May 30: Celebrating His Victory.
HIS COMPASSION.
Jesus wept.--John 11:35
Compassion: "A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." * I'm sure you have felt it. I have, with tears in my eyes attending a funeral, visiting someone in the hospital, or watching the news. Oh, the pain and sorrow of watching parents say goodbye to their children, or the urgency with which we want to alleviate a loved one's suffering, and the powerlessness we feel at our utter inability to change the circumstances.
But Jesus was not powerless, so why did He weep? Good question! After talking with Mary, Jesus asks where they have laid Lazarus (John 11:28-34). The next verse is the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept" (verse 35). This Greek verb is different from the verb for weep used elsewhere in this story. The others are mourning loudly; Jesus is weeping quietly (This term is used only here in the entire New Testament.) He is moved by everyone's sorrow. He knows what He is about to do, yet He is touched by the suffering of humanity. The Jews interpreted the tears of Jesus as the expression of His love (verse 36), and it was. His tender care for the mourners was evident; but this was not the only reason He cried. Jesus knew that pain was the result of sin; much suffering had been caused by God's enemy. In my favorite book (aside from the Bible), The Desire of Ages, we read that at that moment, "He saw that in the history of the world, beginning with the death of Abel, the conflict between good and evil had been unceasing. Looking down the years to come, He saw the suffering and sorrow, tears and death, that were to be the lot of men. His heart was pierced with the pain of the human family of all ages and in all lands. The woes of the sinful race were heavy upon His soul, and the fountain of His tears was broken up as He longed to relieve all their distress." ** Yes, Jesus wept for us! Jesus feels compassion and is touched by our suffering, even though He knows that soon He is going to eliminate death, sickness, and evil, once and for all (Revelation 21:4). Be encouraged! Jesus wins!
My Response:___________________________________________________________
* Dictionary.com, s,v, "compassion (n)," accessed April 12, 2019, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/compassion?s=t.
** Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1940, 517.
HIS COMPASSION.
Jesus wept.--John 11:35
Compassion: "A feeling of deep sympathy and sorrow for another who is stricken by misfortune, accompanied by a strong desire to alleviate the suffering." * I'm sure you have felt it. I have, with tears in my eyes attending a funeral, visiting someone in the hospital, or watching the news. Oh, the pain and sorrow of watching parents say goodbye to their children, or the urgency with which we want to alleviate a loved one's suffering, and the powerlessness we feel at our utter inability to change the circumstances.
But Jesus was not powerless, so why did He weep? Good question! After talking with Mary, Jesus asks where they have laid Lazarus (John 11:28-34). The next verse is the shortest verse in the Bible: "Jesus wept" (verse 35). This Greek verb is different from the verb for weep used elsewhere in this story. The others are mourning loudly; Jesus is weeping quietly (This term is used only here in the entire New Testament.) He is moved by everyone's sorrow. He knows what He is about to do, yet He is touched by the suffering of humanity. The Jews interpreted the tears of Jesus as the expression of His love (verse 36), and it was. His tender care for the mourners was evident; but this was not the only reason He cried. Jesus knew that pain was the result of sin; much suffering had been caused by God's enemy. In my favorite book (aside from the Bible), The Desire of Ages, we read that at that moment, "He saw that in the history of the world, beginning with the death of Abel, the conflict between good and evil had been unceasing. Looking down the years to come, He saw the suffering and sorrow, tears and death, that were to be the lot of men. His heart was pierced with the pain of the human family of all ages and in all lands. The woes of the sinful race were heavy upon His soul, and the fountain of His tears was broken up as He longed to relieve all their distress." ** Yes, Jesus wept for us! Jesus feels compassion and is touched by our suffering, even though He knows that soon He is going to eliminate death, sickness, and evil, once and for all (Revelation 21:4). Be encouraged! Jesus wins!
My Response:___________________________________________________________
* Dictionary.com, s,v, "compassion (n)," accessed April 12, 2019, http://www.dictionary.com/browse/compassion?s=t.
** Ellen G. White, The Desire of Ages (Mountain View, CA: Pacific Press, 1940, 517.
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