John 11:33 - Printer Friendly

ESV: When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled.

NIV: When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come along with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in spirit and troubled.

NASB: Therefore when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled,

CSB: When Jesus saw her crying, and the Jews who had come with her crying, he was deeply moved in his spirit and troubled.

NLT: 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.

KJV: When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,

NKJV: Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled.

The woman weeping is Mary, sister of Martha, and of Lazarus, who has recently died (John 11:17). "The Jews" who are present are local neighbors, possibly including some of Jesus' enemies from Jerusalem (John 11:18–19). When Martha heard Jesus had arrived, she apparently made a quiet exit and was able to speak to Jesus alone (John 11:20). Mary, on the other hand, responded to Jesus' summons with a hasty departure (John 11:31). That attracted attention and led to this much-more-public scene.

Millennia after the resurrection of Jesus, many people in the west take His humanity for granted. Ancient pagan deities were either emotionless, or unconcerned with human problems. The idea of a god who would be sympathetic to mankind was foreign to people of that era. Only Judaism, with God's frequent analogies about marriage, depicted a deity who invested real emotion in people.

Two Greek phrases are used in describing Jesus' reaction to this scene. One is enebrimēsato tō pneumati, translated as "deeply moved in His spirit." This phrase will be used again in verse 38. The implication is not entirely sorrowful: a similar phrasing describes the indignant response to Mary's anointing of Jesus with oil (Mark 14:5). In this context, Jesus isn't angry at the people for being sad—He's angered that they have something to be sad about. His "spirit" is disturbed by what's happening. As a fully-human man, Jesus understands what it means to suffer loss (Hebrews 4:15–16). He knows that this is the result of sin; that death is a consequence.

The other Greek expression used here is kai etaraxen heauton, translated as "greatly troubled." This features the same word used to describe the waters of the pool in John 5:7. It would be fair to describe Jesus' mood here as "agitated."

As this incident unfolds, Jesus will continue to express very human emotions. That compassion for mankind's suffering is a unique aspect of Judeo-Christianity.

John 11:28–37 contains the meeting between Lazarus' sister, Mary, and Jesus. Lazarus had died even before word reached Jesus that he was sick. Even so, Jesus waited until four days had passed to arrive in Bethany. Mary repeats her sister Martha's lament that Jesus could have prevented Lazarus from dying in the first place. The crowd—probably including mourners and hostile observers loyal to local religious leaders—say the same thing. Heading to the tomb, Jesus weeps: expressing sorrow for the pain of others, despite knowing that His visit here will end in Lazarus' resurrection.

Jesus has left the vicinity of Jerusalem to avoid hostile religious leaders. While gone, He receives word that a good friend, Lazarus, is sick. In fact, Lazarus has died by the time this message reaches Jesus. He purposefully waits a few days before returning to Bethany, arriving four days after Lazarus' burial. In front of Lazarus' mourning sisters—who Jesus weeps with—and an assembled crowd, Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead in a stirring and spectacular miracle. This is the seventh of John's seven ''signs'' of Jesus' divine power. In response, religious leaders coordinate in their effort to have Jesus murdered.

After giving sight to a man born blind (John 9), Jesus sparred with religious leaders on at least two occasions (John 10). After another failed arrest attempt, Jesus left the area and went out where Jerusalem's politics had little influence. In this chapter, He returns to resurrect a recently-departed friend, Lazarus. That results in a renewed commitment from Jerusalem's religious leaders to have Jesus murdered. As the crucifixion draws near, Jesus will stage His triumphal entry in chapter 12, and then begin His final teachings to the disciples.

The gospel of John was written by the disciple John, decades later than the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. The author assumes that a reader is already familiar with the content of these other works. So, John presents a different perspective, with a greater emphasis on meaning. John uses seven miracles—which he calls “signs”—in order to prove that Jesus is, in fact, God incarnate. Some of the most well-known verses in all of the Bible are found here. None is more famous than the one-sentence summary of the gospel found in John 3:16.