Jesus wept in the garden knowing the enormity of sin, and He shed those tears in order that one day, if you believe in Him, He would be able to wipe away all of yours.
Scripture Focus: John 11:35; Hebrews 5:7; Revelation 21:3-4
There are only three places in Scripture where we read that Jesus weeps. One is here in John 11. One is in Luke 19 when He comes over the city of Jerusalem and weeps over their hardness of heart, their rejection, their unbelief. He's mourning over the loss of sinners.
The third is in Hebrews 5:7: "In the days of His flesh, He offered up both prayers and supplications with loud crying and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His piety."
What's this referring to? The garden of Gethsemane. Jesus loudly cried with tears over the prospect of what He would endure for sinners—bearing their shame, bearing their sin. And you know what else He bore? Your sorrows. Your grief.
Jesus wept in the garden knowing the enormity of sin, and He shed those tears in order that one day, if you believe in Him, He would be able to wipe away all of yours.
Turn to Revelation 21:2-4: "And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.'"
Isn't it amazing to you that the God of the universe gives you a promise? He's so in tune with human suffering that He says, "Hey, listen. One day I'm going to bring you home. And in that moment, all of the tears I've recorded, documented in My book, held and collected in My jar—I'm going to wipe them all away. I'm going to undo the sorrow of this world. I'm going to wipe your face. No more tears. No more death. No more crying. No more pain."
Jesus cried in the garden so that one day He would be able to wipe away all your tears. Isaiah 25:8 prophesies 700 years before Jesus: "He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord GOD will wipe tears away from all faces."
I don't know how many tears you've cried. But if you're in Christ, one day He's just going to wipe them all away. It's a precious reality, isn't it?
This world is full of sorrow. Death, grief, loss, pain—they surround us. But these aren't the final words. The final words are: "He will wipe away every tear."
1. When you think about heaven, do you think about the absence of pain and tears? How does that hope sustain you today in your present suffering?
2. Jesus wept in Gethsemane bearing the weight of your sin and sorrow. Does that reality move you? Does it change the way you see the cross?
3. Are you living with the hope of Revelation 21, or are you living as if this broken world is all there is?
Stay dialed in.