“Jesus wept.” Why would an all-knowing God, master of life and death, who knew the temporary nature of what caused the tears (the death and life of Lazarus), weep? This question is particularly poignant if we believe that tears are a symptom of a problem, and if we are see pain as a compromise while we struggle our way to immortality.
There are two major readings of this passage and the event of our God weeping here. One is recounted by Christian Theologian Christopher R. Smith in his response to writings of Nancy Pearcey and Os Guiness:
First let me quote Pearcey more fully, relying on a citation I have found online: “Why did Jesus weep at the tomb of Lazarus even though he knew he was about to raise him from the dead? Because ‘the beautiful body was split apart.’ The text says twice that Jesus was ‘deeply moved in spirit and troubled’ (John 11:33, 38). In the original Greek, this phrase actually means furious indignation. It was used, for example, of war horses rearing up just before charging into battle. Os Guinness, formerly at L’Abri, explains that standing before the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus ‘is outraged. Why? Evil is not normal.’ The world was created good and beautiful, but now ‘he’d entered his Father’s world that had become ruined and broken. And his reaction? He was furious.’ Jesus wept at the pain and sorrow caused by the enemy invasion that had devastated his beautiful creation. Christians are never admonished to accept death as a natural part of creation.”
But Smith comes to the conclusion, including an insightful linguistic analysis of the terms, that he disagrees that God is offended by death. Instead he favors the meditation that prompted my look at this passage:
He cried. He knew Lazarus was dead before he got the news, but still, he cried. He knew Lazarus would be alive again in moments, but still, he cried. … He wept because knowing the end of the story doesn’t mean you can’t cry at the sad parts.
Death is a crucial part of mortality; on the contrary to ideas that it is offensive to God, we can understand it to be one of the sacred ordinances that belongs to this mortal existence, as unique and crucial as birth, baptism, and eternal marriage. This full line of reasoning is beautifully concluded by the 1995 remarks of a modern prophet, Russel M. Nelson:
Moreover, we can’t fully appreciate joyful reunions later without tearful separations now. The only way to take sorrow out of death is to take love out of life.
- Russel M. Nelson, April 1992 General Conference