John 11:33

John 11:33 . Ἰησοῦς οὖν … αὐτόν . “Jesus, then, when He saw her weeping [ κλαίειν is stronger than δακρύειν and might be rendered ‘wailing’. It is joined with ἀλαλάζειν , Mark 5:38 ; ὀλολύζειν , Jam 5:1 ; θορυβεῖν , Mark 5:39 ; πενθεῖν , Mark 16:10 . Cf. Webster’s Synonyms ] and the Jews who accompanied her wailing,” ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματι , “was indignant in spirit”. The word ἐμβριμᾶσθαι occurs again in John 11:38 and in three other passages of the N.T., Matthew 9:30 , Mark 1:43 ; Mark 14:5 . In those passages it is used in its original sense of the expression of feeling, and might be rendered “sternly charged”; and it is in each case followed by an object in the dative. In Matthew 9:30 Jesus sternly charged or with strong feeling charged the healed blind man not to make Him known. In Mark 1:43 the leper is similarly charged. In Mark 14:5 the bystanders express strong feeling [of indignation, ἀγανακτοῦντες ] against Mary for her apparent extravagance. In all three passages it is used of the expression of strong feeling; but no indignation enters into its meaning in the former two passages. Here in John it is not feeling expressed, but τῷ πνεύματι , inwardly felt; and with only such expression as betrayed to observers that He was moved ( cf. Mark 8:12 , ἀναστενάξας τῷ πνεύματι ), for τῷ πνεύματι cannot be the object, for this does not give a good sense and it is contradicted by πάλιν ἐμβριμ . ἐν ἑαυτῷ of John 11:38 . It would seem, then, to mean “strongly moved in spirit”.

This meaning quite agrees with the accompanying clause, ταραζεν ἑαυτόν , “and disturbed Himself”; precisely as we speak a man “distressing himself,” or “troubling himself,” or “making himself anxious”. To say that the active with the reflexive pronoun indicates that this was a voluntary act on Christ’s part is to introduce a jarring note of Doketism. His sympathy with the weeping sister and the wailing crowd caused this deep emotion. To refer His strong feeling to His indignation at the “hypocritical” lamentations of the crowd is a groundless and unjust fancy contradicted by His own “weeping” ( John 11:34 ) and by the remark of the Jews ( John 11:35 ).

He groaned in the spirit (ἐνεβριμήσατο τῷ πνεύματι) See on Mark 1:43. The word for groaned occurs three times elsewhere: Matthew 9:30; Mark 1:43; Mark 14:5. In every case it expresses a charge, or remonstrance, accompanied with a feeling of displeasure. On this passage there are two lines of interpretation, both of them assuming the meaning just stated. (1) Τῷ πνευ.ματι, the spirit, is regarded as the object of Jesus' inward charge or remonstrance. This is explained variously: as that Jesus sternly rebuked the natural shrinking of His human spirit, and summoned it to the decisive conflict with death; or that He checked its impulse to put forth His divine energy at once. (2) Takes in the spirit, as representing the sphere of feeling, as John 13:21; Mark 8:12; Luke 10:21. Some explain the feeling as indignation at the hypocritical mourning of the Jews, or at their unbelief and the sisters' misapprehension; others as indignation at the temporary triumph of Satan, who had the power of death. The interpretation which explains τῷ πνεύματι as the sphere of feeling is to be preferred. Comp. John 11:38, in himself. The nature of the particular emotion of Jesus must remain largely a matter of conjecture. Rev. renders, in margin, was moved with indignation in the spirit. Was troubled (ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτὸν) Literally, troubled Himself. Probably of the outward manifestation of His strong feeling.

{5} When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he {f} groaned in the spirit, and was troubled, (5) Christ took upon himself together with our flesh all affections of man (sin alone excepted), and amongst them especially mercy and compassion. (f) These are signs that he was greatly moved, but yet these signs were without sin: and these affections belong to man's nature.

33-38. When Jesus … saw her weeping, and the Jews … weeping … he groaned in the spirit—the tears of Mary and her friends acting sympathetically upon Jesus, and drawing forth His emotions. What a vivid and beautiful outcoming of His "real" humanity! The word here rendered "groaned" does not mean "sighed" or "grieved," but rather "powerfully checked his emotion"—made a visible effort to restrain those tears which were ready to gush from His eyes. and was troubled—rather, "troubled himself" (Margin); referring probably to this visible difficulty of repressing His emotions.

