Why Jesus Wept?

John 11:35 ………Jesus wept.
The shortest verse in the Bible and also this is one of the most emotive. For the only other occasion when Jesus wept, read Luke 19:41. The completeness of the Incarnation, Christ's in the middle of us, to be one with us—is collected and hard-pressed into a single subject and verb.

The severity of the sentence contains concealed theological pageantry; here is love, compassion, heartache, and anger over our state, our imperfection, our susceptibility, chiseled down to two words: Jesus wept.

Why does Jesus weep? Does he weep for the death of his friend Lazarus? Does he weep as Martha and Mary in grief? Does he weep because of his absence made him die? Does he weep because He is Jesus, who cannot have the privilege of friends before duty?He weeps for all these things and perhaps more.

Jesus wept-The transcendent conciseness of the two original words; else "shed tears" might have better expressed the variation between the word here used and that twice employed in John 11:33, but what John may be trying to imply through "weeping," and in 11:35 is Jesus tears is not a loud wail but consist of silent tears.Lord Jesus has educated us and he sets his own example, calling God Father, in prayer, and with modest reverence, yet with sanctified boldness. In front of the Lazarus tomb, He openly addresses to God, with intense eyes with silent tears and piercing voice, that these prove to us the Father had sent him as his beloved Son into the world. He could have raised Lazarus by the unvoiced application of his power and will, and the concealed working of the Spirit of life; but he did it by a thunderous call. This was an outline of the gospel call, by which dead souls are brought out of the grave of sin.

Jesus was informed that Lazarus was sick and he remained where he was for two days. When he came to Judea, Lazarus is already dead for four days and decay had begun and obviously Jesus should know this. Ask yourself this... Why Jesus did go to Judea? The answer is plain... To raise Lazarus from the grave.

So why would he weep because his friend was dead? He knows HE will raise him and he knows he has got that power….so why does he weep…….Jesus arrives at the grave site and tells them to remove the stone that cover the tomb. Decay had begun and they continue to remove the stone from the tomb and Jesus prays a short prayer. He prayed it for the same basis for what He wept... He prayed audibly to his Father in front of this mourning Jews for one reason... Because of their skepticism Jesus didn't weep because His friend was dead... He wept because nobody is there to believe that He came to raise him.

St. Joan of Arc and Word of Knowledge

Joan of arc is not educated and could neither read nor write. God intervened throughout her life even in her trials and tribulations. At the age of 13 she started hearing voices and a word of knowledge .she saw a light falling from sky and was very much frightened. After several such experiences she was totally convinced these voices are from God, and eventually the Archangel Michael revealed himself to her.

Later Saints Catherine and Margaret began speaking to her.When the Archangel Michael first spoke to the 13-year-old Joan, she was deeply changed by grace and she placed herself completely to God by a vow of virginity, both of body and spirit. Only God could have her body and inner spirit. The core of her virginity of spirit was an utter reliance on God, not on herself or her ability or on her own choices.

When she was 17 God gave Joan a command, a word of knowledge, to convince King Charles VII of France that God wanted Joan to free Orleans surrounded by the English invaders and then lead him to be crowned at Rheims. Joan entered his courtroom saw the crowd and walked directly to Charles without any fear and addressed him as her King under God. Clearly this responsiveness was a charismatic word of knowledge from the Holy Spirit through one of His agents. Later Joan was told by the Spirit to find and wear a sword buried in St. Catherine's Church.With this word of knowledge a buried sword was found and she wore it. She was informed ahead of time by the Spirit that she would be hurt by an arrow in the shoulder, and later by a wound in the thigh. She apprised others and in time she experienced both wounds in battle.

With conviction from the word of knowledge given by the Holy Ghost, she predicted at Poitiers in 1429 that the English would be driven from Orleans that the King would be consecrated in Rheims, that Paris would again belong to France, and that the Duke of Orleans would return from England - and it all happened. As she had predicted during her trial, Paris was recaptured in seven years and the English were driven out of France. Word of knowledge given to her became true. The Holy Spirit was providing her with these and other words of knowledge as well as with prophetic words.Joan was captured and imprisoned by the English on May 23, 1430. Her imprisonment was most erratic, for the Church had its own prison and separate prison for heretics. She was treated as heretic and even badly.

For seven months her imprisonment was the isolated and wicked environment that would deplete the energy and inner verve of any woman or man. But not Joan as she was given words of knowledge by the power of the Holy Spirit. Over 500 years later, Joan was canonized on April 6, 1919 by Pope Benedict XV. La pucelle was canonized a virgin.JOAN had that faith in HIS words, for she surrendered herself completely into GOD’S Hands, putting herself totally in HIS disposal. Like her, we should be faithful to God's call. We should understand that we cannot live a Christian life by our own generosity and power, but only by words of Divine Power provided by Holy Spirit.

St. Joan of Arc, please pray for us. Spirit of the Living God, fall fresh on us!