[0:00] He said John chapter 11 verse 35, this very short but very famous verse in the Bible, Jesus wept.
[0:11] We might ask, not unreasonably, why does Jesus weep? Well, we know he's sad about Lazarus and about Martha and Mary and so on, but after all, he knows what he's going to do.
[0:23] He knows that he's about to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knows he's about to bring, you know, unsurpassed joy to these two sisters that he is so fond of.
[0:35] You might expect that when he comes to them, he might just pat them on the shoulder. It's all right, it's okay, look, I'm going to sort this. Rather than be weeping and groaning in spirit that's there, why?
[0:46] Why does Jesus weep when he knows what the end of the story is? He knows what's going to happen, what's causing him this great grief.
[0:59] Well, although it is now, particularly I suppose you could say in the last 20 years or so, it's become a discredited cliche amongst human beings. When somebody says, I feel your pain, and we think, oh, na, it actually makes you want to feel sick.
[1:16] I'm creepy, it sounds, and I have some reading, sort of artificial, and somebody says, oh, I feel your pain. But there is a very true sense in which, for Jesus, it is not just a cliche, it's a truism.
[1:29] Jesus actually does enter into the sense, the feeling, the yearning of the hearts of those who are grieving. And he feels, he senses their pain, their agony.
[1:45] Although he knows what he's going to have, and he feels what he's going to have, and he feels what he's going to have. Verse 33. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, that is me. And the Jews also weeping which came with her.
[1:58] He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, where are you going to be like that? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept.
[2:09] Now, we've mentioned in the past how this Jesus weeping is sort of a gentle flowing, almost unstoppable flowing of the tears down his cheeks. It's different from the sort of violent convulsive, you know, where Peter went out after the cock crowed and wept bitterly, where you can just imagine, bent over and over, and shuddering, and the tears sort of bouncing out of his eyes, almost because he's so convulsed with the violent shaking of the bitter weeping.
[2:37] Now, this is a gentle, more contained kind of weeping, and yet unstoppable. Jesus wept. Now, why does Jesus weep?
[2:48] Well, we say, obviously, he has compassion for those who are suffering. And we know that Jesus has compassion. We read it plenty of times in the New Testament, where we read, for example, in Mark chapter 1, where the leper comes to Jesus.
[3:03] And there came a leper to him, beseeching him, and kneeling down to him, and saying unto him, If thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. And Jesus moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and said unto him, I will be thou clean.
[3:20] And we turn a few pages, we find in chapter 6, where you've got the crowds following you. They see him going off on the boat, and they go round the edge of the lake. And when he finally docks with his disciples, and he says, there they are again, all the crowds.
[3:34] You and I think, oh no, not these people again. They will get no peace. But we read instead that Jesus, when he saw them, departed into a desert place for a ship, that people saw them departing, when he knew him, and ran a foot thither out of all cities, and outwent them, and came together unto him.
[3:53] And Jesus, when he came out, saw much people, and was moved with compassion toward them, because they were a sheep, not having a shepherd. And he began to teach them many things.
[4:06] You see, for the leper, Jesus has compassion, not revulsion. For the people, he has compassion, not frustration. Because compassion is literally fellow or joint suffering.
[4:20] Passion, as we've mentioned it in the past, it's not, we kind of think of passion as a sort of a violent, strong, kind of maybe positive feeling of, oh, I'm really passionate about this thing, I believe it.
[4:30] And we think we sometimes see, or see perhaps described in fictional situations, romances and so on, oh, they embraced a passionate kiss, or a love that was so filled with passion.
[4:43] Now, passion means suffering. And the sense of a love that is passionate is a love from which one cannot break free of the bonds.
[4:53] It's like one is in a bondage, one is chained in this love. Your emotions are not free. You're not free to have your heart go this way or that way. They're bound, they're chained.
[5:03] You're helpless. You're a slave, effectively, to this person. That's what the sense of that kind of passionate love means. Love that is suffering with that passion.
[5:15] Because passion is suffering, as in the passion of the Christ. So, where one is passionate about something, it means you're a slave to it.
