Jesus Wept.
One of my favorite passages in the Bible is also the shortest passage in the English translation of Scripture: "Jesus wept" (John 11:35).
Here's a little background of what was going on at this point in the greatest love story of all time. Jesus had been traveling around from town to town with his best buds (AKA: the disciples), and he had been performing many miracles, such as feeding 5000 with only 5 loaves and 2 fish and healing a man who was born blind. While he was traveling, meeting people, and performing these miracles, he found out that his good friend, Lazarus, was sick. He made his way to Bethany, where Lazarus and his two sisters, Mary and Martha, lived, but by the time he arrived, they informed him that Lazarus had already died and had been buried for about four days (of course, Jesus already knew that he was dead before he had arrived). Jesus reassured them that their brother "will rise again" (John 11:23), and then they brought him to Lazarus' tomb. And when Jesus saw Mary, Martha, and the other Jews who came with them weeping over the death of Lazarus, "Jesus wept."
In this beautiful, tender moment, we see a glimpse of Christ's full humanity. He wept. He was sad. He experienced human emotion. He "ugly cried" over the death of his friend. And yet, the reason this stands out is precisely the fact that Jesus reacted in this way even though he knew that he would raise Lazarus from the dead just a short moment later. He even proclaimed it before they went to the tomb when he said, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die" (John 11:25-26).
So what does Jesus' reaction mean for us? We can often dwell on Christ's divinity, especially after we read about the many miracles, signs, and wonders he performs, but hearing that "Jesus wept" is a reminder that he was both fully divine and fully human. God chose to empty himself so that he could become human and fully understand his people, including what they go through on a daily basis: their needs, their struggles, their fears, their anxieties, their pain. This act of self-emptying and, ultimately, of love is why a relationship with Jesus is SO worth it. As we see in the passages above from the Gospel of John, Jesus empathized with his friends, and yet, his empathy does not stop with this story. Even now, he understands everything that we go through and is always walking with us through the journey of life, whether we choose to recognize his presence or not. Jesus rejoices when we rejoice, and he weeps when we weep. He is always there, walking with us through the joys and struggles of life, and we must constantly remind ourselves that HE is our resurrection.
"In his humanity, Jesus wept for Lazarus; in his divinity, he raised him from the dead."
- Pope Leo I
