A Love That Burns

When Jesus saw her sobbing, and the Jews who had come with her also sobbing, He was deeply moved in spirit [to the point of anger at the sorrow caused by death] and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. ‭‭John‬ ‭11.33-35‬ ‭AMP‬‬

I am always moved by how this moves Jesus. He was emotionally gripped all while knowing the end to come and simultaneously having the present power to fix and eradicate it all.

If money was no issue, would you lament over things that can be replaced or repaired? Probably not. You’d just replace it. But when something has value that touches our hearts, it takes on new meaning.

Imagine a God so great and loving that He would allow Himself to be subjected to circumstances that He is above.

Hebrews 4.15 says, “for we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses); but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.”

In John 11, Jesus is not just weeping for the moment — He is weeping for the toll and sorrow of death [by sin] upon humanity. Because He never wanted it to be that way.

True Love

Imagine the true love of your heart, and your very own creation, being harmed and mangled into ways that you never intended. That’s enough to emotionally grip any of us.

Jesus is not weeping because of His hopelessness to remediate the situation. He weeps because He loves His people (and you and I). As the definition bearer of love, He loves hard and authentically.

The context of this scripture also reveals that this weeping by Jesus is one of or mixed with emotional anger. He was not just gripped with sadness but moved with passion that moved into action.

It is this passion that He would surely remember on His way soon to the cross to end death for all (John 11.53). Jesus is the love that burns for His love.