Jesus Wept
John 11:35
“Feelings aren’t important.” “Emotions get in the way.” “Don’t trust your feelings.” “Don’t feel sad.” “Real men don’t cry.” “Just trust God.”
Have you ever heard such advice before? I suspect you have because many believers
have a serious misunderstanding about the Christian life. They think Christians should live
stoic lives and never express strong emotions. Yet, the Bible describes more than 20 different
emotions that Jesus felt. If Christ is our model of perfect spiritual and emotional maturity, then we should take a look at a few of Jesus’ emotions:
(1) Compassion: Jesus fed the multitude because they hadn’t eaten for three days and
He had “compassion on these people” (Matt. 15:32). He also healed the two blind men by the
roadside out of compassion (20:34). As a compassionate person, Jesus was profoundly moved
by the sufferings and troubles of those He encountered.
(2) Love: If compassion characterizes Jesus’ feelings toward the multitudes, then love
epitomizes His relationships with those closest to Him. When Lazarus laid dying, Martha and
Mary sent this word to Jesus: “Lord, he whom you love is sick.” Then John records, “Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus” (John 11:3-5). Jesus didn’t try to be less than human by shielding Himself from love and affection.
(3) Joy: One time, following Jesus’ prediction of His betrayal, He said, “These things
I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full” (15:11).
(4) Grief and sorrow: John 11:35 is the shortest verse in the Bible. It reveals a Savior
who could feel pain for those He loved. Jesus didn’t try, as we sometimes do in times of sorrow, to be outwardly “strong” and hide or deny His feelings. Through His tears, Jesus showed He had the strength to care enough to weep.
(5) Anger: Perhaps the best-known expression of His anger was when He drove the
moneychangers out of the temple. To those who sold doves, Jesus rebuked, “Take these things away! Do not make My Father’s house a house of merchandise!” (2:16). Like Christ, mature Christians will experience angry feelings. But those feelings must be stimulated by a love and concern for others and for righteousness, rather than by the frustration of our own desires.
(6) Peace: As Jesus prepared to leave His disciples in death, He told them, “Indeed the
hour is coming, yes, has now come, that you will be scattered, each to his own, and will leave
Me alone. And yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me. These things I have spoken to you, that in Me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world” (16:32-33).
Jesus displayed Spirit-controlled emotions freely. Take responsibility for your feelings. No one makes you feel any particular emotion—positive or negative. You choose to feel the way you feel. So, express those feelings constructively so that in every emotion, God is glorified.
By Pastor Kong Hee
March 05's Daily Devotion
