I was wondering why Jesus cried when He arrived at Lazarus’ tomb? I know Lazarus was a good friend and Jesus loved him, but Jesus knew He was going to bring Lazarus back to life and He would see Lazarus in a few minutes. So why was Jesus so sad?
In what’s been called the shortest verse in the Bible, John recorded the Lord’s reaction upon seeing the tomb where Lazarus was buried. “Jesus wept” (John 11:35).
The Bible doesn’t explain this, but I think Jesus wept because He saw the terrible effect sin has had in the world manifested in the death of His close friend. Sure, He knew He was going to bring Lazarus back from he dead, but that alone wouldn’t put an end to the problem sin had created. Lazarus was only one out of the millions who had died since sin entered the world and mankind became mortal. And there would still be plenty of suffering and death ahead, including His own.
This is not how God created the world. Genesis 1:31 tells how God saw all that He had made, and it was very good. But sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all men, because all have sinned (Romans 5:12).
“Since death came through a man, the resurrection of the dead also comes through a man. For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive” (1 Cor. 15:21-22). Hallelujah!