I remember sitting in Sunday school as a kid, seeing paintings of Jesus. He always looked so calm, so serene. Sometimes he was smiling gently, other times he had a look of intense focus. But he never looked broken. He never looked like he was hurting in a way that I could understand. It wasn’t until I was much older, facing my own seasons of grief, that I really dug into the question that felt almost forbidden to ask: did Jesus ever just break down and cry? The answer completely changed my faith. So, when we ask, How Many Times Did Jesus Cry in the Bible, we are not just asking for a number. We are asking about the heart of our Savior.
The Bible gives us a clear record of two times Jesus wept, and strong evidence for a third. These moments are not just historical footnotes; they are powerful windows into His humanity and His profound love for us.
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Key Takeaways
For those looking for a quick answer, here’s what you need to know about Jesus weeping in the Bible:
- He Wept from Empathy: Jesus cried at the tomb of his dear friend, Lazarus, sharing in the grief of those he loved (John 11:35).
- He Wept from Prophetic Sorrow: Jesus cried over the city of Jerusalem, mourning its future destruction and rejection of God’s peace (Luke 19:41).
- He Wept in Agony: The book of Hebrews describes Jesus offering prayers with “loud cries and tears,” most likely referring to his agonizing prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Hebrews 5:7).
- His Tears Validate Ours: Jesus’ tears show us that God understands our deepest sorrows and that grieving is a natural, human part of life, not a failure of faith.
What Happened When Jesus Wept at Lazarus’s Tomb?
The first, and most famous, instance of Jesus crying is found in what is famously the shortest verse in the entire Bible: “Jesus wept” (John 11:35). To truly grasp the weight of these two simple words, you have to understand the story surrounding them.
Setting the Scene: A Friend’s Death
Jesus had very close friends in the town of Bethany. They were a family of siblings: Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. He loved them dearly. The Bible makes a point to say this explicitly. So, when Lazarus became gravely ill, his sisters sent a message to Jesus, trusting that He would come and heal him.
But Jesus didn’t come right away. He waited. By the time He arrived in Bethany, Lazarus had been in the tomb for four days.
I’ve often tried to put myself in Mary and Martha’s shoes. Can you imagine the mix of emotions? The confusion, the hurt, the feeling of being abandoned by the one person you knew could fix everything. When Martha met Jesus on the road, she said, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” You can feel the pain in her words.
Why Did Jesus Cry if He Knew He Would Resurrect Lazarus?
This is the question that unlocks the whole scene for me. Jesus knew the ending. He knew that in a few moments, he would call Lazarus out of that tomb, alive and well. So his tears were not tears of hopelessness. He wasn’t crying because he had lost his friend.
So why the tears?
He wept because his friends were weeping. He saw Mary sobbing, and he saw the others who had come to comfort her wailing in their grief. The Bible says that when he saw this, he was “deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled” (John 11:33).
- He felt their pain. His tears were a pure act of empathy. He entered into their grief and felt it with them. He didn’t stand apart from it as a detached, all-powerful being. He got right down in the mess of human sorrow with the people He loved.
- He grieved the brokenness of the world. Death was not part of God’s original, perfect plan. It is an enemy, a consequence of sin that rips families and friendships apart. In that moment, I believe Jesus was not just crying for Lazarus, but for every funeral, every graveside, every person who would ever feel the sting of death. His tears were a lament for the entire fallen world.
This moment shows us a Savior who doesn’t just fix our problems from a distance. He feels our pain as if it were his own. His heart breaks for our heartbreaks.
Why Did Jesus Weep Over Jerusalem?
The second time we see Jesus openly weeping is a very different scene. It happened during what we now call the Triumphal Entry, just a week before his crucifixion.
Jesus was riding into Jerusalem on a donkey, and the crowds were going wild. They were laying their cloaks and palm branches on the road, shouting “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” It was a king’s welcome. It should have been a moment of pure celebration.
But as Jesus came over the hill and saw the city spread out before him, the cheers of the crowd faded into the background. He stopped, and he began to weep over Jerusalem.
What Did Jesus See That Made Him Cry?
While the people saw a moment of political victory, a messianic king arriving to overthrow Rome, Jesus saw a future filled with tragedy. His tears were not for himself, but for the people of the city he loved so deeply.
He cried because he knew they were rejecting the very thing that could bring them peace. He said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). He was offering them true, lasting peace with God, but they were looking for a military conqueror.
He then prophesied the city’s horrific destruction, which came to pass about forty years later in 70 A.D. when the Roman armies laid siege to Jerusalem, tore down the Temple, and slaughtered its inhabitants. He saw the coming days of immense suffering, and his heart broke.
Was This a Cry of Anger or Sadness?
It’s crucial to understand the nature of this weeping. This wasn’t the cry of an angry judge condemning the guilty. This was the sob of a heartbroken father. Imagine a parent watching their beloved child run headlong toward disaster, refusing to listen to any warnings. That’s the sorrow we see in Jesus here.
