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Jesus Wept
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3 weeks ago we talked about God’s Idea of a Christian,
and main point of that lesson was that being a
Christian means striving to be more and more like
Jesus every day. Therefore, the things that touch our
hearts and cause us to cry ought to the same kinds of
things that would also touch the heart of Jesus and
make Him cry (what made Him weep; broke heart).
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And so this morning I want for us to look at 3 different
occasions recorded in Scripture wherein Jesus wept…
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1. John 11:1-36 Over the Death of Lazarus (begin
in v3)
Why did Jesus weep? I don’t think it was over
Lazarus' death itself; He knew He would raise him
from the dead. Jesus saw all the many friends who had
come to share in the grief over the death of Lazarus
and to be of comfort to Mary and Martha.
 And He wept because of their pain
 Jesus cared so much for people who were hurting
so deeply.
 He hurt because they hurt; He was grieved because
they were grieved.
 He wept because they wept.
And in this simple story is a powerful lesson for us
today!
 We too ought to care that much for one another.
 We ought be moved just as deeply with
compassion for our brothers and sisters who
experience grief.
 The hurt and pain that others feel ought to be felt
by us.
Romans 12:15 “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and
weep with those…”
If we are going to cry to over the same things that
made Jesus cry, then we will be people who care just
as much for our Christian brothers and sisters as Jesus
cared for the family and friends of Lazarus.
2. Luke 19:36-44 As He Approached the City of
Jerusalem

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It was a great day of rejoicing and celebration and
yet in the midst of all the festivities, Jesus wept!
People casting clothes/palm branches before the
Lord and calling out, "Blessed is the King who
comes in the name of the Lord," but in the midst of
the rejoicing, Jesus wept!

Why? Because He knew that, for the most part, all
their great, religious demonstrations were in vain
He knew of some terrible things yet to come; knew
that the very same people who were right then
calling out "Praise Him! Praise Him!" would later
that week be calling out "Crucify Him! Crucify
Him!"
He knew of the wonderful opportunity that was
before all these people, but they would overlook
that opportunity
He knew that these people would reject Him just as
they had rejected so many of God's prophets
throughout history
The Lord Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, was riding
into the city, but these people were really not ready to
receive Him. He was not what they really wanted.
They wanted a high and mighty king to establish an
earthly kingdom. Jesus did not fit what they had in
mind.
 He came into the city riding on a donkey; that's not
something a king would do
 Julius Caesar came riding into Rome in an ornate
carriage pulled by 40 elephants
 Mark Antony, not to be outdone, had his carriage
pulled by magnificent, stately lions
 Jesus entered Jerusalem riding on a borrowed
donkey, the lowliest form of transportation
But still they should have known who He was! Jesus
said, "If only you had known..." but they didn't. And
so He wept!
He wept also as He thought about the doom that was
ahead of them:
 Those people there didn't realize it, but in just a
few short years the city of Jerusalem and so many
people therein would be destroyed
 Jesus knew that in A.D. 70 (in about 40 years), a
general by the name of Titus would come into that
city with an army and leave it in ruins
 According to history, the siege upon the city lasted
for 134 days
 As the people of the city saw the Romans
approaching, a third city wall was hastily built
 On the 15th day of the siege, the Romans broke
through outer wall
 On the 24th day, they took the next wall, and
several days after that, they overtook the inner city
 On the 105th day, the temple and the lower city
were burnt
 And the last day of siege found the whole city in
flames
Many calamities had befallen the city of Jerusalem
before this time, but none to be compared with this
one!
 Not only was the destruction of the city itself so
severe, but the loss of human life was enormous
 The horrible siege took place at the time of the
Passover, so there were obviously many extra
people in the city
 Furthermore, numerous people had fled to the city
to escape the advancing Roman army (maybe not
realizing that’s where headed)
 History says that literally hundreds of thousands of
people were killed, in fact, one estimate is as high
as 1.5 million Jews that were killed in that siege
 One historian wrote that so many Jews were
crucified by the Romans that there were not
enough trees in Jerusalem upon which to hang
them all.
 It was said that the blood ran through the streets
like water runs through the gutters after a heavy
rain.
 Truly it was a horrible thing that happened
Jesus, as He rode into the city, knew all this would
happen in just a short time. But these people were
oblivious to all of this. If they had only listened to the
prophets, perhaps it would never come about. If only
they would accept Jesus, perhaps they could escape
and be spared.
But Jesus knew their hearts. He knew they were not
ready for the judgment that was before them, and so
He wept!
Hebrews 9:27, “And as it is appointed unto men once
to die, but after this the judgment.”
The final day of judgment is coming upon all of us,
and we know that there are many in this world who are
not ready! Do we truly care? Are we really concerned
about the souls of those who are lost?
If we're going to cry over the same things over which
Jesus cried, then we need to be shedding some tears on
behalf of those people who are without Christ! We
need to care enough about their souls to do something
about it! The more our hearts are touched over those
who are lost, the more we'll find the determination to
tell them about Jesus and His way of salvation. I pray
that God will help us in that.
3. Matthew 26:36-39 In the Garden of Gethsemane
Hebrews 5:7a “In the days of His flesh, He offered up
both prayers and supplications with loud crying and
tears to the One able to save Him from death.”
 Jesus wept in agony at the thought of all that lay
ahead. In this moment showed His humanity
perhaps more than at any other time
 He begged with tears that there might be a way of
escape
 He cried as He pleaded, "Let this cup pass from
Me!"
Hebrews 5:7b-8 “He was heard because of His agony,
although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the
things which He suffered.”
 That's the lesson we need to learn! Need to learn
the importance and necessity of obedience
 Jesus didn’t want to suffer on that cross, but He did
it anyway because He was an obedient Son.
 So often our humanness urges us to forsake the
way of God and follow after the easier way of the
world
 We consider the way of the cross and its demands
and we weigh that against the fun-loving way of
the world
 Jesus, through His tears, still chose the way of
obedience
 Somehow today we need to find the strength to do
the same
 Yes, as we talked about 3 weeks ago, we may find
it quite challenging to do what God wants us to do.
We may shed some tears over the difficulties of
living the Christian life, but if we’re going to be
like Jesus, we’re going to obey no matter how hard
it may be to do so.
 Jesus said, “If you love me, you’ll keep my
commandments.”
 That's what our Lord wants more than anything
else: our obedience!
Jesus wept. Are you like Jesus?
1. He cried tears of compassion out of love for others;
do you have the same compassion for others today?
2. He cried as He saw so many rejecting their
opportunity for salvation; do you care enough for
the lost to shed tears for them and to do something
about it?
3. He cried over the cross He would have to bear, but
He was obedient to the will of His Father; are you
determined to be obedient, to take up your cross
and follow after Him?