Short Verse, Long Message

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 John 11:35, “Jesus wept,” is the shortest verse in the Bible.

And Esther 8:9 is the longest verse, but that’s neither here nor there. (It has 78 words, in case you‘re wondering.)

This morning I read a devotional in the Upper Room about someone who said that John 11:35 was her favorite verse.

My first thought was, This is what a third-grader says to his Sunday school teacher when she asks him to memorize his favorite Bible verse. “Which is the shortest one, ma’am? Well, THAT’s my favorite!”

But this person actually preferred John 11:35 for its content, not its brevity. She said it showed how Jesus had compassion on people.

So I looked it up to see the context of this compassion.

This verse is smack in the middle of the Lazarus story. You know, the one where Jesus’ friend Lazarus is sick, Mary and Martha send for Jesus, and then Jesus dilly-dallies for a few days so that Lazarus dies before Jesus can get there. (verses 1-16)

Now we all know this story ends with Lazarus getting raised from the dead. But that isn’t until verse 44. So let’s try to get there in an orderly fashion, okay?

So, as the story goes on, Jesus arrives in Bethany (verse 17), talks to Martha (verse 21) and Mary (verse 32), and both of them say reproachfully, “Lord, if You had been here my brother would not have died.”

Obviously both of them were a little peeved at Him for not rushing over as soon as they called Him. Also both Mary and Martha are crying and wailing, very upset over their brother’s death.

And Jesus knew this. He knew how the sisters would be feeling before He even got there. Just like He already knew Lazarus was going to die, and He knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead.

But the interesting thing here is, Jesus didn’t get all la-di-da about it either. He didn’t say, “It’s okay; I already know everything will work out at the end of the story.” He didn’t yell, “Calm down people! Don’t you realize JESUS is standing here with you? What are you getting so worked up about?”

What DID He do? Okay, NOW we’re on verse 35: “Jesus wept.”

Even though he knew there was nothing to cry about, He cried, out of compassion for Mary and Martha.

Even though He understood Lazarus was going to be alive again in five minutes, He wept with His friends because they were weeping.

Even though He realized the sisters’ grief was meaningless in the grand scheme of things and completely temporary, He grieved, because their grief was so real to them in that moment.

That’s the true meaning of compassion, modeled for us by Jesus Himself.

“Jesus wept.”