[5:26] It means you're bound, you're like chained to it. That's a suffering thing. That's a negative thing. We tend to use it now almost as a positive. But compassion, in the sense of joint suffering, fellow suffering, in the same way as if we just briefly referenced, you know, last week when we looked at verse 4 of 2 Corinthians chapter 1, talking about Jesus, who comforted us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
[6:01] And we said how that prefix, com-c-o-m, or whether it's with an n or with an m, it means joint, as in confidence, talking together, confluence, rivers flowing together, comfort, joint strength, or bravery, or loudness.
[6:18] And we mentioned the example of a piano, that is piano 40, both soft and loud. And that's the pedals underneath it. But where we have compassion, passion being suffering, you have joint suffering.
[6:32] You have fellow suffering, fellow feeling. So when Jesus sees the leper that comes and kneels to him and says, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean. He doesn't think, the leper, I don't want to touch him, I get something off him.
[6:45] Rather, he feels himself into the situation of this man who is a complete outcast from society, who wasn't born a leper, but who must have someone along the line gradually been conscious of the illness taking hold on his senses, and dulling the ends of his nerves so he couldn't feel things, and his fingers and hands getting rubbed away of the white kind of pustules beginning all over his body, of people realizing with revulsion that he was thus afflicted, of his banishing, and being sent away from his family and loved ones, having to eke out in existence of such food parcels or packages that people would leave at a fearful distance, of being completely alone, save for the company of other lepers, of having no means, of any kind of medical help or treatment, and nothing to look forward to, but to gradually, eventually die in that misery.
[7:44] And here's someone whom he has heard can heal people of anything, and he runs to them, and he kneels at his feet, and says, Lord, if thou wilt, if you will, you can make me clean, because he has faith, and Jesus thinks himself, feels himself, into that man's situation, the revulsion that no doubt he feels in himself, in his own body, that didn't start out like this, of the broken heart, of the severe outcast, and he feels it, and he says, I will be clean.
[8:21] Jesus has compassion, not revulsion, and likewise with the people, and he doesn't think, as you and I, and think, oh for goodness sake, these people, will they never leave me alone, here I am, just wanting a few minutes, with my disciples, across the lake, to get some peace, and here they are, they are so desperate, to be with Jesus, that they have gone a foot, round the end of the lake, that is not a light journey, that is a journey, of many miles, they ran, and if you're running, in Palestinian heat, with not kind of, running shoes, as we have nowadays, but sort of sandals, or bare feet, what kind of condition, are your feet going to be in, you're going to be bathed, and swept, you don't have a nice, cool, chill, kind of coke there, to sort of, sleek, or thirst, if you've got water at all, be getting warm, and sort of, bouncing up and down, in a leather water carrier, or whatever, you won't have any provisions, you're just there, your clothes sticking to you, with the sweat, you're pecking, and you've got to, oh thank goodness, there is in the boat, we made it in time,
[9:25] Jesus, seeing these people, instead of being frustrated, he senses, all the effort, they have gone to, all these helpless, poor people, who have left their, potting wheels, or their fishing nets, or their hearth, or their baking, or their field, or all the work, that needs to it, if you are poor people, on subsistence level, then every hour, you take away, from your daylight work, that's going to cost you, that's going to cost you, productivity, it's going to cost you, maybe a sale, of a pot, or a fishing net haul, or a field, that could have been plowed, instead of going to see this Jesus, but they've given up, their time, their energy, their lives, to come and see, and hear him, and there they are, in desperate need, and there they are, pecking away, having run all the way around, or as far as they can, around the edge of the lake, and Jesus, recognises, what they have gone through, not just how he feels, and he has had compassion, and fell, suffering, with them, so Jesus has compassion, and he goes, on the five thousand, that he then feeds, of course, it's the same crowd, that he then, says to the disciples, you know, what do you want, to give them to eat, oh we've got nothing, five bones, two fish, that's all we've got, bring me what you have, get them all, sit down, and he feeds them, that's part of this compassion, that's part of this love, for them, he has compassion, on the five thousand, he has compassion, on the leper, he has compassion, likewise, on me, and Martha, and those, who have come, to weep, with them, he feels, their sorrow, he knew, he shared, their pain, their bitter grief, and this is, what we read, that he groaned, in the spirit, and was troubled, and said, where have you laid him, said come and see Lord, and Jesus, wept, humanly speaking, he couldn't stop, the tears, from flowing, he felt, their pain, their bitter grief, because he knew, what it was like, because he is able, to think himself, into their situation, he is able, to be, part of their situation, and to feel, what they feel, why, because, we read in the prophets, prophesied hundreds of years, before Jesus,
