Reflecting on John 11:28-37“He was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.” (John 11:33)
Jesus is impacted deeply by the sorrow of His friends.
Not only did He lose a friend, He also sees His loved ones grieving.
The words used suggest deep groaning and inner turmoil and agitation.
The suffering causes Jesus to weep Himself… God with us weeping.
This is a picture of God that we do not talk about.
For centuries the church has described God as impassable.
The ‘pass’ in this word is related to passion (from Latin ‘passio’, to suffer).
It means that God does not experience emotional change in any way.
The idea was that God is not emotionally unstable, and above emotional weakness.
I get why they say this, but this is not what Jesus reveals about God.
God chooses to be revealed in a humble, weak and weeping Saviour.
God rejoices with those who rejoice, and weeps with those who weep.
However this works in the divine essence, this is how God wants us to see Him.
Because of Jesus, I believe in a God that loves deeply, and suffers with us.
If this is true, imagine God’s tears over all the suffering in the world!
PRAYER
Lord Jesus, given how much evil and misery there is in the world, and has been through history, the divine tears must always be flowing. This gives new meaning to the waters of baptism, being immersed in heaven's tears, the deep love of God struggling with us!