They Sure Did Cry

Even though it has been almost 25 years ago since I lived there, I still miss living in the North Carolina mountains. I particularly miss the people that I had the priviledge to know and serve in that beautiful part of the world.  One of those people is Wylene Graybeal.   She was filled with stories of the people and events of those mountain villages and towns.   One day, she told me a story about one of her school teachers who got the idea that she wanted to test the Bible knowledge of her students.  As she called the roll in class that school morning,  she asked the students to not say “here” or “present”, but to recite a Bible verse.   One student recited that passage that begins “God so loved the world…”   Another student recited the first words of Psalm 23 which say “The Lord is my shepherd…”.     When they came to Ernest, he recited John 11:35 which is known as the shortest verse in the Bible.  “Jesus wept.”     As the name of the next student was called,  he apparently had limited knowledge of the Bible for when the teacher called his name he exclaimed “He sure did.”

“Jesus wept.”    He certainly did.   While that verse in John’s gospel is perhaps best known because it is the shortest verse of the Bible,   I believe that there is much that is said in those two words.     The fact that Jesus wept shows the humanity of Jesus.  The fact that Jesus cries shows that truly he was God and man, divine and human.  I recall watching an old western on television many years ago.   Like some of the old westerns in years past, it had this underlying theme from some of the characters that native Americans were “animals” and “savages”.   There was a scene near the end of the episode where one of the native American characters is experiencing the loss of their family members.   As tears stream down the cheeks of this native American character, the hero of the western exclaims,  “You call this man an animal or savage.   No, his tears show that he is as human as you and I.      There is not a human alive who has not cried or shed tears.   The tears of Jesus show that truly he knew the fullness of the human experience.  

Jesus wept.  He sure did.   That passage also shows the truth that God weeps with us and for us.   That passage in John 11 is a part of the story of the raising of Lazarus from the dead.  As God and man, Jesus knew the “rest of the story” that in a matter of minutes Lazarus would be raised from the dead.  Yet, in that moment he cries with his friends, Mary and Martha,  knowing their sorrow over the loss of their beloved brother, Lazarus.  What comfort to know that in the midst of our grief, loss, trouble, trial, and heartache that the God we know in Christ Jesus weeps with us and for us.  May that truth bring hope and comfort for us when sadness comes our way.    Have a joy-filled week.-   Pastor Randy Wall

Prayer:   Living and loving God, we give you thanks that because Christ Jesus lived among us that you understand the full human experience.   We pray for those this day who know heartache and trouble.   Help them to know the truth that you are with them and that you understand;; through Christ our Lord.   Amen.