And Joseph wept when they spoke to him - Ge 50:17
Joseph cries. The word “wept” isn’t the word for sobbing, rather, its a quiet weeping. Tears just rolled down his cheeks, and his brothers didn’t get it. They thought he was holding a grudge against them. They thought he was just waiting for an opportune time to pounce on them. They thought he was angry with them. So too, we may think of our Lord Jesus as keeping a record of our failures; that He must be getting tired of us, and is exhausted by us. But we are told that, like Joseph, Jesus wept.
“If you had only been here, our brother would not have died," cried Martha and Mary...and Jesus wept (Jn 11). He knew what God would do, He knew Lazarus would come back to life, so it wasn’t for Lazarus that He wept. It was for the unbelief of Martha and Mary whom He loved. Jesus wept another time when He said, "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, I would gather you under My wing and nestle You close to My heart, but you wouldn’t let Me" (Mt 23).
If you think you’ve fumbled & stumbled so many times that the Lord must be just shaking His head in disapproval, you don’t understand the heart of our Lord. It was for the man in great need, upon the man who couldn’t handle things all that well, (the man w/ the withered hand) upon whom Jesus had great compassion (Mk 3). So too, when we are barely able to hold things together, when our hands are withered & weak; you are the very one for whom Jesus has the most compassion. "For we all stumble in many things" (Ja 3:2); Yet, Jesus says to us, "No matter how withered it might be, stretch out your hand, Grab hold of Me, Receive from Me that which I long to give you." May we all reach out together as we fast and pray this month on Tues, June 29, from 9am to 9pm. God bless you all.
-Pastor Sung
