"JESUS WEPT"

  "Jesus wept." (John 11:35 KJV)

  "He was despised and rejected - a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed." (Isaiah 53:3-5 NLT)

 You know, I shared on something once, something I had the chance to teach on from Genesis 15, which had to do with the moment that Abraham truly did believe God about him having descendants. This was a time when God was going to sign a contract with Abram, being as it was, God who signed for both of them! 

 But before God signed the contract, He showed Abram his descendants by telling him how they would be strangers in a foreign land, and how much they would suffer, being slaves for 400 years; and how they would be delivered, retuning back to the land that God would give him. This vision was burned into his heart, as his heart did break for them, and he could feel for them, knowing they were real. 

 I'm not saying that Jesus was having that kind of a moment, but this was going to be something that should have softened the hearts of many that doubted who He was; but as it would turn out, it actually made them harden their hearts, despising Him all the more! 

 This is why I believe that Jesus wept, not for the sake of death, because death was going to be defeated. Not for the sake of those that hurt, because they would soon be comforted and happy. But for the sake of those that were going to be lost, wicked men that should have known better, but despite what was more than obvious, they would all the more set out to kill Him. 

 Yes, God is angry with the wicked! All day and every day, He judges the righteous, and is angry with the wicked. But, His heart is still broken for their foolishness and rebellion! Over and over, He repeated the fate of those lost in the flood, both man and beasts, saying, "Everything that breaths through the nostrils did die!" 

 If you saw the movie, "Risen," you might recall the part where Jesus is sitting on the mountain with the Centurian, and asked him, "What are you looking for? A day without death?" And the Centurian gazed into Jesus' eyes, knowing that Jesus could see into his heart. 

 You can bet that Jesus could vividly see the punishment waiting for Him, but He could also see the punishment awaiting the wicked...

"Malicious witnesses testify against me. They accuse me of crimes I know nothing about. They repay me evil for good. I am sick with despair. Yet when they were ill, I grieved for them, but my prayers returned unanswered. I was sad, as though they were my friends or family, as if I were grieving for my own mother." (Psalm 35:11-14 NLT)