JESUS AND GRIEF

The Gospel writers describe a Jesus who had feelings. There were times when He was angry and showed it: “He looked around at them in anger and, deeply distressed . . . ” (Mark 3:5 NIV). Jesus could also be indignant: “When Jesus saw this, he was indignant” (Mark 10:14 NIV).

There were moments when Jesus was troubled and full of sorrow: “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows” (Isa 53:4 NIV). “Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death’” (Matt 26:38 NIV). “He [Jesus] . . . began to be deeply distressed and troubled” (Mark 14:33 NIV). Jesus knew how to cry: “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it" (Luke 19:41 NIV).

Jesus experienced anguish: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44 NIV). “After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit” (John 13:21 NIV).

Jesus experienced and displayed the full range of emotions including joy, love, and compassion (Luke 10:21; Heb 12:22; John 15:10-11; 17:13; Mark 10:21; 1:40-41; Luke 7:13; Mark 1: 35-42; Matt 14:13-14).

The Bible says that Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa 53:4 KJV). He displayed the deep emotion of anguish and despair in a time of impending loss when he said, “My God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46 NIV). Jesus’ questioning and despair are one of the common faces of grief. Jesus showed grief over His beloved city Jerusalem (Matt 23:37).

Jesus grieved at the time of Lazarus’ death (John 11). In that chapter, Jesus cried and others observed “how much he loved him” (11:35-36 NIV). The passage goes on to say that Jesus was “deeply moved in spirit and troubled” (11:33, 38 NIV). In a classic commentary on the life of Christ, the author notices how Jesus felt every bit of the “pang and anguish as he said to his disciples, ‘Lazarus is dead.’”

Although Jesus was aware that he would raise Lazarus in a short while, he grieved for the pain and anguish that Mary and Martha had to experience. In human sympathy He wept for those in sorrow. He also wept for those who would plan his own death because of their unbelief and hatred for Jesus.

The intent of sharing these passages is to say that if Jesus, our model and example, can grieve and be human, then humans in this world of sin and woe can also hurt and grieve. The key is in allowing others to witness our pain and support us in our grief. Grief unsupported and unexpressed will eventually take its toll.

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By Michael Lombardo, D.Min.

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