Bible:John 11:33
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When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
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| John 11:33 | |
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Commentary
In John 11:33 Jesus sees the sister of Lazarus weeping. He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. The Greek word for "deeply moved" is a powerful one. It speaks both of great emotion and of the physical expression of that emotion. Elsewhere the word is translated as “groaned” and also “being angry”. In German Bibles the verse reads "Jesus became angry in spirit and troubled."
But why would Jesus become angry?
Death hurts people. Death is the result of sin. Romans 6 reminds us that “the wages of sin is death”. It may be that Jesus was angry because he has a profound awareness of all the hurt that comes from sin.
But whatever the reason, it is clear that the death of Lazarus and the grief of his family and friends stirred Jesus deeply. This shows us that the God whom Jesus reveals cares deeply about us. He is not apathetic. He is sympathetic. And he shares our pain. That is part of the meaning of love. Verse 5 said that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. 1 Corinthians says that love does not rejoice in what is wrong. If God loves us beyond human love, then He grieves and shares our pain more powerfully than any human grief or sympathy. And so we are told quite simply, “Jesus wept”.
| All Versions | |
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| Version | Text |
| Hebrew | ויהי כראות ישוע אתה בכיה וגם היהודים אשר באו אתה בכים ותזעם רוחו ויהי מרעיד׃ |
| Greek | ιησους ουν ως ειδεν αυτην κλαιουσαν και τους συνελθοντας αυτη ιουδαιους κλαιοντας ενεβριμησατο τω πνευματι και εταραξεν εαυτον |
| Latin | Jesus ergo, ut vidit eam plorantem, et Judæos, qui venerant cum ea, plorantes, infremuit spiritu, et turbavit seipsum, |
| KJV | When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, |
| WEB | When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews weeping who came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, |
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