Jn 11 35 : Please : What is the reason for Jesus to weep ?

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

Here is Jn 11 35 :

35 Jesus wept.

i guess Jesus is weeping over Adam and men's fall, but not sure.
What do you think, please ?

David Lamb · Jan 31, 2026

peter2 said:
Here is Jn 11 35 :

i guess Jesus is weeping over Adam and men's fall, but not sure.
What do you think, please ?

Well, I would say that the context helps us here:

“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”” (Joh 11:33-36 NKJV)

As commentator John Gill says re verse 35:

"This shows him to be truly and really man, subject to like passions, only without sin."

Unqualified · Jan 31, 2026

I think Jesus is compassionate in other places and sees Israel so lost and dying.

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

David Lamb said:
Well, I would say that the context helps us here:

“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”” (Joh 11:33-36 NKJV)

As commentator John Gill says re verse 35:

"This shows him to be truly and really man, subject to like passions, only without sin."

Hello Mr Lamb
Thank you for your answer
I deliberately isolated this verse from its context because it seemed strange to me that even the one who raises the dead would be subject to the moral pain that death inflicts.
In the following verse, verse 36, the Jews interpret it as Jesus loving Lazarus, but that seems to me to be a human interpretation.

To explain my question, I would continue with another, more refined question:
How is it that Jesus' divine nature did not prevail over the vulnerability of his human nature, if indeed the question does not already overly influence the answer?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

Unqualified said:
I think Jesus is compassionate in other places and sees Israel so lost and dying.

Hello Unqualified, thank you
Yes, another question seems to me to contain the one in the title: Is Jesus weeping over physical death as a loss, or over spiritual death linked to the Fall?

David Lamb · Jan 31, 2026

peter2 said:
Hello Mr Lamb
Thank you for your answer
I deliberately isolated this verse from its context because it seemed strange to me that even the one who raises the dead would be subject to the moral pain that death inflicts.
In the following verse, verse 36, the Jews interpret it as Jesus loving Lazarus, but that seems to me to be a human interpretation.

To explain my question, I would continue with another, more refined question:
How is it that Jesus' divine nature did not prevail over the vulnerability of his human nature, if indeed the question does not already overly influence the answer?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Thank you for replying. I would say that Jesus was both completely human and completely divine. His divinity didn't prevent Him experiencing the emotions we all experience, including sadness when a friend dies. So His divine nature did not prevail over the vulnerability of his human nature. If it did, how could He have died on the cross?

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

David Lamb said:
Thank you for replying. I would say that Jesus was both completely human and completely divine. His divinity didn't prevent Him experiencing the emotions we all experience, including sadness when a friend dies. So His divine nature did not prevail over the vulnerability of his human nature. If it did, how could He have died on the cross?

Why not ?
But something still bothers me about your simple explanation, even though it is very plausible. However, it is not something that needs to be changed in what you have just written, but rather something that needs to be added, something that is missing. But I don't know exactly what it is. I still need to think about it.

David Lamb · Jan 31, 2026

peter2 said:
Why not ?

Because as God, in other words, as far as His divine nature is concerned, He could never die. Only by taking on a human nature could He experience death.

peter2 said:
But something still bothers me about your simple explanation, even though it is very plausible. However, it is not something that needs to be changed in what you have just written, but rather something that needs to be added, something that is missing. But I don't know exactly what it is. I still need to think about it.

Fair enough. Thanks for your further reply.

Maria Billingsley · Jan 31, 2026

peter2 said:
Here is Jn 11 35 :

i guess Jesus is weeping over Adam and men's fall, but not sure.
What do you think, please ?

Jesus Christ of Nazareth also got cold, was hungry, had no place to live, got angry , became weary, became thirsty , suffered immense pain, suffered persecution, was tempted and felt marvel , wonder and amazement. We can add weeping to the list because He was as human as we are.
Blessings

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

Maria Billingsley said:
Jesus Christ of Nazareth also got cold, was hungry, had no place to live, got angry , became weary, became thirsty , suffered immense pain, suffered persecution, was tempted and felt marvel , wonder and amazement. We can add weeping to the list because He was as human as we are.

Yes Maria
That is indeed what I am increasingly inclined to believe. In my other thread on Luke 18 too, I am increasingly inclined to see him as having human limitations.
But in the context of this thread, his human condition seems to alternate with his divine condition.
When he hears the news of Lazarus' poor health (human receptivity), his (divine) will to wait a few days before going to his bedside seems to prevail, so that his disciples may believe in the Son of God (Jn 11:15)
Then there are his tears (human side), and finally the knowledge that Lazarus has been raised from the dead (divine receptivity).
I am a little confused by these shifts between the two natures of Jesus.
Perhaps I should do as Mary did: meditate in acceptance.

