The Tears of Jesus! # 1

The Tears of Jesus! # 1

Thrice Jesus wept.
He wept at Bethany.
He wept on Olivet.
He wept in Gethsemane.

What lessons may we learn from these tears of Jesus?

We shall see. But first let us turn to another thought. Let us think of the tears of "others."

When was the first tear shed, and by whom? Was it beneath the trees of Paradise, when our first parents began to learn the misery to which disobedience had brought them?

Was it when God pronounced the curse, "Dust you are, and unto dust shall you return?"

Was it when they were driven out from the pleasant garden in which they had been placed?

Was it when Eve beheld Abel lying in his blood, and she had learned that her first-born was the murderer?

I know not when it was. But one thing I know, that ever since the day that sin entered, the tears of the children of men have been as plentiful as rain in the showery days of April. Yes, and, thank God, not seldom, like those showers, they have been fertilizing also - softening hard hearts, and preparing the way for the good seed of the kingdom.

"Behold, the babe wept," is written of the infant Moses. "The babe wept" - and still, right on through each age, infants and young men and strong men, and maidens and wives and widows, have wept too. The whole world is watered with tears! There is, perhaps, not a single dwelling or a single chamber where a tear has not fallen.

These human tears - what do they mean? They mean "sorrow" and "suffering", "pain" and "disease," "care and trouble" of every kind. For a time we goon our way, and do our work with pleasure, and enjoy God's good gifts, and escape the enemy.

But the evil day comes at last. The agony scarcely to be endured, the heart-breaking loss or disappointment, the burden of anxiety, the desolation of a bereaved home - something of this sort comes, and then the fountain of tears is opened, and we cannot but weep.

Human tears - what do they mean? They mean repentance and humiliation. They mean sorrow for sins that are past. They mean earnestness in prayer, reality and fervency in seeking help from above. The woman who was a sinner bathed the feet of Jesus with her tears as she remembered her old ways. Jacob wept and made supplication to the angel as he sought a blessing. Hannah, too, and Hezekiah both wept in prayer, and God marked their tears, and their petitions were granted.

Human tears - what do they mean? They mean zeal for God, a holy hatred of evil, a tender compassion for the perishing. Of all tears, none so blessed as these. David could say, "Rivers of waters run down my eyes, because men keep not Your law." Jeremiah could speak of his "eye trickling down" without intermission, because of the miseries of the beloved city. Ezekiel tells of God's favor towards the remnant that "wept and sighed" for the evil around (Ezekiel 9). The Apostle Paul drops a tear on his letter to the Philippians, as he refers to those who were the enemies of the Cross of Christ and whose end was destruction (Philippians 3).

And all these tears are noted by our merciful Father above!

On opening ancient tombs in Palestine, many a tear-bottle has been found, which was supposed to be a repository for the tears of the mourners, and was then placed in the tomb beside the one who was laid there. In many cases this may have been but a mere mockery of woe - but our heavenly Father does gather all the tears of His redeemed children. "You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in Your bottle. You have recorded each one in Your book!" (Psalm 56:8).

Not one tear is lost. Not one sorrow is unheeded. Not one grief is left unbefriended.

And in the tears of Jesus, has not our Father provided the antidote we need? Without Christ, without a sorrowing, suffering Redeemer - our woes would indeed be hopeless.

We cannot, and we will not believe the cruel, gloomy creed of the secularist and infidel, who would rob us of all the consolation we possess, that would make the Heaven above us as iron and brass, and only leave to us cold, frozen, despairing hearts.

Nay, we have a Saviour who has known our sorrows, and by His tears can heal every wound that sin has made. "In all their afflictions He was afflicted." He has wept with those who wept, as He rejoiced with those that did rejoice. And He is still the same. We can think of the ears He shed more than eighteen centuries ago, and know that at this hour He is the same loving and sympathizing Friend.

I have said that thrice Jesus wept. Let us consider each occasion,and learn from each to find a remedy and a consolation for the tears we shed.

1. We go to BETHANY.  We find weepers there, the sisters and the friends alike in grief, for the loss of Lazarus. But another mourner comes, even Jesus. The shortest verse in Holy Scripture tells of His marvelous love, "Jesus wept."

What a wonderful revelation of Christ's heart! It is a ladder that reaches down to every child of sorrow on earth:

"Jesus wept! That tear of sorrow
Is a legacy of love:
Yesterday, today, tomorrow,
He the same does ever prove.
Lord, when sorrows deepest lie,
Let me think of Bethany."

There is no sympathy like that of Jesus! It flows in full flood toward His believing children. Just as the rising tide rushes in and pours through every cranny and nook on the shore where admittance can be gained - so does Christ's tender loving-kindness enter the hearts of His people.

If only you desire it and humbly seek it then it is for you. Your sorrow may go deeper than that of most, there may be a specialty about it that others cannot comprehend. But Jesus knows and Jesus feels for you, and the assurance of His care and His presence will be more to you than any other source of comfort.

~George Everard~

(continued with # 2)