wept.” I have often felt vexed. ee the

man, whoever he was, who chopped up the New

Testament into verses. He seems to have let the hatchet drop indiscriminately here and there; but I forgive him a great deal of blundering for his wisdom in letting these two words make a verse by themselves: “Jesus wept.” This is a diamond of the first water, and it cannot have another gem set with it, for it is unique. Shortest of verses in words, but where is there a longer one in sense? Add a word to the

Bverse, and it would be out of place. -No, let it stand in solitary sublimity and simplicity. There is infinitely

more in these two words than any sermonizer or

student of the Word will ever be able to bring out of

them, even though he should apply the microscope of the most attentive consideration. ‘Jesus wept.” Instructive fact; simple but amazing; full of consolation; worthy of our earnest heed.

I. First, “Jesus wept,” for He is truly man. Many facts prove the completeness of our Lord’s taking up of our nature. Not in phantasm was

: but in reality and truth He became one of us. He: suffered all the innocent infirmities of our nature. He

was weary: “Jesus being wearied with His journey,

sat thus on the well.” That He thirsted, we know, ae

for He said to the Samaritan woman, “Give Me to. drink”; and on the cross He cried in burning fever, “I thirst!” In all things He was made like unto His brethren. ‘Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” His humanity was our humanity to. the full, although without sin. a

He wept, for He had human friendships. Friendship is natural to man. Scarcely is he a man who never had a friend to love. Men in going through the world make many acquaintances, but out of these they have few special objects of esteem, whom they call friends. If they think to have friends, they are, probably, misusing the name. All wise and good men have about them choice spirits, with whom their intercourse is more free, and in whom their trust is more confident, than in all others. Jesus delighted to find retirement in the quiet home at Bethany; and we read that “Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus.” Alas, my brethren! every friendship opens a fresh door for grief; for friends are no more immortal than ourselves. ‘Jesus wept” at the grave of His friend just as you and I have done, and must needs do again.

‘Jesus wept,” for He was truly human in His sympathies. He did not merely walk about among us, and look like a man, but at a thousand points He came into

CONTACT WITH US.

Jesus was always in touch with sorrow: happy are they that are in touch with Aim, Our Lord saw

that were with them, and He caught the contagion of their grief: “Jesus wept.” His sympathies were

with sorrowing ones, and for this reason, among others, He was Himself “a man of sorrows, and

acquainted with grief.”

He was a man, dear friends, for He was stirred with

human emotions. Every emotion that ever thrilled

through your bosom, so far as it is not sinful, has

had its like in the bosom of the Lord Jesus Christ. He

could be angry: we read in one place, that “He

looked round about on them with anger.” He could

be pitiful; when was He not so? He could be moved

with compassion for a fainting crowd, or with scorn of

a crafty ruler, Did He not speak with great indignation of the scribes and Pharisees? Yet was He

not tender as a nurse with a child, when cheering the penitent? He would not break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking flax; yet He uttered faithful warn- “ings, and made terrible exposures of hypocrisy. Beloved, have a clear faith in the humanity of Him whom they rightly worship as your Lord and your

God. Holding His divinity without doubt, hold His

manhood without mistake. Realize the actual manhood of Jesus in all lights.

THREE TIMES HE WEPT. Doubtless He sorrowed full often when He was not

seen; but thrice He was known to weep. The

SP ar ot deat a oa ie
pt +;

instance in our text was the weeping of a friend over the grave of a friend. A little further on, after a day — of triumph, our Lord beheld the city, and wept over — it; that was the weeping of a prophet concerning “oe judgments which He foresaw. It is not recorded by any evangelist, but Paul tells us, in the Epistle to Hebrews, that, with strong crying and tears, He made ee appeal to Him that was able to save Him from death, mp and was heard in that He feared. This third record sets forth the weeping of our Substitute, a sacrificial i weeping, a pouring out of Himself as an oblation ae before God. Treasure up in your mind these three — a memories, the weeping of the friend in sympathy with bereavement, the weeping of the Judge lamenting the - sentence which He must deliver, and the weeping of the Surety as He smarts for us, bearing griefs which were not His own, for sins in which He had no share. Thus thrice was it true that “Jesus wept.”

II. Now, let us change the line of our thought a — little, while we say, “‘ Jesus wept,” that is,

HE WAS NOT ASHAMED

of His human weakness. He could have repressed His tears — many men do so habitually. I do not doubt that there may be great sorrow, very great sorrow, where there is no open expression of it. In fact, most of you must have felt times when grief has struck you such a stunning blow that you could not weep, you could not recover yourself sufficiently to shed tears: the heart was all on fire with auguish, and the eyes refused the cooling drops. The Saviour could, doubtless, if so He wished, have hidden His

free from pride, and wore His heart where men could see it.

For, first, es: His talk when He mh to His disciples. He never concealed His poverty. There is an idea abroad that respectability is maintained by the pretence of riches, whereby real need is

poor, even when you are so. There may be something in the affectation, but our Lord did not countethe birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay His head.” Though He was y rich, yet for our sakes He became poor, and He was never ashamed to let it be known that

: HE WAS POOR.