[11:52] Isaiah 53, verse 3, he is despised, and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted, with grief, now the word, that's translated grief, literally means, disease, not in the sense of, disease, illness, but, dis-ease, discomfort, grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces from, and he was despised, and we esteemed him not, surely he hath borne, our griefs, a word that we have, translated as borne, it doesn't just mean, carried down like an issue, but rather, borne away, as in taking them away, as if they had wings, and were taken completely away, they had taken away, borne our griefs, and carried our souls, yet we did esteem him, stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted, which of course he was, but he was wounded, literally pierced, for our transgressions, he was bruised, for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace, was upon him, and with his stripes, we are healed,
[12:58] Jesus is a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, he knows what it is, to suffer, and because he knows, what it is to suffer, he is able to feel, what others feel, now because, essentially then, this is what, God is like, when he comes in the flesh, this is what, God is like, so, yes, Jesus wept, in compassion, but I would suggest, it's not just, it's not just, a case of, Jesus comes down, from heaven, he sees our sorrow, he shares in our sorrow, he bears our sorrow, so that we can say, yes, he knows what we are feeling, he shares us, because, he understands, what it's like to be us, isn't that good, and that's true, it's all true, as far as it goes, but, that is almost, if you like, a kind of, man centred view, of what Jesus does, he's good, because, he comes down, from heaven, and he shares, our burden, and our pain, and our suffering, because, he knows what it's like, and that, as I say, that's true, but, ultimately remember, that everything God does, is for his glory, the universe is not, man centred, the universe, is God centred, we could be more specific, still, and say, the universe, is Christ centred, and in so far, as everything that God does, in all the universe, and all his grand work, of salvation, is Christ centred, then it is not, simply that he, comes down, a case of, him coming down, to be part of, and to be sharing, in our pain, but rather, in his doing so, he is also, bringing us, up, into himself, and sharing, in our pain, but thereby, enabling, us, in our pain, to be one, with him, in the pain, that is part, of being God, the son, that sounds, a bit complicated, but almost like,
[15:03] I don't know if I can, I can use such an illustration, okay, here's a childish one, right, when I, we watch Thunderbirds, right, and Thunderbirds, you've got all these great, big, semi-spatial, like things, and they come over, over, at the ground, and then, they've got all this suction stuff, they draw things up, into them, and so on, and they bring it, into themselves, with these great, big machines, and they've got this suction power, things that were on the ground, are drawn up, into this great machine, but then flies off, now, that's almost, you see, irreverent, using that worldly example, but it's not intended that way, rather think in terms of, Christ comes down to us, and yes, he bears our pain, and he shares our pain, but in that pain, that he shares, he draws us up, into himself, so that we become, one with him, in the pain, which God, the son, has, he has that pain, because he bears that pain, because he is paying, the price of sin, which is essentially, painful, and because this is, what God is like, and he desires, and intends, that his children, should be one, with him, should be as, he is, should have, eternal life, because, he is eternal, should be holy, because he is holy, but part of being him, is also, there is this pain, to be born, and you think, well,
