The emphasis in this pericope is on Jesus' compassion in the face of sin's consequences.
11:30-32 Mary's physical response to Jesus was more emotional that Martha's had been, perhaps reflecting her temperament. Again we find Mary at Jesus' feet (cf. Luke 10:39). Her words were identical to Martha's (v. 21). She met Jesus in a public place whereas Martha had talked with Him privately. This probably accounts in part for Jesus' different responses to the two women.
"Mary is found three times in the Gospel record, and each time she is at the feet of Jesus (Luke 10:39; John 11:32; 12:3). She sat at His feet and listened to His word; she fell at His feet and poured out her sorrow; and she came to His feet to given Him her praise and worship. Mary's only recorded words in the Gospels are given in John 11:32, and they echo what Martha had already said (John 11:21)."388
11:33 The phrase "deeply moved"translates the Greek word enebrimesato. It invariably describes an angry, outraged, and indignant attitude (cf. v. 38; Matt. 9:30; Mark 1:43; 14:5). These emotions mingled in Jesus' spirit as He contemplated the situation before Him. John also described Jesus as "troubled"(Gr. etaraxen). This is another strong verb that describes emotional turmoil (cf. 5:7; 12:27; 13:21; 14:1, 27). Jesus was angry, but at what? The context provides some help in identifying the cause of His anger.
Evidently as Jesus viewed the misery that death inflicts on humans and the loved ones of those who die He thought of its cause, sin. Many of the Jews present had come from Jerusalem where Jesus had encountered stubborn unbelief. The sin of unbelief resulted in spiritual death, the source of eternal grief and mourning. Probably Jesus felt angry because He was face to face with the consequences of sin and particularly unbelief.
Other explanations for Jesus' anger are that Jesus resented being forced to do a miracle.389However, Jesus had waited to go to Bethany so He could perform a miracle (v. 11). Another idea is that Jesus believed the Jews' mourning was hypocritical, but there is nothing in the text that indicates that the mourners were insincere. Others believe that John meant that Jesus was profoundly moved by these events, particularly the attitude of the mourners who failed to understand His person.390
11:34-35 Jesus wept (Gr. dakryo, lit. shed tears; cf. Isa. 53:3). His quiet shedding of tears differed from the loud wailing (Gr. klaiontas) of Mary and the mourners (v. 33). His weeping doubtless expressed outwardly the sorrow that contemplation of sin and its consequences produced in His heart. Jesus' tears are proof of His compassion for fallen humanity (cf. Luke 19:41). He could not have been weeping over the loss of His friend Lazarus since He was about to restore him to life. Likewise it is unlikely that He was just weeping compassionately with Martha and Mary since He was about to turn their grief into rejoicing. Nevertheless empathy undoubtedly played some part in Jesus' weeping.
Martha had just testified to Jesus' deity (v. 27), and now Jesus' tears witnessed to His humanity.
11:36-37 The Jewish onlookers interpreted Jesus' angry tears in two ways. They took them as evidence of Jesus' great love for Lazarus. They did reflect that, but not as the Jews thought. Jesus was not weeping because death had separated Him from His friend. The Jews also concluded that Jesus' tears reflected the grief He felt over His apparent inability to prevent Lazarus from dying. This deduction revealed unbelief as well as ignorance of Jesus' person. Jesus' healing of the man born blind had occurred several months earlier, but it had obviously made a strong impression on the people living in Jerusalem.