Fesus wept on this occasion, although it might have been misunderstood and misrepresented. Do you not think that the Jews who stood there would sneeringly say, “See, He weeps! The miracle-worker ‘weeps! He calls Himself the Son of God, and yet He stands weeping there like any ordinary man”? Here was opportunity for scorn at His manifest weakness, and even for blasphemy at the evident token of it; but our Lord did not act upon policy; He allowed His true feeling to be seen. Tears may not be thought manly, but they are natural to man, and Jesus will not be unnatural.

“Jesus wept,” and thereby He revealed His love to Lazarus, so that others saw it and cried, ‘Behold

Hel but He did not Aue to do. so, for He was never unnatural. As “the holy child Jesus,” He was —

hidden. It is thought disreputable to seem to be i

* nance such a course, for He said, ‘“‘ Foxes have holes, be written down in the same heavenly register as His.

‘gash which the sight of death made in His heart. He er

Our glorious Lord, now that He is Sion “6 oe. ashamed to call us brethren.” He is not ashamed to —

poor people. Blessed be His name!: THE BURDEN-BEARER. a “Jesus wept:” He was not ashamed to own the affliction which sin caused to His holy soul, nor the

could not bear to see the grave and its corruption. May we never think of the sin and misery of our race without sorrow! I confess I can never go through this huge city without feeling unhappy. I never pass from end to end of London without feeling a black and dark cloud, hanging like a pall over my spirit How my heart breaks for thee, O sinful city of London! Is — Be it not so with you, my brethren? Think of its slums,: its sins, its poverty, its ungodliness, its drunkenness, its vice! These may well go through a man’s heart like sharp swords. How Jesus would have wept in London! He could not stand in the front of a lone grave, about to look upon a single corpse, without weeping. He saw in that one death the representation of what sin has done on so enormous a scale, that it is impossible to compute the devastation; and therefore He wept. “Jesus wept,” though He was about to work a wonderful miracle. The glory of His Godhead did sing the dena to life. He is God, for He i is aboue:

to call Lazarus out of the grave; but He is man just

as much as ever, and therefore He weeps. Our Lord

‘He worked in the carpenter’s shop at Nazareth. He was not ashamed to own His real manhood, while He bs Bere! Himself the resurrection and the life. Beloved, ik ae wept” to show that He did not disdain the

- feebleness of that nature which He had taken up, that

He might redeem it unto God. Ill. Thirdly, our Lord Jesus is = OUR INSTRUCTOR IN WEEPING. This is the most practical part of our discourse; be sure that you receive it by the teaching of the Holy Ghost. Observe why Jesus wept, and learn a lesson from it. He wept because this was His method of prayer on this occasion. A great miracle was to be wrought, and great power was needed from on high; as man, the Lord Jesus: cries to God with intense. earnestness, and finds the fittest embodiment for His prayer in weeping. Before the Lord Jesus puts forth the power which raises Lazarus from the grave, He appeals to God with strong crying and tears, ‘Jesus wept” to teach us how to baptize our prayers ina wave of Der pais.

“Jesus wept” again, because before He would -arouse the dead He would be Himself aroused. - Without great exertion of the life of Jesus, the death in Lazarus could not be subdued. Therefore the ia rod atotned “Himself and siared ite all His sre 1 eae troubling all His being for the struggle on which He entered. Learn hence, my brother, that if you think to do any great good in saving sinners, you must not — be half asleep yourself: you must be troubled even to tears. Perhaps the most difficult thing in winning souls is to get ourselves into a fit state. The dead may bury the dead, but they cannot razse the dead. Until E a man’s whole soul is moved, he will not move his

fellow. We must feel, if others are to feel. Come, my dear sister, you that are going to the Sunda school class this afternoon because you must go; you — must not go in that spirit. You, my brothers, who are going to preach or talk to your classes, and have as yet aay one eye open; this will never do. Your. ee Lord was all alive, and all sensitive, and you must be We. the’same,, ee,’ Jesus -wept in full knowledge of several things which might have prevented His weeping. You have sometimes thought to yourself when weeping at the grave of a dear child, or wife, or husband, that you have been wrong in so doing; but this may not be the case. Our Saviour wept, though He knew that y LAZARUS WAS SAFE. *. I do not know what had happened to the soul of ies Lazarus: where Scripture is silent it is not mine to —; speak; but, wherever he was, he was perfectly safe; and yet “Jesus wept.” Moreover, Jesus knew that He was going to raise Lazarus to life; his resurrection was close at hand and yet “Jesus wept.” Sometimes we are told that if we really believed that our ‘2 friends would rise again, and that they are safe and happy, we could not weep. Why not? Jesus did. “Jesus wept,” but He did not sin. There was not even a particle of evil in any one of the Redeemer’s tears. When He spoke in His sorrow, the first word

was “Father:” He’said, “Father, I thank Thee.” If

- you can weep in such a way that all the while you feel God to be your Father, and can thank Him, and - y know that you are in His presence, your weeping is — x not blameworthy, but healthful. “Jesus wept,” but He never murmured. “Jesus wept,” but He never

