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In our recoil from Socinianism we are apt to go too far to the other extreme. This accounts for our surprise at reading that Jesus wept. We are not surprised that Jeremiah wept, or that Paul or Peter wept. Why be surprised to hear that Jesus wept, except that we do not acknowledge His manhood? On three occasions Jesus wept. To each of these I wish to call your attention.

I. TEARS OF SYMPATHY. Three thoughts are suggested.

1. It is not sinful to weep under afflictions.

2. The mourner may always count on the sympathy of Jesus. Jesus thought not of these sisters alone. There sounded in His ears the dirge of the ocean of human misery. The weeping of Mary and Martha was but the holding of the shell to His ears. That tear of love is a legacy to every Christian.

3. When our friends are mourning we should weep with them. The truest tenderness is that which distils in tears. When the heart feels most keenly, the tongue refuses to do its bidding, but the tear expresses all. The tear is never misunderstood.

II. TEARS OF COMPASSION (Luke 19:41). He was about to enter Jerusalem over Mount of Olives. Before His vision, instead of the fair scene, He saw the legions of Rome, etc. "Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem," etc. It was baffled affection.

1. Observe the privileges which were granted the Jews and neglected. Who shall say what glory had been Jerusalem's had she heard the prophets and Jesus? All hearers of the Word have privileges and visitations.

2. Observe the sorrow of Jesus for the lost. He saw. that the chance to save was past forever. He abandoned the effort in tears.

III. TEARS OF PERSONAL SUFFERING (Hebrews 5:7). The tears Paul speaks of very probably referred to Gethsemane.

1. Think not because you suffer that you are not chosen. As Christ was made perfect in His work, through His suffering, so are we thus to be led.

2. Nor are we to think that we are not Christians because we feel weak. Tears are liquid emotion pressed from the heart. It is not murmuring in you to feel the sting of suffering. Yet the undercurrent must always be, "Thy will be done." Patience is not apathy. Rest sure of this, the prayer cable is not broken. The Gethsemane angel has gone on many a strengthening mission since that day in Gethsemane.

(W. M. Taylor, D. D.)

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KJV: Jesus wept.

WEB: Jesus wept.