[16:37] I mean, God wants us to be, having pain, that's not very nice, at all, is it? No, God knows, that in this fallen world, there will be pain, that's not God's fault, that's man's fault, he brought the sin, into the world, we brought the pain, into the world, we sinned against him, he didn't sin against us, so there is pain, in this world, regardless of, whether we take Christ, as our saviour or not, but in as much, as we do, accept and believe, in him in faith, he is able, to come to us, and to receive us, up as it were, into himself, that our pain, not only becomes, that which he bears, but we enter, into that unity, with him, and are part, of his life, his offering, his suffering, also, if we can read, in Hebrews chapter 2, verse 18, for in that he himself, hath suffered, being tempted, he is able, to succour them, that are tempted, that's fine, that's him, being our pain, but then look, in chapter 2, verse 10, for it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons, unto glory, to make the captain, of their salvation, perfect, through sufferings, it is an essential part, of who Jesus is, the suffering, that he endures, for both, he that sanctifies, and they, who are sanctified, are all, of one, for which cause, he is not ashamed, to call them brethren, we are sanctified, by Christ, through his sacrifice, through his suffering, through the pain, that he endures, are one with him, our pain, becomes part, of his pain, but his grace, becomes part, of the grace, into which we enter, through him, bearing our pain, we are brought up, into his body, as it were, into that unity, with him, which we are then, able to be part of, we become, more united, to the Lord, through that suffering, than we did before, if we are bearing it in him,
[18:45] Philippians chapter 1, verse 29, for unto you, it is given, in the behalf of Christ, not only to believe, on him, but also to suffer, for his sake, suffering, that we endure, in Christ, and because, we belong, to Christ, and this is, oh, you might think, oh yeah, but my pain, it's not exactly, the pain of a martyr, you know, I'm not being persecuted, because, I'm a Christian, I'm just suffering, whether, something bad, has happened to me, or I've lost a job, or I've got financial problems, or bereavement, or, or pay, or whatever it is, that's wrong, I can't claim, that this is especially, Christian suffering, but if we are in Christ, everything, that we do, we do, as a Christian, and everything, that we endure, and we suffer, we suffer, as a Christian, and part of, how you witness, in that suffering, is part of your witness, as a Christian, and people see, and people take note, of how you bear, that which, providence, and the Lord, has laid upon you, 1 Peter chapter 2, verse 19, for this is thankworthy, if a man, from conscience, toward God, endure grief, suffering wrongfully, for what glory is it, if when ye be buffeted, for your faults, ye shall take it patiently, but if when ye do well, and suffer for it, well there's no cause, when ye take it patiently, this is acceptable, with God, for even here unto, were ye called, because Christ, also suffered, for us, leaving us, an example, that ye should, follow his, steps, us being gathered, up into his, oneness, us being part, of his suffering, is endurance, we become, more united, to them, through our sufferings, even if they are not, explicitly, the sufferings, of the martyr, they are that, which we endure, as being,
[20:50] Christians, who did no sin, neither was guile, found in his mouth, who when he was reviled, reviled not again, when he suffered, he threatened not, but committed himself, to him, the judge of righteously, who his own self, bear our sins, in his own body, on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live, unto righteousness, by whose stripes, you were healed, for you were sheep, going astray, but are now returned, unto the shepherd, and bishop, of your souls, now if we haven't, been Christians, in the past, and then we become, Christians, I say, well how am I returning, I'm not returning, I was never, in Christ before, so yes I'm finding, maybe I'm coming, I'm not returning, we are returning, in the sense, that this is where, we were always, meant to be, this world, and its fallen condition, is not your home, this separated state, from Christ, is not your origin, it's rather, we are like, orphaned children, who never knew, our real parents, or our real home, and were raised, perhaps with the best, intentions, and the best, conditions possible, by complete strangers, who maybe loved us, and looked after us, and so on, maybe we didn't realise, that we weren't, our biological children, but then the truth, became real to us, and what do we do, we seek out, those who were our true, biological parents, perhaps, because,
