What a short verse! perhaps you will say; I can learn it all myself in two or three minutes.”
Stop a minute, dear little friend, and remember there are two ways of learning a text. One is to learn the words only; the other is to know the meaning of the words as well.
Some boys and girls learn a whole chapter every week, yet many old schoolers would have to confess they had not learned all that this little verse of two words contains. How is that? you ask. Well, we begin to wonder why Jesus wept; He who had been so kind to the widow of Nain, and had raised the ruler’s little girl to life again.
Why did Jesus weep? It was because He was so sad to see the effects of sin all around. You know that the wages of sin is death. That is why you see so many white stones in the cemeteries, with words on them to tell us whose body lies there. Here perhaps is a man’s grave, there is a little girl’s, and further on is a family group of graves. These all tell us that sin has been here, so death and the wages followed. But there are other, and worse effects of sin than the death of the body; for sin separated us from God, and for any that die with their sins unforgiven, there will be the second death which will shut them out from God forever.
How kind it was of Jesus to weep about Lazarus! and He wept for us too, because we are all born under sin. Afterward Jesus Himself died to destroy the power of him who had the power of death. Those who now rest in the work that Jesus has done, shall never die. They shall never have part in the second death. They may fall asleep in Jesus, and their bodies be put in the grave, but they shall go to be with Him.
When we read that Jesus wept, it seems to tell us more than many chapters. It tells of His heart of love, how His eyes follow us all the day long, though He is now seated in the glory, and we still are on earth.
Who could distrust such a Saviour after reading of this sympathy with those mourning for their brother? And those who have learned to trust in Him as their Saviour, how happy for them to have such a friend to go to, to tell all their troubles, whatever they may be! He says, “Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Matthew. 11:28.
ML 03/10/1946