Hentenza · Jan 31, 2026

peter2 said:
Hello Mr Lamb
Thank you for your answer
I deliberately isolated this verse from its context because it seemed strange to me that even the one who raises the dead would be subject to the moral pain that death inflicts.
In the following verse, verse 36, the Jews interpret it as Jesus loving Lazarus, but that seems to me to be a human interpretation.

To explain my question, I would continue with another, more refined question:
How is it that Jesus' divine nature did not prevail over the vulnerability of his human nature, if indeed the question does not already overly influence the answer?

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

Hi Peter,

Even in the mystery of the incarnation Paul gives us an idea of the human side of our Lord.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Philippians 2:3-8 (NASB2020) - Do nothing from selfishness or empt | YouVersion

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interes

bible.com

Christ weeping exemplifies His humility and His attitude towards His creation. He emptied Himself and became as man with all of the weaknesses of man except He did not sin. He experienced every need that man experienced like hunger and thirst. He truly became man.

Maria Billingsley · Jan 31, 2026

peter2 said:
I am a little confused by these shifts between the two natures of Jesus.

They are not shifts per se as both natures exist simultaneously. God came in the flesh.

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

Hentenza said:
Hi Peter,

Even in the mystery of the incarnation Paul gives us an idea of the human side of our Lord.

“Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross.”
‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭3‬-‭8‬ ‭NASB2020‬‬

Hentenza said:
Christ weeping exemplifies His humility and His attitude towards His creation. He emptied Himself and became as man with all of the weaknesses of man except He did not sin. He experienced every need that man experienced like hunger and thirst. He truly became man.

Hello Hentenza
It's a nice testimony you give here. Thank you for your enthousiasm !

I wonder if there might be some kind of misunderstanding that the Scriptures are trying to dispel in the death and resurrection of Lazarus.
Indeed, Martha confesses her faith in the resurrection on the last day, but at first she seems unable to believe in the imminent resurrection of her brother. Jesus gives her the opportunity to make her act of faith.
What I mean is that there are believers who are capable of expressing faith in the resurrection, but who deep down believe that death has the last word. This seems to be the case with Martha in her initial reaction. (1)

However, there is an evolution in her that is characteristic of another category of believers:
those who believe that Jesus is the resurrection, and who conclude that death in this world does not have the last word, even for them. (2) I fall into this second category, and even for me, probably through the effect of grace, I consider that my own death, despite the appearances it may give, will not be real.
It is a kind of dissolution of one reality (death) into another reality (resurrection).

I therefore wonder if Jesus was not weeping for the lack of faith of all those people in category (1). For indeed, if we put ourselves in perspective (1), we can probably more easily fall into temptation, because we do not believe that we have eternity ahead of us to enjoy what life has to offer.
Jesus allows us to enter category (2), where all hopes are possible : We are no longer tempted to rush to enjoy what this world has to offer, and we are less likely to sin against our fellow human beings in order to obtain what we dream of, because we have eternity to obtain it.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

peter2 · Jan 31, 2026

Maria Billingsley said:
We can add weeping to the list because He was as human as we are.

i agree with all you said, Maria, except the quotation above, about which i wonder whether the Jesus' weeping is not linked to difficulty some have to genuinely believe in eternal life, as i wrote to Hentenza.

Latest added :
So that i think Jesus belonged to the (2)* category of believers, or of humans.

* : see (2) on my post to Hentenza, please

Ivan Hlavanda · Feb 1, 2026

peter2 said:
Here is Jn 11 35 :

i guess Jesus is weeping over Adam and men's fall, but not sure.
What do you think, please ?

When God created the world and us in it, it was a perfect design, without sin, without death. God did not create us to die, it was never His intention. But we chose to disobey knowing we would die.

I think Jesus was weeping over that fact that people die, which was never meant to be

peter2 · Feb 1, 2026

Ivan Hlavanda said:
When God created the world and us in it, it was a perfect design, without sin, without death. God did not create us to die, it was never His intention. But we chose to disobey knowing we would die.

I think Jesus was weeping over that fact that people die, which was never meant to be

Thank you Ivan,
Yes it was my first idea too.
Then i made mysef the idea it was from the lack of faith people have and makes them condemned (see Mk 16 16), even after his resurrection (see 1, in my answer to Hentenza)
Finally i wonder whether it 's not on Judah alone he was weeping
Honestly, I don't know what to think anymore, but I doubt that he wept only for Lazarus' death, or even that it was Lazarus he wept for.

His spirit groans twice, but not with Martha, whose profession of faith is complete.
It is with Mary and the Jews who are in doubt.

With each of these groans, indeed, someone seems to doubt that death does not have the last word.
First Mary makes him groan, at the 33 verse :

32 Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.”