found fault with God’s dispensations. IV. I must be brief upon my fourth point. “Jesus 4 wept:” in this He is

ae - OUR COMFORTER. Let me speak to those who are of heavy heart. “Jesus wept:” herein is our honor. Thou weepest, my friend, in good company; for Jesus wept. Let no man censure thee lest they not only blame thee, but Jesus also. “Jesus wept:” herein is our sonship vindicated. Thou sayest, ‘‘Can I be the child of God, and yet go weeping?” Was not Jesus the well-beloved Son? and yet He wept. Ah! the question lies another way: ‘“‘ What son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” What child did God ever have that did not weep? He had one Son without sin; but He never had a son without sorrow. He had a Son that never deserved a stroke of the rod, and yet against that Son the sword was awakened. Mourner, thou; art one of “The Worshipful Company of Weepers,” ‘of whom Jesus is the Worthy Master. He is at the

Pen of me Clan of Muaticr: B ied mayest well the plaid with the black and red crosses ape it; a thy Chieftain wore the same. ah, See now the real sympathy of Christ ee His peo- oa ple, for herein is comfort. Jesus is our fellow-sufferer; and this should be our greatest solace. Oh,if we had a High-priest that knew not what it is to suffer as we. do, it would be-a most unhappy thing for us! If we a ‘ fled to Him for refuge, and found that he had known Bee ‘no grief, and consequently could not understand us, st would be killing to a broken heart. A Jesus who 4 never wept could never wipe away my tears. That: were a grief I could not bear, if He could not have “eee Pia ship with me, and could not understand my woe. ae Beloved, think how bravely our Lord endure - herein is confidence. Tears did not drown the Sav- — jour’s hope in God. He lived. He triumphed not-: withstanding all His sorrow; and because He lives, we shall live also. He says, “Be of good cheer; I~ ea have overcome the world.” Though our hero had to oe weep in the fight, yet He was not beaten. He came, He wept, He conquered. You and I take scot and lot with Jesus; we share the tears of His eyes,and we shall share the diamonds of His crown. E V. Fifthly, and lastly, “Jesus wept;” in this He is our example. We should weep, for. JESUS WEPT FOR OTHERS. ‘ 1 know not that He ever wept for Himself. His were sympathetic tears. He embodied that command, — “Weep with them that weep.” He has a narrow ‘ soul who can hold it all within the compass of his ribs.

S soul finds all the world too narrow for its abode, for — ; es it lives and loves; it lives by loving, and loves a because it lives. Think of other weepers, and have

pity upon the children of grief. In another matter our Lord is our example; learn Ge

: Rbodies as well ag in irs own. A perfectly ee

from Him that our indignation against evil will best

show itself in compassion for sinners. Ah, my dear

friend! I heard you declaiming tremendously against

drunkenness. I am glad to hear you; you cannot say anything too hard or too heavy about that degrading

vice; but, I pray you, wind up your denunciation with

weeping over the poor drunkard. I heard you speak,

my other friend, on behalf of the League of Purity,

and you smote the monsters of lasciviousness with all your force. I wish more strength to your arm! But when you have done, sit down and weep that such

filthiness should defile men and women who are your

fellow creatures. Appeal to parliament, if you wish,

for the putting down of vice; but parliament itself first needs correcting and purifying. A flood of tears

before the thrice Holy God will do far more than

the hugest rolls of petition to our senators. “Jesus

TEARS WERE MIGHTY .WEAPONS

. against sin and death. You feel indignant at the lazy, idle, loafing vagabonds whose very illness is produced

by their own vice; I cannot condemn your virtuous

wrath. But if you would in all things imitate Jesus,

please note that it is not written that Jesus thundered,

4
bak ahae ew wept.”

indignation without tears. I know what you will say about the lack of thrift among the poor, about the absence of sobriety, the want of industry, and so forth, Admit all this sorrowfully; chide it tenderly; and then weep. You will do more good to the offenders, and more good to yourself, and more good to the best of — causes, if pity moistens all. You may, if you will, beat the terrible drum, and sound the war-trumpet; but the noise will rather deafen than soften. The voice of your weeping will be heard deep down in the ‘soul, and work more wonders than thunders of denunciation.: WHAT CAME OF IT. Lastly, when you have wept, zmztate your Saviour — do something! If the chapter before us had finished with ‘Jesus wept,” it would have been a poor one.

Suppose after they had come to the grave, we had read “Jesus wept, and went about His daily business,” I should have felt small comfort in the passage. If nothing had come of it but tears, it would have been a great falling off from the usual ways of our blessed Lord. Tears! what are they alone? Salt water! A

cup of them would be of little worth to anybody. — But, beloved, “Jesus wept,” and then He commanded, “Roll away the stone.” He cried, “Lazarus, come forth.” When Lazarus struggled out of the tomb, Jesus said, ‘‘ Loose him and let him go.” Some of» you are full of pity for the sick; but I hope we shall not end in mere sentiment. Do not let us say, “We

mixed with it. I like not fioheaine waiters rain, nor a

Re aics. fee them from this crowded city: and

send them into the country to a convalescent home. Brethren, we can thus practically prove our se a therefore, pass the boxes round! Ss