John 11: Tears of Life, Conspiracy of Death
Tears of Life, Conspiracy of Death
John 11
Jesus wept. (John 11:35, NRSV)
So the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the council, and said, "What are we to do? This man is performing many signs. If we let him go on like this, everyone will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation." (John 11:47-48, NRSV)
But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, "You know nothing at all! You do not understand that it is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." (John 11:49-50, NRSV)
So from that day on they planned to put him to death. (John 11:53, NRSV)
1. The Most Human Face of God
Why did the author of John's Gospel choose to place Jesus' tears at the very moment when He was about to raise dead Lazarus—at the climactic moment when His most divine power would be revealed? Wouldn't the image of a transcendent Messiah riding on clouds and hurling lightning bolts have been more effective? Here we encounter the deepest mystery of the Incarnation. The author doesn't separate Jesus' divinity from His humanity; rather, he reveals the paradox where the most powerful divinity is expressed through the most vulnerable humanity.
Jesus' tears are not merely an expression of sorrow. They are tears of compassion that embrace the pain of humanity groaning in a world shattered by sin and death. Before the tragedy of death that confronts humanity severed from God, these are tears of life shed by restored humanity in perfect communion with God. In these tears, instead of a cold judge, we discover God's humanity—the most human face of God who suffers alongside us.
2. Tears That Birth Life, Fear That Summons Death
The text presents a stark contrast between Jesus' tears and the murderous conspiracy of the chief priests. What gives rise to this difference? It lies in their fundamentally different attitudes toward life and death.
Jesus weeps in the face of death's reality. These tears contain both personal grief for a beloved friend (ἐδάκρυσεν) and holy anger and anguish toward the power of death itself (ἐνεβριμήσατο). Jesus' tears are not a declaration of defeat before death, but a declaration of war to reclaim life. Thus His tears ultimately lead to the miracle of raising Lazarus. Lazarus' resurrection symbolizes the restoration of the severed relationship between God and creation—the symbol of resurrection itself.
In contrast, the religious leaders tremble with fear before the miracle of life. Their fear stems from selfishness—the concern that they might lose "our place and our nation," their religious power and vested interests. Even witnessing the work of life, they perceive it as a threat to their security. While Jesus' tears for life brought restoration and renewal, their fear over maintaining power conceived a murderous plot against the innocent. Thus love gives birth to life, while fear conceives death.
3. God's Providence Hidden Within the Most Corrupt Logic
Caiaphas' proposal starkly reveals what corrupt worldly wisdom looks like. "It is better for you to have one man die for the people than to have the whole nation destroyed." This sounds like very rational, political logic that justifies sacrificing the few for the greater good. Yet hidden within it is the callousness that reduces the dignity of one life to a mere means under the pretense of communal benefit. This is precisely where the paradox of the cross is revealed. Worldly wisdom cannot match God's wisdom.
While humans make the most cynical and violent calculations to protect their vested interests, God uses precisely that most corrupt logic to accomplish His plan of salvation. Though Caiaphas spoke these words to kill Jesus, John the editor interprets that he unknowingly prophesied that Jesus would die for all humanity. Even humanity's most evil plans ultimately become instruments fulfilling His will within God's greater providence. This is exactly why we can trust in God's hand that works all things together for good, even amid our despair and the world's contradictions.