John 11:31-35

 

John 11:31 (KJB)

The Jews then which were with her in the house, and comforted her, when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth unto the grave to weep there.

 

As soon as Mary knew Jesus was approaching she quickly got up and left the house and went to meet Him. Those who were mourning with her in the house had thought that she was going to the grave to mourn. With the Jews in her house now following her, the secret will soon be out that Jesus was now back in Judaea. Since it had been four days since Lazarus died, he was still being mourned because the more a person is loved the longer they are mourned.

 

John 11:32 (KJB)

Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.

 

Mary had taken her sorrow to Jesus rather than to the tomb which could yield no comfort. Jesus would be able to comfort her in her time of sorrow. Mary also shows that she knew Jesus was the Messiah because she believed that Jesus could have healed Lazarus and he would not have died. Mary had also approached Jesus by falling at His feet which was a sign of deference. Mary did not approach Jesus with any attitude but as a humble disciple. How many today make foolish statements like how come God didn’t do anything to prevent it? As if God owes sinful man an explanation for His actions.

 

John 11:33 (KJB)

When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

 

He groaned - To be angry or charge sternly or be deeply moved

Troubled - Stirred up

 

Here we see a great example of the Lord’s humanity. He was moved by the grief that He saw and was moved in His spirit. The word “groaned” carries with it the meaning of “to be angry or deeply moved” and in the first definition we can say that Jesus was angered at what sin and death had done to the human race as He witnessed the death of His friend and He witnessed the sorrow of those who knew and were related to Lazarus. Jesus would not have been angry with them because they did not know at that time what was about to happen, even though He told Martha that Her brother would rise again in the resurrection but she had thought that He meant on the last day. So the groaning which Jesus felt in His spirit had troubled Him or stirred Him up to do a tremendous miracle.

 

John 11:34 (KJB)

And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.

 

Jesus then asks the question as to where did they lay his body? Instead of receiving an answer of unbelief such as “what good would it do,” they brought Him to the place of the tomb of Lazarus. They showed continued faith in the Lord and now they were soon to see their faith turn to sight.

 

John 11:35 (KJB)

Jesus wept.

 

This is the shortest verse in the Bible but it is very powerful. Wept is in the aorist tense which means Jesus may have wept for a while before He came to the tomb. This verse shows how closely Jesus commiserates with His people when they are going through sad times. (2 Cor 1:3 KJV) Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort; God is the God of all comfort. It was not beneath Jesus as a man to weep. The idea that weeping is not manly is false. Just as Jesus feels the persecution that His children face, He also feels the sadness and grief they feel. Dead religion cannot comfort, only a living God can.

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