Weeping!
Jesus wept. (John 11:35 NKJV)
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it. (Luke 19:41 NKJV)
Who, in the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear. (Hebrews 5:7 NKJV)
So Peter went out and wept bitterly. (Luke 22:62 NKJV)
Our Day
We seem to live in a day of great sorrow. Death brings sorrow. Sickness and accidents bring sorrow. Broken relationships bring sorrow. The Bible speaks a lot about weeping and sorrow, but fortunately it also speaks of joy. The Psalmist says, weeping endures for the night (a picture of life in this church age when the Lord is not physically present), but joy comes in the morning (when the Lord returns). (See Psalm 30:5).
The Lord
We have three recorded times when the Lord wept. He wept over Jerusalem in Luke 19 as he approached the city on Palm Sunday. He was presenting Himself as King to the nation and while there was a crowd that would have made him King on that day, He knew that the religious leaders of the Jews were going to deliver Him into the hands of the Romans in order to crucify Him. He knew He was being rejected and He knew that because of that rejection, Titus would destroy Jerusalem in 70 A.D. He also knew that the Jews would be dispersed and persecuted. And the worst of that persecution is yet future. The Lord speaks of that future day in Matthew 24:21, “For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be.”
The Lord wept as he considered the sorrow of Mary and Martha when their brother Lazarus died. The Lord knows when we are hurting; but, sometimes, he has to let us hurt in order to help us appreciate the “afterward.” Hebrews 4:12 says, “Now no chastening seems to be joyful for the present, but painful; nevertheless, afterward it yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.” Chastening can involve all kinds of training, but the trials of life are certainly a part of God’s disciplining or training or correction. I am sure that Mary and Martha were overjoyed when Lazarus was raised from the dead. I often wonder if Lazarus was overjoyed.
The Lord wept in the Garden of Gethsemane. Most commentators think He was agonizing because of His imminent crucifixion, but I think He was praying to be delivered from this last attack by Satan. He said His soul was exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. If Satan could have gotten Him to deliver up His spirit here instead of on the cross, he could have defeated the purposes of God in providing a sacrifice for our sins. The writer of Hebrews says that the prayer of the Lord was heard or answered. He was delivered from death but not from the death of the cross. Satan wanted the Lord to take the Kingdom without going to the cross during his temptation in the wilderness, and now he makes one last attempt to keep the Savior from fulfilling His mission. But the Satanic purpose was defeated, and the Lord was strengthened by an angel for the fulfillment of His mission.
Peter
Peter wept bitterly after failing to stand in steadfast loyalty to the Lord when he was being tried before the Jewish leaders. Peter had been willing to fight in the Garden, but the Lord had rebuked Him and had healed the servant whose ear Peter cut off. I wonder if that confused Peter or maybe even offended Him. The Lord had told Peter that he would deny Him three times and Peter did, but Peter did love the Lord and wept bitterly when he realized what he had done. I wonder if any of us have ever wept bitterly over things we have done to the Lord? We like to boast of our accomplishments, but do we weep over our failures?
The Unsaved
The Lord who had compassion on Jerusalem, on Lazarus’ family, and on Peter would like to show compassion and mercy to all sinners who don’t deserve it. What will be the weeping like for those who have rejected the salvation that is offered by God through trusting His Son? God says that He desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. (See 1 Timothy 2:4). But for those who reject God’s offer of mercy, there is going to be weeping and gnashing of teeth. (See Matthew 24:51). And that weeping will never cease.
I am glad that I am saved! Joy comes in the morning!
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of March 15, 2020