It was a cry of profound, prophetic love. His tears revealed God’s heart for His people: a heart that does not rejoice in judgment but longs for His children to turn to Him and be saved. This complex emotion, a mix of divine love and human sorrow, is central to understanding the character of Christ. Many theological institutions, such as Biola University’s Talbot School of Theology, have resources that delve deeply into the beautiful complexity of Jesus’s emotions and what they reveal about God.
Is There a Third Time the Bible Mentions Jesus Crying?
The two instances in John and Luke are public displays of weeping. But there is a third passage that speaks of Jesus crying in a much more private, agonizing way. It’s found in the book of Hebrews.
What Does Hebrews 5:7 Actually Say?
The verse reads: “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” (Hebrews 5:7).
This verse doesn’t give us a specific location or time. It speaks of his whole life. However, most Bible scholars and pastors connect this powerful description to one specific night in the life of Christ: his time in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Where and When Would This Have Happened?
Just hours before his arrest, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. He knew what was coming. The betrayal, the beatings, the mockery, the crucifixion. But even more than that, he knew he was about to take the full weight of the sin of the world onto his shoulders and experience separation from his Father.
The gospel accounts describe his state as one of overwhelming sorrow and distress.
- Matthew 26:38: “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death.”
- Luke 22:44: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
This was not quiet, gentle prayer. This was a struggle. An agony. He pleaded with the Father, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39).
When I read these accounts and then read Hebrews 5:7, I can’t help but see the connection. The “fervent cries and tears” of Hebrews perfectly describe the agony of Gethsemane. These weren’t the public tears of empathy or prophetic sorrow. These were the private, desperate tears of a Son facing the darkest moment in the history of the universe, yet choosing to submit to his Father’s will for the sake of our salvation.
How Does Knowing Jesus Wept Change Our Faith?
So, we’ve seen that Jesus cried. But why does it matter? Why is this so profoundly important for us as Christians today? For me, it changes everything.
He Understands Our Pain
The Bible tells us that we have a High Priest—Jesus—who can “sympathize with our weaknesses” (Hebrews 4:15). He isn’t a God who is distant and unaware of our struggles. Because he lived a fully human life, filled with human emotions, he gets it.
When you’re standing at a graveside, feeling that hollow ache of loss, you can know that Jesus has been there. He has felt that same ache. He has cried those same tears. When you feel overwhelmed by the state of the world or the suffering you see, you can know that Jesus has wept over a broken world, too. Your sorrow doesn’t shock him or push him away. He meets you in it.
Our Tears are Not a Sign of Weak Faith
I think sometimes in Christian circles, we can get the idea that if we just have enough faith, we won’t feel sad. We’re supposed to be joyful all the time. But the fact that Jesus—the perfect, sinless Son of God—wept, completely demolishes that idea.
Grief is not the opposite of faith. Sadness is not a sin. Crying is not a sign that you don’t trust God. It’s a sign that you’re human, living in a world that is not yet as it should be. Jesus gives us permission to grieve. He shows us that it’s okay to feel the full weight of our losses and to bring our honest, messy tears before God.
We Worship a God Who Feels
The God of the Bible is not the stoic, unfeeling “unmoved mover” of Greek philosophy. He is a person with a heart. A heart that loves. A heart that feels joy. And a heart that breaks.
Jesus’s tears are God’s tears. They show us that God is not indifferent to our suffering. He is personally invested. He cares deeply. Your pain matters to Him. Your tears are seen by Him. Psalm 56:8 even gives us this beautiful image: “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.”
A Savior Who Cried for You
So, how many times did Jesus cry in the Bible? The scriptures give us two, possibly three, specific accounts. But the truth these moments reveal is so much bigger than a number.
They reveal a Savior who fully entered our human experience. He didn’t shy away from the pain and sorrow of this world. He embraced it. He wept at the tomb of a friend, he wept over a city that rejected him, and he wept in agony as he faced the cross for you and for me.
The next time you feel that lump in your throat and the tears begin to well up, remember this: you are not alone. You have a Savior who knows what it’s like. He cried then, and His compassionate heart is still moved by the pain of his people today. And that is the most comforting truth I know.
Frequently Asked Questions – How Many Times Did Jesus Cry in the Bible
Does the Bible suggest Jesus might have cried at other times in His life?
While the Bible explicitly details three occasions, it is likely that Jesus cried at other times as well, such as witnessing human suffering, sickness, or grief, because His heart was always tender and compassionate towards people’s pain.
What can we learn from Jesus weeping over Jerusalem?
Jesus’ tears for Jerusalem show His compassion for lost souls and His sadness over the rejection of salvation. It encourages us to share His heart of care for others and to pray for those who do not yet know His peace.
Why did Jesus cry at Lazarus’s tomb despite knowing He would raise Lazarus from the dead?
Jesus cried because He was moved by the sorrow of His friends and felt the horror of death, which is contrary to God’s original plan. His tears reflected His love for Lazarus and His deep sorrow about the impact of sin.
What is the significance of the shortest verse in the Bible, ‘Jesus wept’?
‘Jesus wept’ is the shortest verse yet one of the most powerful, showing Jesus’ compassion and emotional connection to human grief. It highlights that God understands and shares in our sadness, providing comfort in our times of loss.
