John 11:32-38
“When Mary came where Jesus was and saw him, she knelt at his feet and said to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who came with her also weeping, he was greatly disturbed in spirit and deeply moved. He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus began to weep. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man have kept this man from dying? Then Jesus, again greatly disturbed, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.” John 11:32-38 (NRSVUE)
The image of Jesus’s grief strips away the divine armor and reveals the raw, exposed humanity of Jesus. In the account of Lazarus’s death, the Greek translation suggests something far more intense than simple crying—Jesus howls in grief (John 11:33, 38). It’s beyond tears to the point of responding physically to the pain of loss. If you have ever experienced deep grief, you know this physical, animalistic response.
For the early church at the time of John’s Gospel’s writing, a group called the Docetists emerged, arguing that Jesus was entirely God—a ghostly spirit who only appeared human on earth. The problem, as the Gospel of John responds, is that if Jesus was not truly human, Jesus could not truly suffer or die like us.
John’s story of Jesus raising Lazarus is, therefore, more than a miracle. John makes a profound statement on Christ’s nature. Jesus is human. He feels grief. He is subject to the emotional and physical limits of life. Jesus’ tears and howls like us. Added to this John’s Gospel also shows Jesus in dialogue and subject to God’s will and power. John tries to balance God’s divine connection with Jesus and his lived human experience.
What does this mean for us, as followers of Jesus?
If God, in Christ, grieves like us, for us, then our primary mandate is to recognize the full humanity in one another. We are called to treat each other not as numbers, political or corporate pawns, or cattle, but as real, complex, suffering, and valuable human beings.
When we practice this radical empathy by the grace of God—when we see the potential for a howl behind every smile, and the reality of a tear in every struggle—we give profound respect and share in grief as Jesus did. Such care for one another usually brings about wholeness and healing.
Questions for Reflection:
- How do we become emotionally approachable when needed for healing?
- When was someone there for you?
Prayer:
Good and Gracious God, when we hurt you empathize. When we are lonely, you show up. When we are afraid, you are our rock. Fill us with your Holy Spirit to be a person that empathizes, shows up, and a rock for someone else. Amen.
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