Famous musician and composer Ludwig van Beethoven is renowned the world over. The fourth movement of his ninth symphony, Ode to Joy, is the most recognizable melody on the planet. The emotions universal to mankind able to be revealed through his musical compositions are undeniable. His fifth symphony, also universally well known, is done with only two notes and can convey the frustration and determination of a man whose life is based on music, but the music is growing dim in his failing sense of hearing. Similarly, the God and Creator of us all knows who we are and the emotions we face, and can, in two simple words, speak to us in a way that strikes to our core.
The psalmist, King David, says, “O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether. You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high; I cannot attain it” (Psalm 139:1-6).
Our Maker created us with emotions and intellect. The Bible directs us to use our intellect to tame those emotions and to not be ruled by them, but we are never directed to ignore, suppress, or try to eliminate them. They are deeply a part of us. John 11:35 tells us of an intense moment in Jesus’ life in only two simple words: “Jesus wept.” It is a glimpse at Jesus as the man He was and the emotions He was feeling. His disciples were not understanding what He was telling them, and all around Him was unbelief. Combine all this emotion inside Him already with the situation of coming to Bethany and seeing His dear friends Mary and Martha in extreme sorrow over the death of their brother Lazarus, and all the funerary things happening around Him. Finally, although Jesus knew that Lazarus would die, He also knew He would raise Lazarus from the dead. Although He knew that the raising of Lazarus would help in saving the world, the reality of the situation was that He was filled with sorrow from many aspects, and He could no longer hold back the tears.
We live in a world where men who show emotion are weak and undeserving. In being like Christ, though, we see a different story. While our emotions should not dictate our actions, to ignore them is to ignore a gift from God. Feeling sorrow, pain, joy, fear, anxiety, pride, and a plethora of other emotions is how God made each of us, men and women alike. Men and women may express them differently, but their existence is undeniable. Looking to Christ, He was not afraid to show those emotions — even the one which the world would see and perceive as weakness. When used and experienced rightly, in weakness we can find strength.
Jesus wept, and from that moment sprang forth this sentiment from His enemies: “Many of the Jews therefore, who had come with Mary and had seen what He did, believed in Him, but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So, the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council and said, ‘What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let Him go on like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and our nation” (John 11:45-48).
Jesus wept for them too and their unbelief, and in that moment of perceived weakness by the world started the sequence of ultimate power of death itself.
Lance Byers