[22:15] I can't, I'm not returning, I've never lived there, no, but there is a sense, in which, that is your origin, that is your true beginning, you are going back, to where you begin, you are going back, to your true origin, your true identity, when you come, to the Lord, you are returning, to the shepherd, and bishop, of your souls, and then we read, in this verse, in Colossians, chapter 1, verse 24, Paul speaks, about being a minister, of Christ, I, who now rejoice, in my sufferings, for you, and fill up, that which is behind, of the afflictions, of Christ, in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is the church, you think, wow, change, come on, surely you're not saying, Christ's sufferings, weren't sufficient, on the cross, there's still more, to be suffered, no, this is not what he says, fill up that which is behind, yet to be fulfilled, of the afflictions, of Christ, in my flesh, for his body's sake, not the body, that was crucified, on the cross, but his body's sake, which is the church, in the sense, that the church, is the body of Christ, every single member, of it, who is in this world, is going to encounter, suffering, at some point, and amongst all, the final number, of the elect, however many, or few it may be, each and every, single one of them, who is not yet, gathered to the Lord, in glory, and perfection, being still in this world, or yet still to be, in this world, is going to suffer, there's going to be, suffering, there's going to be pain, that is the nature, of this life, how, is that pain, that worth, how, do we, make it count, how, do we make it, not to be lost, but rather, to mean something, it becomes, something purposeful, it finds, its fulfillment, its meaning, in Christ, who suffered, for our sakes, that suffering, of the body, of Christ, has yet, to be, fulfilled, it's yet, to be, completed, and what Paul, means in this verse, is, if there's so much, suffering, to be endured, by the church, the more suffering,
[24:27] I can go through, for your sakes, the rest, that is left, for you to do, as though the suffering, is a finite entity, and if he can take, more of it to himself, that spares other people, I'm not entirely sure, about how the spiritual, mathematics, works out, but that's the sense, of what he means, the more he can suffer, the less, there will be, for them, left to suffer, because the body, of Christ, the church, has still got, afflictions, and sufferings, to go through, and that's what he means, who now rejoice, in my sufferings, for you, and fill up that, which is the height, of the afflictions, of Christ, in my flesh, for his body's sake, which is, the church, you see, this pain, that Jesus, goes through, the man of sorrows, acquainted, with grief, he has borne, our grief, and when he bears them, he doesn't just, as you say, carry them with us, he takes them away, ultimately, and of course, here in the scale of tears, we've stood and hurled, and of course, we feel the pain, that others feel,
[25:31] I'm always hesitant, to give an example, in case people think, oh yes, he's given an example, from his own personal family, here and so on, so think rather, in terms of, I'm thinking back now, to when I'm young, we've all been young, at some point, we've all been young, as teenagers, at some point, now, a loving parent, feels the pain, of their teenage son, or daughter, when they break, their heart, over somebody, that they fancy, but maybe, doesn't fancy them, back, or maybe, they go out, with them for a while, but then, they say something cruel, and it breaks up, and there are floods, of tears, crying on mum, or dad's shoulder, or whatever, the case may be, and we've all been there, and we've all, endured that, and the parent, might be patting, on the shoulder, thinking, thank goodness, they've broken off, with so and so, because I couldn't, stand them, and they may be, thinking, it's a good job, that relationship, is ending, because they were, no good for them, and that may be, what they're thinking, in their hearts, but that doesn't mean, they're sitting, they're thinking, ha, good, I'm glad it's broken, what they are feeling, is the pain, of their beloved child, because whatever, they may have thought, of the person, they will be assaulted with, they know, that this meant, a lot to their son, or daughter, they know, their heart, is breaking, and because, their heart, is breaking, their parents, heart is breaking, too, because they love them,
[26:54] Jesus, wept, not for himself, but because, he felt, the pain, of those, whom he loved, or to give you, another example, and this is going, back a little bit, of domestic history, I'm not going to embarrass, my family, by specifying, which child it is, one of our children, we take them, to preschool, little infant nursery, pre-infant child, not yet school age, first time, mixing in with, sort of other kids, at this kind of, going with mum and dad, and all the other, mums and dads, are there, and gradually, they sort of, peel off a bit, and leave them, to the helpers, and the teachers, and so on, and toys to play with, everything's fine, and then, such as, like, okay, we're off just now, we're going, and then you see, this sort of, panic beginning, to start, and the eyes, say, no, no, no, no, don't go yet, no, and then, you see, like, leave you with so and so, and keep just going, shut the door, and off you go, and then, you hear the tears, and then, you hear the howling, and oh, come back, no, mummy, please, come back, now, you have to be made of stone, to be able to walk away, from that, hearing your infant child, pleading with you, to come back, through its tears, and to come back, and be with them, and instead, where do you want to walk away, and be with them, now, you've got to be made of stone, not to be just a little bit, tearful yourself, and so, yes, you have to walk away, you get in the car, and yes, you're crying, yes, you're weeping, why are you weeping, not because, you think, ah, well, of course,
