What Does John 11:35 Mean?
Two renderings of the same sentence, the verses it belongs to, and what the passage is doing — so you can decide what it means rather than take someone's word for it.
"Jesus wept." John 11:35, King James Version
The same verse in modern English
"Jesus wept." John 11:35, Berean Standard Bible
What it sits inside
A verse quoted on its own is the commonest way one gets misread. Here it is with what comes immediately before and after, in the King James Version.
John 11:33 When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
John 11:34 And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see.
John 11:35 Jesus wept.
John 11:36 Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
John 11:37 And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
A conversation built on it
Before He did anything else, He grieved with the people who were grieving. That's still true now — He doesn't rush you past the missing her. He sits in it with you.
Questions people ask
What does John 11:35 mean?
In modern English (Berean Standard Bible) it reads: “Jesus wept.” The King James rendering most people know is: “Jesus wept.”
What is the context of John 11:35?
The verses immediately around it read: (John 11:33) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, (John 11:34) And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. (John 11:35) Jesus wept. (John 11:36) Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! (John 11:37) And some of them said, Could not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died?
How is John 11:35 used in a conversation about this?
Before He did anything else, He grieved with the people who were grieving. That's still true now — He doesn't rush you past the missing her. He sits in it with you.
Reading it is one thing. Saying what it stirs up is another.
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