The Human Side of Jesus, Part2

Do you know the shortest verse in the Bible? It is in John chapter 11 verse 35: "Then Jesus wept."

How about this verse, "Even though Jesus was God's son, He learned obedience from the things He suffered." Hebrews 5:8.

That blew me away when I read it! I never would've thought Jesus would have to learn anything, much less obedience! Here are some notes from my study Bible (NLT): "Jesus' human life was not a script he passively followed. It was a life He chose freely (John 10:17-18). It was a continuous process of making the will of God the Father His own."

Jesus chose this, even though He knew what it would lead to, suffering and death.

Hebrews 5:9 says, "In this way, God qualified Him as a perfect High Priest, and He became the source of eternal salvation for all those who obey Him."

So, why did Jesus weep in John 11:35? This particular time was involving the death of Lazarus. Who was Lazarus? He was referred to as Jesus' friend in John 11:3,"So the two sisters sent a message to Jesus telling Him, ' Lord, your dear friend is very sick'". Lazarus and his sisters regularly hosted Jesus in their home. But, Jesus' response to that message was, "Lazarus' sickness will not end in death. No, it happened for the glory of God so that the Son of God will receive glory in this." (John11:4) .

Jesus loved Mary and Martha but He stayed where He was for two more days. By the time Jesus went to Lazarus, he had been in his grave for four days. When Mary and Martha approached Jesus, they said to Him, "If only you had been here, Lazarus would not have died". Jesus assured them that Lazarus would rise again, but they thought He was referring to "the last day" when all the dead would rise.

John 11: 33 When Jesus saw her weeping and saw the other people wailing with her, a deep anger welled up within him, and he was deeply troubled. 34 “Where have you put him?” he asked them.

They told him, “Lord, come and see.” 35 Then Jesus wept. 36 The people who were standing nearby said, “See how much he loved him!” 37 But some said, “This man healed a blind man. Couldn’t he have kept Lazarus from dying?”

38 Jesus was still angry as he arrived at the tomb, a cave with a stone rolled across its entrance. 39 “Roll the stone aside,” Jesus told them.

But Martha, the dead man’s sister, protested, “Lord, he has been dead for four days. The smell will be terrible.”

40 Jesus responded, “Didn’t I tell you that you would see God’s glory if you believe?” 41 So they rolled the stone aside. Then Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, thank you for hearing me. 42 You always hear me, but I said it out loud for the sake of all these people standing here, so that they will believe you sent me.” 43 Then Jesus shouted, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 And the dead man came out, his hands and feet bound in graveclothes, his face wrapped in a headcloth. Jesus told them, “Unwrap him and let him go!”

In these scriptures we see many different human emotions from Jesus, compassion, indignation, sorrow, and frustration. Some of that was likely due to the fact that even though He told Lazarus' sisters that Lazarus would not die, they still had no faith in what Jesus said.

Let the children come to me

Jesus Blesses the Children

Mark 10: 13 One day some parents brought their children to Jesus so he could touch and bless them. But the disciples scolded the parents for bothering him.

14 When Jesus saw what was happening, he was angry with his disciples. He said to them, “Let the children come to me. Don’t stop them! For the Kingdom of God belongs to those who are like these children. 15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” 16 Then he took the children in his arms and placed his hands on their heads and blessed them.

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Jesus had some anger, but always for good reason.

Throughout the Gospels, He expressed anger toward the religious leaders. Here are some examples:

• Matthew 23: Jesus delivers a series of "woes" (condemnations) against the scribes and Pharisees, calling them hypocrites, blind guides, and emphasizing their superficial piety. 

• Matthew 23:13-36:

  Jesus rebukes the scribes and Pharisees, highlighting their hypocrisy and their actions that prevent people from finding salvation. 

• Matthew 21:12-17:

  Jesus overturns the tables of money changers and drives out those selling in the temple, declaring it a "den of thieves" rather than a "house of prayer". 

• John 8:39-44:

  Jesus confronts the Pharisees, calling them "children of their father the devil" because they do not believe in him. 

• Matthew 3:7:

  Jesus calls the Pharisees and Sadducees a "generation of vipers". 

• Matthew 5:21-22:

  Jesus elevates the discussion from outward behavior to the inner motivations that lead to destructive actions, revealing the serious nature of anger and its connection to murder. 

  
  

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PAIN AND BETRAYAL

Even though Jesus knew from the beginning that Judas would betray Him, He still spent a lot of time with him and loved him very much. The betrayal still hurt him. Not to mention the events Judas' betrayal would lead to .

Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

Luke 39 Then, accompanied by the disciples, Jesus left the upstairs room and went as usual to the Mount of Olives. 40 There he told them, “Pray that you will not give in to temptation.”

41 He walked away, about a stone’s throw, and knelt down and prayed, 42 “Father, if you are willing, please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet I want your will to be done, not mine.” 43 Then an angel from heaven appeared and strengthened him. 44 He prayed more fervently, and he was in such agony of spirit that his sweat fell to the ground like great drops of blood.

Can you imagine? Just pause for a minute, close your eyes and put yourself there. Imagine after being betrayed by your friend, you don't just suspect something else is coming that is far worse. The beating, humiliation, torture and a slow death! He KNOWS it's coming. But, He said, "..your will be done, not mine".

While on the cross, Jesus showed concern for His mother. JOHN 19: 25 Standing near the cross were Jesus’ mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary (the wife of Clopas), and Mary Magdalene. 26 When Jesus saw his mother standing there beside the disciple he loved [ John ], he said to her, “Dear woman, here is your son.” 27 And he said to this disciple, 'Here is your mother.' And from then on this disciple took her into his home." It is believed that Mary's husband, Joseph, was already dead at this time.

Just before Jesus died, He cried out to God because He felt the separation from Him.

Matthew 27: 46 At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Jesus was not questioning God. He was quoting the first line of Psalm 22: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?  Why are you so far away when I groan for help?

God did not actually abandon Jesus. When Jesus took our sins upon Himself, there was a temporary separation from God because God cannot be in the presence of sin.

This is probably what Jesus dreaded the most when He was praying on the Mount of Olives; because separation from God is much more painful than the physical pain He suffered.

I have not covered all the ways Jesus showed His human side. That would be a very long article! Jesus was perfect. He NEVER sinned, but He suffered immensely! And He went through all of that for us! I hope you are as grateful for that as we all should be. It's easy to forget sometimes, especially with the many struggles of life. We don't deserve what He did for us, but He did it because He loves us! If you are ever in doubt of His love, just remember the cross!

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God bless!