Jesus Wept

The Book of Mormon, as “another witness of Jesus Christ,” blesses us in many ways. One of its greatest benefits is that it teaches us more about how God interacts with His children. In addition to clear insights on how we can learn about Him through personal revelation, the Book of Mormon also offers us further information about the characteristics of God the Father, His Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Ghost.

Joseph Smith taught: “Having a knowledge of God, we begin to know how to approach Him, and how to ask so as to receive an answer. When we understand the character of God, and know how to come to Him, He begins to unfold the heavens to us, and to tell us all about it. When we are ready to come to Him, He is ready to come to us.”

Joseph also taught that if we don’t comprehend the character of God, then we can’t comprehend ourselves. Additionally, to cement in the disciple’s mind the importance of this principle, Joseph and other early Church leaders taught in Lectures on Faith that we must possess a “correct idea of (God’s) character, perfections and attributes” if we are to “exercise faith in God unto life and salvation.” Clearly it is desirable to study the character of God.

Volumes can be written, and have been written about God. I’m sure my contribution to these volumes is insignificant, yet I feel compelled to write about a simple characteristic of the Savior as found in John 11:35: Jesus wept.

So what is the significance of this two-word verse? I probably asked myself a version of that question a dozen times as a youth. It was always a ‘go-to’ scripture for quote-unquote “memorization,” or for sharing a scripture that you liked—right up there with “And my father dwelt in a tent.” If you grew up a Mormon, and especially if you attended seminary you probably rattled that scripture off a handful of times, and perhaps even made light of it.

As a missionary in Northeast England, I found new meaning in the thought of Christ weeping as I more closely studied the Book of Mormon. In fact, a certain passage became my favorite—the scripture that taught me more than I’d ever learned before about the character of Christ.

To best appreciate this passage, think of the devastating natural disasters that have occurred in your memory, or even just the last decade or two. Mines collapsing, earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis, fires, floods. Remember for a moment some of those images that flashed across TV news programs; destruction that just cannot be comprehended without being witnessed… and even upon witnessing it you still just can’t quite grasp what is happening.

The people who lived in the Americas at the time of Christ’s death endured destruction of every imaginable kind, and then waited and toiled and wept in complete darkness for three days. Imagine, your home is destroyed, you can’t find your children or your aging parents or your spouse—you don’t know if they are alive, or if they were enveloped in a fire or flood or earthquake or mudslide. All you can do is cry out for them, for three days in total darkness, wondering if an answer will ever come.

Imagine you’ve spent three days calling out, asking everyone you encounter if they’ve seen your precious lost one. You are exhausted, hungry, disoriented, thirsting, completely drained from lamenting and weeping and hoping. Finally, daylight comes and you try to put your home and family and life back together. Your sadness and mourning dissipate as you are reunited with many whom you thought were lost.  Your "mourning (is) turned to joy, and (your) lamentations into the praise and thanksgiving of the Lord Jesus Christ" (3 Ne 10:10).

Days later, as you are gathered at the temple, the Savior appears. Jesus Christ, the resurrected Son of God, who atoned for your sins and your shortcomings and your sadnesses and your heartaches, teaches and blesses and explains and ministers to you, and prays in your behalf in ways so precious they cannot be written. Just days ago you were surrounded by darkness and death and fear and worry, and then, according to the scriptures, “no one can conceive of the joy which filled (your soul) at the time (you) heard Him pray for (you) unto the Father” (3 Ne. 17:17).

But the priceless moment was not yet over. The multitude of 2500 was kneeling with the Savior as He prayed, and in verses 19 and 20 we read that Jesus tells the people to arise. He then says, “Blessed are ye because of your faith.” Imagine! The Savior Himself praying—for you!—and then envision Him telling you that you’re blessed because of your faith! He then continues, “And now, behold my joy is full.”

We read that Jesus then wept, and took hundreds of children, “one by one, and blessed them, and prayed unto the Father for them. And when He had done this He wept again.” Finally, He tells all the adults to behold the little ones, as angels ministered to them in the closing verses of 3 Ne. chapter 17.

When I first seriously pondered those verses, imagining myself at the scene, I was probably first converted to the emotional beauty of the picture that was painted. It’s amazing to think about, isn’t it? Going from the devastation and dark to the light, and The Light, and to imagine Christ weeping for the people as He prayed for them. It made me think of the tenderness of Christ and His love for all of the children of God.

I later came to understand deeper meaning and insight into the character of Christ as revealed in these verses. In very real ways, Christ did, and does, and will yet pray for me; as He suffered for my sins, as he advocates to Heavenly Father in my name now, and as He will yet plead for me after this life, when I approach His judgment seat.

I am one of Christ’s ‘little ones,’ as are you; and He has wept, and I imagine He does weep, and will yet weep for us as we fall short and come to Him with broken hearts and contrite spirits. I imagine an infinite amount of His tears are shed for our sins, our heartaches, and our joys. In very real ways, angels minister to you and to me as they did at Christ’s command over two thousand years ago, as I believe they will thousands of years from now.

