I am known as a “cry baby”. I cry when I am happy and I cry when I am sad. I cry when I watch certain movies and hear certain songs. I cry when someone is cruel to me or hurt my feelings. I also cry for the injustice in this world. My tears are caused by my emotions because: (1) I am human; (2) I am sensitive; and, (3) I am a child of God and Jesus wept as well. Washington Irving says, “There is a sacredness in tears. They are the mark of weakness, but of power. They are messengers of overwhelming grief and unspeakable love.”
There are also some strange conditions that will make people cry. Some people will cry when they eat certain foods. Some people have fake tears, and those are called “crocodile tears.” It is named after a legend that said crocodiles pretend to cry to trick their prey into coming closer to them.
Crying is an expression of our emotions. We cry for so many reasons. We cry when we are taking advantage of it. We cry when we laugh. We cry when we are depressed. We cry for good reasons and we cry for no reasons at all.
Nothing is as painful, then to see a loved one cry or feeling helpless. Crying could also be translated as a “groan," or “lament”.
Many Biblical heroes have cried. The Bible says that Ruth, Hannah, Esther, Mary Magdalene, Job, Joseph, David, Jonathan, Elisha, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, Paul, John, and Jesus Christ Himself, have shed some tears.
Yes, even Jesus cried. The Bible says that Jesus wept. “Jesus wept," is found in the Gospel of John, chapter 11, verse 35. This phrase is the shortest verse in the King James Version of the Bible.
The Bible records the wording, Jesus wept, three times. This verse occurs in the Book of John at the death of Lazarus. After talking to Lazarus grieving sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus was deeply troubled and moved. After asking where Lazarus had been laid, and being invited to come see, Jesus wept. He then went to the tomb and told the people to remove the stone covering it, prayed out loud to the heavenly Father and ordered Lazarus to come out.
Luke records that Jesus wept as He entered Jerusalem before His trial and death. There are two natures of Christ, the “Divinity” and the “Human”. In His humanity, Jesus wept for Lazarus; in His “divinity” he raised him from the dead.
Jesus feels sorrow, sympathy, and compassion for all of mankind. God sees our tears. He feels our pains. He knows that we shed happy tears, sad tears, and angry tears.
Crying isn’t foreign to God, because every time He sees the sins of humanity, I believe that He cries.
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