Fr. Mike's Gospel Reflection for - Sunday, March 22, 2026

The shortest verse in the Bible is John 11:35: “Jesus wept.” Those two words tell us everything that we need to know about Jesus.

Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus after speaking with Lazarus’s grieving sisters, Martha and Mary, and seeing all the mourners. While weeping certainly seems like a natural reaction, Jesus knew that He had come to Bethany to raise Lazarus from the dead. He knew that in a few short minutes this weeping would turn to astonished joy, and then tearful laughter, and then worship. So, one would think that Jesus would be confident, even joyful in that storm of sorrow. But he was “greatly troubled,” and he wept. Why?

One reason is simply the deep compassion that Jesus felt for those who were suffering. To be “compassionate” means to suffer with. At this moment Jesus is suffering with his friends.  Yet, Martha pointedly tells Him that He is the cause of the suffering because He was not there to prevent Lazarus’s death.  Nonetheless, Jesus truly feels her and her sister’s pain.  He bears that pain and is overwhelmed with their sadness.  In His divine nature, He knew that He would raise Lazarus and glorify His heavenly Father.  He knew that moment would cause many more to believe in Him.  His reasons were good and merciful and glorious. But this did not mean Jesus took lightly the suffering it caused.  In his humble humanity, Jesus wept.

Jesus wept because death had consumed every human being God had created. It had taken Lazarus, and it would take him again.  Jesus was about to suffer and die to overcome the sting of death. Perhaps He wept because of the cost that He was about to pay to purchase not only Lazarus’s short-term resurrection, but his everlasting life. Jesus knew that raising Lazarus would actually cause the religious leaders to finally take action to put him to death as John points out later in the passage.  Tears of anger and longing were mixed with Jesus’s tears of grief.

As Jesus wept at Lazarus’s tomb, we can see the man that He was and the God that He is.  We see that He desires to share, and ultimately bear, our pain and suffering.  We clearly see His great love for us.

Fr. Mike