“Jesus wept.” In my previous post on April 11, 2025, Jesus’ shedding tears at the funeral of his friend Lazarus was addressed in detail. It is the first time in Jesus’ ministry we witness Him weeping; it is not the last.
Shortly after Jesus raised Lazarus, just before He made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, Luke records in his Gospel:
But as they came closer to Jerusalem and Jesus saw the city ahead, He began to weep. ‘How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. Before long, your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not accept your opportunity for salvation.’
– Luke 19:41-44
This event precedes one of the most remarkable moments of Jesus’ life – riding into the city on a donkey (the symbol of kingship) – crowds gathering around him, worshiping, laying their cloaks as well as palm branches on the ground beneath His feet. Jesus would be ushered toward the city with a hero’s welcome; yet just before that He breaks down with impassioned sobs. Why? Why did Jesus weep so passionately at the sight of Jerusalem?
He states His lament in the passage – they did not recognize their opportunity for salvation; they did not understand Him or His message of peace. He had done all He could to move them to believe, yet they continued to reject Him. He had come so that they might be enlightened, but they chose darkness. He wanted them to have abundant life, but they chose eternal death. Ironically, those same voices now exalting, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” would soon cry out, “Crucify Him, crucify Him, His blood be on us and on our children!”
That choice is still ours to make today. We can accept Him or reject Him. I have no doubt that Jesus still weeps even now for lost cities and lost souls. What happened to Jerusalem was a precursor of that fate for every unbeliever from every epoch of time. It still breaks Jesus’ heart and brings tears of sorrow to His eyes when people reject Him because He knows the fate they bring on themselves when they do.
The third and last Scripture reference to tears streaming from the eyes of God takes place just four days later. It is Holy Thursday evening following the Last Supper, and Jesus leads His followers across the Kidron Valley to a secluded olive garden known as Gethsemane. Hidden in the shadows of the olive trees, the Garden provides Jesus with a quiet place to spend His final hours in prayer to the Father. This serene setting would become the stage upon which Jesus faced His great struggle; and we are told that He did so in tears.
In the letter to the Hebrews, we read:
Jesus prayed to God, who could save him from death. He prayed and pleaded with loud crying and tears, and he was heard because of his devotion to God.
– Hebrews 5:7
Here in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus’ humanity is on full display, clearer than ever. Jesus did not enter the Garden to escape death or to hide from it; He went there to prepare for it. That preparation meant making the most important resolution in history. As He wrestled with the decision before Him, He broke down in tears. He was about to suffer a horrible death. But as He faced His fate, He let His tears drive Him to His knees. He prayed. He prayed to His Father in heaven. He sought an answer, an alternative. Ultimately, He sought the Father and to do His will.
What do these tears teach us? When we face life’s challenges, when we struggle with our own decisions, and our faith is tested, He demonstrates that every Christian can lift his/her tear-stained face toward heaven and say, “Father,” and the God of the universe will turn His head and bend His ear to listen. Prayer is our greatest resource and our greatest solace. God does not promise us a life free from trials, trouble, or tragedy; rather, He promises that when those tragedies strike, He will be right there with us. We all experience difficulties in life. The difference is in how we deal with our struggles, how we bear our cross.
Unless you have suffered and wept, you really don’t understand what compassion is, nor can you give comfort to someone who is suffering. If you haven’t cried, you can’t dry another’s eyes. Unless you’ve walked in darkness, you can’t help wanderers find the way. Unless you’ve looked into the eyes of menacing death and felt its hot breath, you can’t help another rise from the dead and taste anew the joy of being alive.
– Takashi Nagai, A Song for Nagasaki
At the tomb, Jesus wept for a hurting family. Overlooking Jerusalem, He wept for a lost city. In the Garden, He wept for a cursed world.
His tears at the tomb were a small stream belonging to that one household. His tears for Jerusalem were a mighty river belonging to the chosen people of Israel. His tears in the Garden were a raging torrent belonging to the entire world. And He invites us to join our tears with His ocean of mercy.
So, what is the message in Jesus’ tears? How does this apply to us today? The implication is that there are times where and when humbly submitting to our trials in tears is the only appropriate response. What happens next is what sets the Christian faithful apart.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
– Matthew 5:4
Jesus cried for His friends because He loved them; He cares deeply for those who mourn and seeks to comfort them. How can we see a person in need and not feel that same compassion?
Jesus shed tears at Jerusalem because He loves the lost – calloused, hardened and unbelieving hearts – and all there is about them. We are all His children, His lost sheep. And He cared enough about us to die on the cross. How can we not care enough to tell those lost among us about the cross with its message of love.
Jesus wept at Gethsemane because He was heartbroken at the prospect of being painfully separated from the Father by taking our sins upon Himself. How then can we allow anything to come between us and our God who loves us so much that He gave His only son for the redemption of the world.
Remember His greatest commands – Love God and love one another. God must be first and foremost in our lives and we need to learn to love others the way Jesus taught us. That means it is okay to shed tears over life’s sorrows and struggles. More importantly, it means being the compassionate shoulder to cry on for others during their sorrows and struggles. We are all in this together, and as my dad often said, “No one gets out of this life alive, so it’s best to make God your friend.”
The last mention of tears in the Bible is found near the end in the book of Revelation, where we discover this wonderful promise:
And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he who sat upon the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ Also, he said, ‘Write this, for these words are trustworthy and true.’
– Revelation 21:4-5
“Jesus Wept,” and this ministry of tears shows us that:
- Sorrow and tears remind us of the judgment of God upon sin. In His mercy, He has redeemed us, and if we are right with Him, He has prepared a place for us where He will wipe away all tears, sorrow, and suffering.
- Tears help us recognize our dependence on God. Those who cannot see God in the light may find Him in their darkest hours through tears.
- Some may be too proud and think that they are in control of their own destinies until a humbling trial or tragedy comes and blurs their pride with tears; it is only then that they can begin to see Him clearly.
- Tears teach us the importance of actively demonstrating compassion toward others. As St. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 1:3-4: “Blessed be … the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.”
- When we hurt, we long to be consoled by someone who understands. Through our own trials, God has graced us with a ministry of empathy, preparing us to come alongside those who are hurting and to extend toward them the comforting presence of God.
As the Psalmist tells us:
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping, bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves with him.
– Psalm 126:5-6
So, yes, tears can be good for us, weaving together our stories of grief and joy to create one continuous narrative which came to life in the person and works of Jesus Christ, the author of our salvation.
How can we remain unmoved when hearing those words: “Jesus wept.”
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Reflection questions:
- Check out the following link about “The Tears of Jesus – A Prayerful Reflection:” https://youtu.be/Gir0BdWUaGg?si=8jKFZNXYffMcG7bj
- Reflect on this passage from St. Paul’s first letter to the Thessalonians, a common funeral service reading: “But we would not have you ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.” 1 Thessalonians 4:13 What is he telling us about grief, grieving and hope?
- Someone once told me that they thought Jesus crying made Him look weak; how would you respond to them?
Scripture References
Luke 19:41-44 Hebrews 5:7 Matthew 5:4 Revelation 21:4-5 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 Psalm 126:5-6 1 Thessalonians 4:13
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