There are a handful of instances in the scriptures in which we can read of the Lord weeping, and studying each one helps us better understand the character of God. Consequently, studying these episodes helps us better comprehend ourselves, and helps us develop “faith in God unto life and salvation.” I’ll briefly lay out a few of those occasions in which we can read of the Lord weeping.

In the aforementioned John 11:35, Jesus has come to the burial site of Lazarus. We read about Christ raising Lazarus from the dead in verses 30-44. Just as importantly, we read of Christ weeping as He saw beloved friends and family and disciples grieving over Lazarus’ death. We read of His praying to the Father and of His power and humility and reverence and gratitude to the Father on our behalf. There is much to learn about the character of God in these verses!

In Moses 7:28, Enoch sees the Lord weeping over His children, and marvels, “How is it thou canst weep?” In this chapter we learn of God’s love for us as His workmanship, and as the children to whom He gave knowledge, agency, and the commandment to love each other. It seems to be the fact that His children do not love each other that truly causes God to weep. What parent can’t relate to this notion? And what can we learn from pondering God weeping over His precious children and the choices we make?

In Luke 19:41, Jesus rides triumphantly toward Jerusalem, in a sort of humble makeshift parade (at least that is how I envision it). As they approach the city, Jesus “weeps over it.” It is easy to put yourself in His shoes and find reasons to weep, isn’t it? Christ could have been weeping because the people largely rejected Him or disbelieved on Him. He could have wept because of the murder of His beloved cousin John. He could weep because of the pain and misery He saw coming—the very mission He was sent to perform.

He could have wept because of the rejection of His own family members, or the thought of being betrayed with a kiss by one of His chosen special witnesses. Jesus had every right to feel sad, and literally every single reason in the history of mankind to weep over. But what do the scriptures say He wept over? “If thou hadst known… the things which belong unto thy peace!” He wept because He could see their impending earthly and spiritual destruction. They could not see the way to eternal peace, though it dwelt among them and would soon die for them.

Think of it… Jesus Christ, who knows all things from beginning to end, who certainly knew that for many His message would fall on spiritually deaf, mocking ears, wept for those who would not listen. We can learn much of His character from pondering this passage, and the longsuffering and diligence with which He ministered in His mortal mission.

This thought is echoed in another passage in the Book of Mormon. In Jacob Chapter 5, we read the Allegory of Zenos, in which the history of mankind is represented in a parable of a vineyard. In verse 41, the Lord weeps as He looks at His vineyard, or children, and laments to His servant, “What could I have done more for my vineyard?”

What a poignant, incomparable thought. There are a couple ways to read the allegory: either the Lord of the vineyard is God the Father, and the servant is Jesus the Christ, or the Lord of the vineyard is Christ himself, and the servant is the prophet. In either case, we can learn much about the character of God. This could be the Father saying, essentially, “I gave everything I had, and did all I could, even sacrificing my beloved, only begotten Son, yet you would not listen and follow.” His glorious work and glory would not be enjoyed by all of His children.

Or, we can envision this statement from Christ himself, who gave all, whose entire mission is to bring us back to the Father, who suffered infinitely in scope and severity and humility and submissiveness, all so that we might not suffer even as He did. And the thought that in spite of that, some of His beloved younger brothers and sisters would still choose to suffer caused Him to weep.

These are the main passages I have found in my study of why and when the Lord weeps. We can also envision Him weeping in the garden, as He took upon himself all of the sins and trials of each of God’s children, collectively and individually. We read in the Gospels that even as He approached the Mount of Olives, He grew sorrowful, heavy, and was “sore amazed.” Jesus told the twelve His soul was “exceeding sorrowful, unto death.”

We read of His agony, of His praying for the bitter cup to pass, of His freely partaking of that cup, and of Him sweating great drops of blood. We can envision Him crying for us, as He felt the pains and endured the punishment that we all deserve, taken by Him because of His love for us.

I can also envision Him weeping on the cross, if He had any tears left to shed. Not simply because of the pain or humiliation of this torturous death, but as He beheld His mother, and His family, and His friends and followers. I can see Him weeping as He gave a few last words of instruction and comfort—to the thief, to His mother, to John. And I can envision Him weeping as He cried out for His Father from the cross, in those closing moments of Atonement when Father withdrew His presence from His Beloved Son.

I’m grateful for the scriptures, which teach us the character of God. I’m especially grateful for those passages that seem personalized and have greater meaning to us, as the verses in 3 Nephi 17 do for me. And I testify that not only does learning more of the character of God help us better comprehend ourselves, it helps us come closer to Him, as Joseph Smith taught us years ago.

I’m thankful for a God who loves us, who lived and died and atoned for us, who created us, who pleads for us, who carries and tries and prepares and strengthens us.

And I’m thankful for a God who weeps.