JESUS WEPT WITH THE WOMEN
by Kristen West McGuire
John 11:19-36
19 And many of the Jews were come to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. 20 Martha therefore, as soon as she heard that Jesus had come, went to meet him: but Mary sat at home.
21 Martha therefore said to Jesus: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 22 But now also I know that whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee. 23 Jesus saith to her: Thy brother shall rise again. 24 Martha saith to him: I know that he shall rise again, in the resurrection at the last day. 25 Jesus said to her: I am the resurrection and the life: he that believeth in me, although he be dead, shall live:
26 And every one that liveth, and believeth in me, shall not die for ever. Believest thou this? 27 She saith to him: Yea, Lord, I have believed that thou art Christ the Son of the living God, who art come into this world. 28 And when she had said these things, she went, and called her sister Mary secretly, saying: The master is come, and calleth for thee. 29 She, as soon as she heard this, riseth quickly, and cometh to him. 30 For Jesus was not yet come into the town: but he was still in that place where Martha had met him.
31 The Jews therefore, who were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up speedily and went out, followed her, saying: She goeth to the grave to weep there. 32 When Mary therefore was come where Jesus was, seeing him, she fell down at his feet, and saith to him: Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. 33 Jesus, therefore, when he saw her weeping, and the Jews that were come with her, weeping, groaned in the spirit, and troubled himself, 34 And said: Where have you laid him? They say to him: Lord, come and see. 35 And Jesus wept. 36 The Jews therefore said: Behold how he loved him.
Context: Men in the Roman Empire actually cried more than the women, at least in public. It was a rhetorical flourish of sorts, employed to emphasize moments of great import such as the conquering of a people or a political triumph. Women cried at funerals and their tears were assumed to be a means to an end. Not so among the Jews. Jewish leaders frequently wept out their grief and frustrations, especially in the Psalms. So, tears from Jesus were welcomed by the Jews. “See how he loved Lazarus,” they said.
The Christian tradition has mixed messages related to tears. Reasoning that death was actually freedom into eternal life, overwrought mourning was seen as opposed to the good news. However, penitence over sin was frequently accompanied by copious tears as noted by Augustine, Jerome, and others. And a pious tradition recounts that St. Peter wept so long over his threefold denial of Jesus that permanent ridges existed on his face from his tears.
Translation: The gospel of John is very different than the three other gospels. He does not include an infancy narrative, and he records long conversations with Jesus as opposed to short interactions. In his hurch History, Eusebius reports that John was encouraged to write a spiritual gospel as a supplement to the other three gospels. Many of the stories were with and about women: the wedding at Cana, the Samaritan woman at the well, the woman caught in adultery, and especially Chapter 11 on Lazarus. John, the beloved disciple to whom our Savior entrusted Mary, wrote the gospel that shows Jesus’ concern and respect for women.
Vocabulary (Greek):
dead: apothnesko – to die off, emphasis on separation with loved ones.
resurrection: anastasis - to rise from the dead; to be brought back to life.
secretly: lathra - privately, in secret. (This same term was used in Matthew 1:19.)
weeping: klaió - to sob, to wail aloud, to mourn (the Jews and Mary).
groaned in the spirit: embrimaomai - to be moved with anger, to admonish sternly.
wept: dakruó- to weep, to shed tears. (Jesus) It’s the only instance of this word in the Bible. Connotes quiet tears.
Meditation: In John 11, fear of Jesus being killed by the Jews is the backdrop. The disciples advised Jesus to lay low. Jesus tells them bluntly that Lazarus is already dead, and that Jesus would go to Bethany, only two miles from Jerusalem. (John 11:14-15) In the next verse, Thomas says, “Let us also go that we may die with him.” For them, the death of their Messiah would be the end of their hope.
Aware that Jesus has arrived, Martha rushes to meet him before he arrives at her home. “If only you had been here, my brother would not have died.” The word Thomas, Martha, and Mary use for “died” emphasizes the separation of death. Jesus echoes this word in their conversation. But then he reveals his identity again to a woman: “I am the Resurrection and the Life.”
Immediately, Martha understands, and runs to get Mary. Mary falls to Jesus’ feet, weeping, with the same statement: “If you had been here, my brother would not have died.” Jesus observes the weeping mourners and “groaned in the spirit,” which connotes anger. Why would he be angry? Because the serpent had introduced evil into the world. And at this, Jesus wept.
Oh friends, as much as we sorrow and mourn over the death of our loved ones, Jesus is with us. He weeps, not because of the separation, but in compassion with our reality. We need a Savior—and He is our Savior. The good news is that Jesus truly is the Resurrection and the Life. Let us fall to our knees in worship of Jesus who not only wept, but brings us to new life in Him.
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