[28:32] I'm feeling the pain, but you sense the pain, that the child is going through, it is your beloved infant, suffering here, crying for you, weeping for you, of course, you're weeping too, but that doesn't mean, that you necessarily think, it's right, to go dashing, it's okay, it's okay, we're here, we're here, yes, cuddle, cuddle, right, it's okay, now, we'll play with the toys together, all day, never going to leave you, because next day, what's going to happen, and what's going to happen, then, when all the other mums and dads, you're still there, because you cannot leave your child, because you come back, when they call, and you come back the next day, and the next day, it's not going to hurt them, somewhere along the line, that pain has to be endured, it doesn't mean, it is cost free, it doesn't mean, that you don't feel it, it doesn't mean, that you aren't weeping too, but they've got to go through it, if they're going to come through it, they've got to go through it, if they're going to grow, whether it is an infant, at a preschool nursery, or whether it is a teenager, having their heart broken, for the first time, they've got to go through it, you can't do it for them, and you can't make it okay, just by running back, in answer to every little cry, and every little pleading, that pleading is sincere, it's genuine, it's heartfelt, and for a day, you may be the ultimate traitor, that left them with these strangers, where in the fruits of time, even they will come to see, that's what you have to do, one day they'll probably have to do it, for their children too, it doesn't mean, you don't feel it, it doesn't mean, you don't share their pain, so yes,
[30:21] Jesus wept, not for himself, he wept for the pain, of Martha, and Mary, and the others, who were gathered with them, who were going through, this misery, in the knowledge, that he could have prevented it, if he had been there, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died, but in this pain, as Jesus wept, he came down to us, in our grief, so that we might become, one with him, more closely united, to him, almost as it were, if we can say it reverently, part of him, more one with him, certainly in grief and sorrow, than we ever tend to be, in joy and sunshine, but if that's so, then that is our fault, of course, not his, for he desires, to be with us in joy, and in sorrow, but so often, when we have joys, and triumphs, and sorrows, we don't then think, thank you Lord, for giving us this joy, thank you Lord, for this pleasure, we just wrap up the sunshine, but when it comes to the joy, the grief, and the sorrow, and the tears, then, we need someone to turn to, someone perhaps to blame, someone to bear, our sorrow with us, and for us, that's when we know, our need, of the Lord, he wants to be with us, right there, through all of life, joys, and sorrows, and tears, and laughter, but sometimes, to our shame, it is only in the times of sorrow, that we truly turn to him, in our need, only in our grief, and heartbreak, that we may be prepared, to seek him out, and to let him in, as we sang earlier, with the children,
[32:12] Psalm 13, weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning, now who is the hint of the morning, who is the morning star, Jesus says, I Jesus have sent my angel, to test of the unto you, these things in the churches, I am the root, and the offspring of David, and the bright, and morning star, I am the one, who first sees, when the dawn is coming, I am the one, who will herald, the beginning, of a new day, that you think, will never dawn, at the moment, in the midst of your tears, Revelation 21, verse 4, of course, God shall wipe away, all tears from their eyes, and there shall be, no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be, any more pain, for the former things, are passed away, yes, Jesus, wept, and yes, you and I, have wept, many a time, the Lord knows, we have wept, and through, that same Lord, we are one, with Christ, if we are believing in him, of course, we are one, with Christ, in grief, because grief, and suffering, and sorrow, is part of who he is, and part of the burden, he came to bear, it is part of who, and what,
[33:36] God is, the pain, and the grief, that our sin brought, so our grief, and our pain, yes, we are one, with Christ, in grief, be them, one with him, in faith, be one with him, in life, the good, the bad, the ugly, the joys, and the sorrows, be one with him, throughout life, be one with him, in death, when it comes, because it will come, unless he comes back for us, so you are one with him, already in grief, be one with him, in faith, be one with him, in life, be one with him, in death, that you may be one, with him, at last, in glory, in his prayer.