HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div

“Jesus wept!” John 11:35

I thank the Evangelist for a sentence so brief and so full.

I feel the alluring power of Christ’s tears. When my heart is overwhelmed, when my sins testify against me, when I am afraid of the frown of high and holy Heaven — here is a loving and pitiful God, standing with me where I stand, weeping with me when I weep. I should not flee from Him. I should be drawn towards Him.

I am glad, too, for the wide range of Christ’s tears. At Bethany He wept for a beloved friend’s death; and on Olivet, I remember, He wept for a great city doomed to death. He bends over me, forlorn, heartbroken, stricken, in measureless grace. I praise Him that His tenderness is both individual and universal.

And I think of the source and origin of His tears. Standing by the grave of Lazarus — He mourned for my sorrows, my desolating bereavements, the orphanhood of my life when my dear ones are snatched away. Sitting on the hillside near Jerusalem — He mourned for my sins.

And then I rejoice in the outcome of the Saviour’s tears. They did not drain the force out of His soul. They roused and quickened Him. The new life of Lazarus was the result in one case, the atoning death of the cross in the other.

• Oh, blessed tears!
• Oh, happy weeping!
• Oh, sorrow effectual and fruit-bearing!

God may my own tears may be such as these!