Jesus wept. – John 11:35

Today’s Scripture Reading (September 23, 2014): John 11

I have a friend who is convinced that Jesus never laughed. His belief is that Jesus was a man of sorrows for the entirety of his ministry.  I disagree. I know that we don’t have a verse that says that “Jesus laughed,” but the story of Jesus life would seem to me to lead us to the idea that Jesus was emotionally well rounded. We know that Jesus wept, but I strongly suspect that he also laughed.

And part of the reason for my belief that Jesus laughed is found in this verse. Jesus didn’t weep in this part of the story without reason. He also didn’t weep because of the overall negative spiritual condition of the people in Judea and the world, and I also do not believe that he was weeping because his friend Lazarus had died. He had already made it clear to his disciples that Lazarus’ illness was not going to end in death (John 11:4). It is not that Jesus walked into Bethany not knowing what he was going to do next. The plan to heal Lazarus was already in place. And that being the case, there was no need to weep for his friend.

Yet John clearly states that Jesus wept. It is not that he had been weeping all of the time but that there had been a change in the emotional state of the teacher. He was moved to weep for only one reason - because his friends were weeping. And no amount of knowledge concerning what was about to happen in the future could offset the emotion that his friends were suffering in this moment. Martha and Mary, the sisters of Lazarus and the friends of Jesus were upset, and Jesus was sensitive to their fear and mourning and could do nothing less than join them in their sorrow.

But if he was sensitive to the sorrow of his friends, is it beyond reason that he would also be affected by their joy. My friend cannot begin to imagine a Jesus that laugh’s, but I can’t imagine a Jesus sitting around a fire with his disciples, with Peter telling the latest joke out of Jerusalem and all of the disciples laughing uncontrollably, and Jesus not being moved.

If Jesus was really created just like us, if he really is fully human, then he must possess a full range of emotions just like we do.  Yes, we know that Jesus wept. But I am sure that he also laughed. He empathised with his friends and responded to and reflected their emotions – just as any healthy human beings would.    

Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: Luke 18