John 11:35 Analysis

The empathy that Jesus held for mankind was never so well summarized in the bible as in John 11:35. Christ’s emotions were narrated very rarely in the Gospel. For the large part of his ministry Christ spent his time teaching instead of expressing his emotions. Christians have for years come to one of three conclusions about why Jesus wept. The first was that Christ (being human) was in fact emotionally disturbed by his friend’s death. Second that Christ mourned with his friends to comfort them. Or that Christ, was disturbed by his friends lack of faith in him. The first conclusion dethrones what philosophers (namely Augustine and Plato) for years have believed about death. The second conclusion portrays Christ as sympathetic, but slow to react to his friends death. Whereas every other time Christ encountered death he was quick to take action. The third concludes that Christ chose to weep over his friends lack of faith. There is a reason that the writers of the gospels chose to mention this event. Understanding this event helps in understanding who Jesus Christ was.

Jesus rarely expressed emotion during his ministry. The times that he did become emotional he did so to get the attention of others. When Jesus became enraged over the money changers in the temple, he could have simply told them to leave. Christ chose to force them from the temple. He did so to show his great (as well as God’s) disgust over the temple being used in an irreverent manner. In Mark 3:5 Christ again showed his anger. In this example he was disgusted in the lack of pity the people held for the sick. The only other emotion expressed by Christ, in the gospel, is grief. Jesus is recorded as having expressed this emotion twice in the gospel. ...

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...for us. When he raised Lazarus from the dead, he made the mental decision to take the wrath of God for us.

Understanding this is helpful in understanding all of Christ’s life. The only other time Christ is recorded as having wept, was in the Garden of Gethsemane, where he took the cup of the wrath of God. It makes sense that he would weep again when being confronted by death, the punishment he would have to bear for his people. This helps us understand his relation ship with God. Christ cried out for the last time when he was separated from God, “my father, my father, why have you forsaken me?”. Christ never felt pain until confronted with his punishment for our sins. Christ sacrificed everything for his people. It is wonderful to understand Christ’s will in the Gospel. He conveys to us an excellent message of his love and sorrow at our sin nature.