Jesus Weeps Again . . . But Not for Himself

Considering Truths During Lent

Some Devotional Thoughts

By all rights, you'd think I'd be sharing thoughts about the Lord's Supper. After all, it is Maundy Thursday.

But I am having trouble shaking the image of Jesus crying from my mind. You may remember that it was just a few short days ahead of Palm Sunday that Jesus stood outside the grave of His friend Lazarus & wept. And now He weeps again.

Today's Scriptural Truths

      "Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Teacher, rebuke Your disciples!'
      "'I tell you,' He replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.'
      "As He approached Jerusalem and saw the city, He wept over it & said, 'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you & encircle You & hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you & the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.'"  Luke 19:39-44  

More Devotional Thoughts

I hope I'm not distracting you, because it's Maundy Thursday, but I jumped back to the Healing of Lazarus, & my scriptural meandering took me back to Palm Sunday, & now I'm reflecting on the Healing of Lazarus again. [It might help you to read the entire context of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead in John 11:1-44. You'll be glad you did.] 

Have you ever wondered why Jesus cried just moments before He raised Lazarus from the dead? After all . . . He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead! Was it because He knew that He could have gotten there in time to heal His friend? Could have spared His friends Mary & Martha from the days of grief & mourning . . . & wondering, no doubt . . . Where was Jesus?

Jesus didn't come like they assumed. He didn't come until it was too late. Or was it? Jesus wept at the entrance to the tomb, but not for Lazarus. I say He wept for the all too raw emotions experienced by those who have lost a loved one. Jesus was true man, & the fulness of His humanity was on display. He felt the grief of His good friends, even as He knew that their brother & His brief would be free from the bonds of death.

Jesus wept . . . and then His full deity was on display . . . and then a few short days later Jesus wept again. And He had every reason to weep! He knew very well, as He entered Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday . . . 

• Those cries of Hosanna would soon turn into cries of "Crucify Him! . . . 
• The disciples whom He had personally tutored for three intense years would still be arguing about who was the greatest, even as He stooped to wash their filthy feet at the Last Supper . . . [oops, forgot to warn you . . . I just jumped back to Maundy Thursday]
• One of those disciples would betray Him for the mere price of a slave . . . 
• One of those disciples would brag about his loyalty, boast of his courage, then desert him--along with all the others--& deny that he even knew His Lord & Savior!

Oh, He had more reasons to weep than that.

• He was soon to be arrested on false charges . . . 
• Tried & convicted by a kangaroo court . . . 
• Convicted on the basis of false testimony . . . 
• Stricken, smitten, & afflicted . . . 

All for what? All for who?

Jesus wept, but not for Himself . . . He wept for those who did not recognize the time of God's coming to them.

Jesus wept for sinners . . . Jesus wept for you & me.

He wept for all sinners of all times & all places . . . 

. . . And He died for all sinners of all times & all places.

Jesus, the almighty, Son of God, rode into Jerusalem on a . . . donkey? Taught in the temple . . . continued to condemn sin . . . continued to preach repentance & salvation for those who embraced Him as the true Messiah . . . the Son of God . . . 

He shared His body & blood in, with, & under the bread & wine of the first Lord's Supper on the first Maundy Thursday . . . He took His disciples to the Garden & prayed & sweat drops of blood.

Jesus wept for others . . . not for Himself.

He died for others . . . for you . . . for me . . . 

It's Maundy Thursday . . . Soon it will be Good Friday . . . Seriously? Good Friday?

Yes, Good. It's all Good because of Jesus . . . Jesus who was True Man & wept for us . . . Jesus who was True God . . . and died for us.

Today's Prayer *

O Lord, in this wondrous Sacrament You have left us a remembrance of Your passion. Grant that we may so receive the sacred mystery of Your body & blood that the fruits of Your redemption may continually be manifest in us; for You live & reign with the Father & the Holy Spirit, one God, now & forever. Amen.

* Borrowed from Treasury of Daily Prayer," (Concordia Publishing House), 2010.

Addendum

This devotion was written especially for Holy Week, 2016.