READ: JOHN 11:1-45

John 11:35 is famous for being the shortest verse in the Bible: “Jesus wept.” We can so easily overlook just how powerful those two words are!

Throughout our lives, we all face times when we don’t understand. Times when sorrow crushes us, and injustice seems to reign. Times when we ask, “Why, God?” and maybe wonder if He’s even there.

Mary and Martha were asking those same questions as they mourned the death of their brother Lazarus. They wept and wailed, and both sisters recognized that if Jesus had only been there, He could have saved their brother. But He hadn’t been there.

Jesus knew the reason. He knew the end of the story too—He knew that Lazarus wouldn’t stay in that grave. In verse 11, as Jesus and His disciples set out for Bethany, He foretold that Lazarus would come back to life. And He knew that Lazarus’s resurrection was a foreshadowing of His own death and resurrection— and the resurrection of all His people when He returns. But still, even seeing the big picture, He felt Mary and Martha’s grief—and His own. He wept.

We have a God who loves us. He is all-knowing and all-powerful, and even as He sees the good purposes He has for the pain in our lives, He has empathy for us. Even though Jesus knows that He will return to right every wrong and put an end to death, His heart breaks with our hearts. He works all things for our good, but He doesn’t merely look on as we mourn. Jesus didn’t chuckle to Himself knowing their grief was in vain. He came alongside them and wept.

What a gift to know that our God feels our pain with us while offering hope and light in the darkness! • Hannah Ruth Johnson

• Why do you think Jesus wept, even though He knew Lazarus would come back to life?

• Can you think of a time you felt God’s presence and comfort in the midst of grief? What was that like? Consider taking a moment to bring Him any grief you’re feeling today, and imagine Jesus sitting next to you, weeping.

The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit. Psalm 34:18 (NIV)