33 Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

Then, the Jews, at the 38 verse :

37 And some of them said, “Could not this Man, who opened the eyes of the blind, also have kept this man from dying?”

38 Then Jesus, again groaning in Himself, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.

So, since his groaning occurs whenever there is doubt, it may be because of them (the doubts) that he cries, that is, the lack of faith.

BPPLEE · Feb 1, 2026

David Lamb said:
Well, I would say that the context helps us here:

“Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”” (Joh 11:33-36 NKJV)

As commentator John Gill says re verse 35:

"This shows him to be truly and really man, subject to like passions, only without sin."

This is my favorite verse. If Jesus can cry he knows what it's like to be me

NJAmbassador · Thursday at 11:52 AM

It was the ultimate expression of empathy. Father had placed Himself in human form, and was now experiencing Person-ally as we do what humans in their flesh feel when someone they love with all their heart passes out of the realm and reach of human contact and interaction. <-Not that that is all, by any means. Father's Word, of course, is layered and multi-dimensional; I like to think of it as as a tapestry.

"Psalm 6:2 X-references to Hosea 6:1:
'Come, and let us return unto the LORD: for He hath torn, and He will heal us; He hath smitten, and He will bind us up.'
Now look at Psalm 6:2's companion verse in Hosea:
'After two days will He revive us: in the third day He will raise us up, and we shall live in His sight.' - Hos. 6:2
In John chapter 6, Jesus says FOUR times, in verses 39, 40, 44, & 54 that everyone who believes on the Son will be RAISED UP at the last day. ←In all but the 1st of those 4 verses Jesus says these exact words: 'I will raise him up at the last day'. Hosea says 'in the third day He will raise us up and we shall live in His sight'.
Here's something that might seem unrelated, but is not: in chapter 11 of John, Jesus learns that Lazarus is sick. Keep in mind that in Hosea 6 he first says God will 'heal us' and in the next verse he says God will 'raise us up'. When Jesus receives word from Lazarus' sisters, Mary & Martha, that Lazarus is sick, He says something very interesting:
'When Jesus heard that, He said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby.' - John 11:4
Now Jesus knows that Lazarus is going to die. And that He is going to raise him up. So look what happens in verse, ahem, 6:
'When He had heard therefore that he was sick, He abode two days still in the same place where He was.'
'After two days will He revive us:'
'Then after that saith He to His disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.' - John 11:7
Now Jesus did not raise Lazarus from the dead in the 3rd day after he died, because Martha tells Him in verse 39 that he had been dead 4 days already by that time. But I have no doubt that Father had Jesus stay where He was 2 days after He heard that Lazarus was sick to deliberately point to Hosea 6 and the 1st resurrection." - 8/14/22

I think ultimately, though, at its core, the root cause of Jesus' weeping was deep divine sorrow at His, the Creator's, loss of personal, intimate daily fellowship with His children that was lost at the fall of man in the garden, which was what Jesus came to restore.

"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden.
And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, WHERE ART THOU?" - Gen. 3:8-9

"Lord, if Thou hadst been here, my brother had not died." - Martha & Mary, John 11:21 & 11:32

"For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." - Mat. 18:11

The Gospel According To Daniel

Deep Gospel Messages Hidden Within Daniel's Sixth Chapter

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Blessings IN Christ

peter2 · Thursday at 4:33 PM

NJAmbassador said:
It was the ultimate expression of empathy. Father had placed Himself in human form, and was now experiencing Person-ally as we do what humans in their flesh feel when someone they love with all their heart passes out of the realm and reach of human contact and interaction.

Indeed, one might wonder whether it is not Jesus' human nature that weeps for Lazarus. That also seems possible to me.

Your comparison with Hosea is also interesting. But I am much less familiar with the Old Testament.

NJAmbassador said:
I think ultimately, though, at its core, the root cause of Jesus' weeping was deep divine sorrow at His, the Creator's, loss of personal, intimate daily fellowship with His children that was lost at the fall of man in the garden, which was what Jesus came to restore.

It converges with my own interpretation, yes, but sounds like one has to admit our God feels sorrowfully the loss of His children

I would be more inclined to believe that Jesus' expression of weeping is made possible by the incarnation of the Son of God with permeability to emotional manifestations.
And then, perhaps he is struggling with his enemy: death (?)
However, I still believe that there is a progression in the struggle within the person of Jesus: the struggle for faith, which comes with the resurrection and which would precede and follow this miracle. In the moment of weeping, Jesus would rather be gathering this faith, wherever he can find it (see his exchanges with Martha and Mary), as if it were one of the raw material for his miracle.

peter2 said:
So, since his groaning occurs whenever there is doubt, it may be because of them (the doubts) that he cries, that is, the lack of faith.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)

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