~ Jesus Shed Tears ~
Introduction
~ Jesus as the incarnate Son of
God was fully human. One of the many
characteristics of His humanity was His shedding tears. An important aspect of this is that it shows
His sensitivity to the human condition—you
can be assured that He is sensitive to your
sufferings.
Tears of
Sympathy ~ “Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down
at His feet, saying to Him, ‘Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not
have died.’ Therefore, when Jesus saw
her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit
and was troubled. And He said, ‘Where
have you laid him?’
They
said to Him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, ‘See how He loved him!’”
(John 11:32-36).
Tears of Sorrow ~ “Now as Jesus drew near, He saw Jerusalem and wept over it,
saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things
that make for your peace! But now they
are hidden from your eyes. For days will
come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround
you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within
you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another,
because you did not know the time of your visitation’” (Luke
19:41-44).
Tears of Suffering ~ “So also Christ did not
glorify Himself to become High Priest, but it was He who said to Him:
‘You are My
Son, today I have begotten You.’
As He also says in another place: ‘You are a priest forever
according to
the order of Melchizedek’; who, in
the days of His flesh, when He had
offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who
was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear,
though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He
suffered. And having been perfected, He
became the author of eternal salvation to all who obey Him, called by God as
High Priest ‘according to the order of Melchizedek,’ of whom we have much to
say, and hard to explain, since you have become dull of hearing” (Hebrews
5:5-11).
Conclusion
~ Jesus, the Holy Son of God, was
not ashamed to show emotion and sorrow.
We are to follow in His footsteps.
Part of the solution which He provided at Calvary is a future time when
we will no more be burdened down with sorrows and tears. “‘Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be
His people. God Himself will be with
them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former
things have passed away.’ Then He who
sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write,
for these words are true and faithful’” (Revelation 21:3a-5). “They shall neither
hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat;
for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them
to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their
eyes” (Revelation 7:16-17).
additional note: If you identified with this posting you might
enjoy a previous ALN post entitled “Why
Real Men (& Women) Cry: Resolve to
Shed Tears” (December 29,
2009).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW
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