St Mary's

Today Talk from Rev'd Julie

22nd March 2026 (John 11:1-45)

Jesus wept.

Jesus wept - because Lazarus had died.

Jesus wept - because he grieved for Lazarus, his friend.

Jesus wept - because Mary and Martha had lost their brother.

Jesus wept - because Mary and Martha grieved.

Jesus wept even though he knew what he was going to do; he knew that he was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus wept even though he knew that Mary and Martha would not have to grieve for long.

Jesus wept even though he was the one who delayed his journey so that he did not get to Bethany in time.  He had delayed his journey “for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.” 

Jesus wept even though he was the one who said to his disciples: “Lazarus is dead, and for your sake I am glad that I was not there, so that you may believe.”

Jesus wept even though he knew that the death of Lazarus would result in something good.  And he deliberately “stayed where he was two more days”, so that he could demonstrate his power by raising Lazarus from the dead.

Jesus wept even though he could use the situation to demonstrate that he is “the resurrection and the life”.  He has the power to resurrect the dead and to give life.

Jesus wept even though “the one who believes in me will live, even though they die, and whoever lives by believing in me will never die.”

Jesus wept for many reasons. 

He wept for his own personal grief for the loss of a friend and for the grief of Lazarus’ sisters.

He may have wept for the journey that he himself had to travel on the cross and that he had to face death himself. 

He may have wept because of the reasons for that journey.

He may have wept because people did not believe in him and his gospel.

Not only did Jesus weep but John tells us twice that Jesus was also “deeply moved”.   In v33 John tells us: “When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” In vs 38 John tells us: “Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb”.  It is in these two verses that we get a hint of another reason that Jesus wept.

Our English translation “deeply moved”, of the Greek word “embrimaomai”; does not do justice to the true meaning of the word.  When this word is applied to human emotion it usually involves anger.

Jesus was deeply moved when he saw Mary and the Jews with her weeping, grieving for Lazarus.  He was moved and angry because they were grieving the loss of someone they loved, because they were in pain and suffering.

Jesus was deeply moved when he came to Lazarus’ tomb.  He was moved and angry because Lazarus had to face death.

Jesus was moved and angry because his friends suffered.  He was moved and angry because death had such power.

So Jesus wept.

Jesus wept because he is “the image of the invisible God. (Col 1:15) and is “in very nature God”.

To help us understand what that means, we need to take a trip to Exodus 34.  After breaking the stone tablets on which God had written the ten commandments because of the golden calf, Moses was instructed by God to prepare two more tablets and go up to Mount Sinai where God would reveal his name to Moses.

 “And he passed in front of Moses, proclaiming, “The Lord, the Lord, ( or Yahweh, Yahweh) the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness,  maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”  (Ex 34:6-7)

In those days your name was much more than a label that people recognised you by, it was your identity, the depths of who you were.

This is what God is revealing to Moses:  not just his name but his identity, the depths of who he is, his character.

God is not just Yahweh; he is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, loving and forgiving.  This is God’s name, this is who God is.

And do you notice the first thing that God says about himself?  He says that he is compassionate.

And if Jesus is the” image of the invisible God”, and “in very nature God”, then this is who Jesus is.

Jesus is “the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.”

So Jesus is compassionate and that is why he wept.

Jesus wept because he is the compassionate God, and he was moved and angry because he is the compassionate God. God is slow to anger but he does get angry.  He is moved and angry that humanity has to die, that death has that power over us.  He is moved and angry that humanity has to suffer; whether it is grief, or pain, or physical illness, mental illness, relationship breakdown, poverty.  Any kind of suffering touches Jesus because he is the compassionate God.  So Jesus wept.

But Jesus is not just the compassionate God, looking tenderly at his people from on high.  Jesus is the incarnate God, a human being who knows suffering personally.  He is moved at any kind of suffering because he can relate to it as a fellow human being.  He stands beside us in it, he has been through it, and he suffers the same emotions as the rest of us. He feels the pain like we do, he feels the grief and he knows what it is like to die.  Not only does he feel compassion because he is compassionate; he feels compassion because he has suffered as we do, he felt pain, he felt grief and he tasted death.  He knows what suffering feels like.  So Jesus wept.

We do not have a Saviour who sits on a throne in heaven looking down on us, watching us from a distance.  We have a Saviour who sits with us, who suffers with us, who weeps with us.  When we go through any sort of suffering, Jesus has been there and done that and now he is with us as we go through it; not dispassionately watching us but walking with us through it, sitting beside us as we suffer.  Weeping with us as we weep.

We at St Mary’s are going through a tough time at the moment, trying to come to terms with Maureen’s sudden and shocking death.  We have lost a valuable and irreplaceable member of this church.  We have lost the leader and driving force behind Team St Mary’s, the one who organises Soup and Sandwich, refreshments for innumerable occasions, social events, taking care of those who are housebound or struggling, or needing help.  We have lost our PCC secretary and all that entails.  But most of all, more than anything else, we have lost a wonderful friend and sister, someone who was there for everyone, someone who genuinely cared about us.  Someone we love.  And so we weep.  And Jesus weeps with us. 

Someone asked how we get over something like this.  And the blunt answer is we don’t.  But we get through it and we get through it because Jesus wept.  He wept when Maureen died.  He wept as we all learned of her death.  He weeps with us as we try to come to terms with her loss. 

Jesus is a compassionate God, he cares and he walks with us through it, he is with us in our pain.  “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil; for you are with me; your rod and staff they comfort me.”

When we go through something difficult, something painful, there are many things that can comfort us but often the most comforting thing is to have someone with us who has been through what we have been through and knows exactly what it is like.  If someone hasn’t been through what you are going through they can be kind, helpful and comforting but they can’t really understand as they have not had your experience.  And having someone who knows what it is like, who knows how hard it is, is a huge help and comfort.

The good news is that we do have someone who understands, someone who has been through what we have been through and can not only sympathise but can empathise. Jesus is not only the compassionate God he is also a human being just like us.  The tears that Jesus cried were human tears, born out of human experience.   Jesus knows how you feel, he has been through this.  Lazarus died and Jesus wept.  Maureen died and Jesus wept.  Mary and Martha grieved and Jesus wept.  We are grieving and Jesus weeps.

Jesus wept because he is the compassionate God and the tears he cried were God’s tears.  That is why Jesus wept;  God hates that we suffer, that we die.  And because he wept, because he felt compassion, he did something about it.  He suffered and died himself, he went through what we go through because he had compassion for us.  Jesus saw death and wept, he saw grief and wept.  Even though he knew what he was going to do about it; he wept and then he put it right.

This story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead prefigures Jesus own death and resurrection.  It gives us a real example of the hope that we have, the hope that Jesus himself provided.  He shows us that death does not have the final word, that suffering does not have the final word.  All will be redeemed, put right through his own suffering and death.  Jesus wept but he knew the joy that was coming.  Jesus wept but he knew that all would be well in the end.   Jesus died to put an end to suffering and death. He rose from the dead to show us that we will get through this, there is joy on the other side, there are better things coming.

Jesus wept so that we might be comforted.  Jesus died so that we could be set free of suffering and death and grief.  Jesus rose again to give us hope, to give us the knowledge that all will be well.  The tears will stop, God will wipe the tears from our eyes. So when you are struggling, suffering, grieving, or in pain.  Remember.  Jesus wept.  Amen.