John 11:33

Template:John 11:33 (WEB)

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Synopsis: In John 11:33 Jesus sees the sister of Lazarus weeping. He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. The Greek word for "deeply moved" is a powerful one. It speaks both of great emotion and of the physical expression of that emotion. Elsewhere the word is translated as “groaned” and also “being angry”. In German Bibles the verse reads "Jesus became angry in spirit and troubled."

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Contents

Translations of John 11:33

• World English Version
• Greek

Commentary

In John 11:33 Jesus sees the sister of Lazarus weeping. He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled. The Greek word for "deeply moved" is a powerful one. It speaks both of great emotion and of the physical expression of that emotion. Elsewhere the word is translated as “groaned” and also “being angry”. In German Bibles the verse reads "Jesus became angry in spirit and troubled."

But why would Jesus become angry?

Death hurts people. Death is the result of sin. Romans 6 reminds us that “the wages of sin is death”. It may be that Jesus was angry because he has a profound awareness of all the hurt that comes from sin.

But whatever the reason, it is clear that the death of Lazarus and the grief of his family and friends stirred Jesus deeply. This shows us that the God whom Jesus reveals cares deeply about us. He is not apathetic. He is sympathetic. And he shares our pain. That is part of the meaning of love. Verse 5 said that Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. 1 Corinthians says that love does not rejoice in what is wrong. If God loves us beyond human love, then He grieves and shares our pain more powerfully than any human grief or sympathy. And so we are told quite simply, “Jesus wept”.

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