Humanness

Read It: John 11:35 (NIV)

"Jesus wept"

Learn It:

(I like the NIV translation because it retains this passage as the shortest verse in the whole Bible)

One of the traditions in Biblical times was for people to mourn the loss of a loved one and to do it loudly.  Sometimes people were even hired as "professional mourners" and they would wail, cry, beat their chests, and make the biggest scene possible to let people know that someone had passed and that this person was going to be terribly missed.  What is interesting about Jesus' response is that he doesn't wail or scream out but he silently lets out some tears of sadness at the loss of a friend.  This is one GREAT example of the humanness of Jesus.  We tend to focus on the divine nature of Jesus but it is equally as important to notice the human side of our Savior as well.

Share It:

When you think of Jesus do you tend to think of him in terms of his humanness or of his divine nature more often?  Why do or don't you focus on one side or the other?  Why do you think that Jesus wept instead of wailed and made a huge spectacle over the loss of his friend Lazarus?  What do you think was the focus of Jesus's tears?  What are the things in our life that make you sad and want to simply weep about?  What things do you silently think about that make you feel sad at times in your life?  In what ways might Jesus' sadness be a comfort to you in the times of your own sadness?

Live It:

In the next week as you go out about your days pay attention to things that might make you sad.  What is it that makes you sad about that particular thing?  In that moment remind yourself of John 11:35 "Jesus wept". Remind yourself that even the Savior of the world had times when he mourned over the loss of people and the difficulty of life.  Even Jesus wept.

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