The apostle speaks of Christ, Hebrews 4:15 , as an High priest that can be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, and one that can have compassion, Hebrews 5:2 . Martha’s and Mary’s passion for their dead brother was their infirmity; Christ is touched with the feeling of it: he, to show himself truly man, groaned in himself; it being natural to us to be affected with the afflictions of others, and to weep with those who weep. But here ariseth a question, whether Christ was troubled from a natural necessity, as we sometimes cannot forbear weeping to see others weep bitterly, or out of choice? Some of the ancients think it was out of choice. Mr. Calvin and others think that it was out of a natural necessity; not that he could not govern his passions (as we sometimes cannot) by reason, but that he could not, as man, forbear his passion. I shall translate what Mr. Calvin speaks, most judiciously, in the case, determining neither way, but leaving it to the reader’s judgment. "But how," saith he, "do gnawing and trouble of spirit agree to that Person who was the Son of God?" Because to some it looketh very absurd to say, that Christ, as one of us, is subject to human passions; they think Christ no otherwise at any time either grieved or rejoiced, than as he, so often as he thought fit, voluntarily assumed to himself those passions by a secret dispensation.

Augustine thought that Christ in this sense is said to have groaned, and to have been troubled; whereas other men’s passions transport them, and exercise a tyranny over them, to the disturbance of their minds: he therefore thinks the meaning is, that Christ, being otherwise sedate, and free from passions, sometimes voluntarily took these passions. But in my judgment, it is a much plainer and simpler sense of this scripture, if we say, that the Son of God, taking upon him our nature, did also freely with it put on our affections (which are our natural infirmities); so as he in nothing differed from us, but in this, that he had no sin. Nothing by this is derogated from the glory of Christ; for he voluntarily submitted to take our nature upon him, by which he became like to us in our human affections. And we must not think, that after he had voluntarily submitted to take our perfect nature upon him, that he was free from the passions and affections of it: in this he proved himself to be our Brother, that we might know that he is a Mediator for us, who can easily pardon our infirmities, and is ready to help us as to those infirmities, which he hath experienced in his own person.

John 11:33 . Τοὺς συνελθόντας , who had come with her ) John 11:31 .— ἐνεβριμήσατο , He groaned ) Thus it was that, by a more austere [more severe] affection of the mind, Jesus restrained His tears; and presently after, at John 11:38 , He broke off His tears [to which He had given way, John 11:35 ]: and by that very fact, the influence produced by them [His tears] on the bystanders was the greater; John 11:36 , [The Jews were constrained to say, “Behold how He loved him!”]— ἐτάραξεν ἑαυτόν , He troubled Himself [‘was troubled,’ Engl. Vers.; and some MSS. of Vulg., “turbatus est in se ipso”]) The elegance of this reflexive [reciprocæ] phrase is inexpressibly striking: comp. ἔταξαν ἑαυτούς , They have ordered themselves [“addicted themselves,” Engl. Vers.], 1 Corinthians 16:15 . The affections of Jesus’ mind were not passions, but voluntary emotions, which He had altogether in His own control; accordingly, this “troubling of Himself” was fully consonant with order, and the highest reason. The case is a weightier [more hard to understand] one, which is described subsequently, ch. John 12:27 , τετάρακται , κ . τ . λ .; John 13:21 ; and yet it also is to be explained by means of the present passage. [ So Christians are not, on the one hand , Stoics; but, on the other, they do not succumb to their own mental affections. They are not agitated with passions, properly so called .—V. g.]

33–44 . The Sign 33 . weeping … weeping ] The repetition is for emphasis, and to point a contrast which is the key to the passage. he groaned in the spirit ] Better, He was angered in the spirit . The word translated ‘groaned’ occurs five times in N.T.; here, John 11:38 ; Matthew 9:30 ; Mark 1:43 ; Mark 14:5 (see notes in each place). In all cases, as in classical Greek and in the LXX., it expresses not sorrow but indignation or severity. It means (1) literally, of animals, ‘to snort, growl;’ then metaphorically (2) ‘to be very angry or indignant;’ (3) ‘to command sternly, under threat of displeasure.’ What was He angered at? Some translate ‘ at His spirit,’ and explain ( α ) that He was indignant at the human emotion which overcame Him: which is out of harmony with all that we know about the human nature of Christ. Others, retaining ‘ in His spirit,’ explain ( β ) that He was indignant ‘at the unbelief of the Jews and perhaps of the sisters:’ but of this there is no hint in the context Others again, ( γ ) that it was ‘at the sight of the momentary triumph of evil, as death, … which was here shewn under circumstances of the deepest pathos:’ but we nowhere else find the Lord shewing anger at the physical consequences of sin. It seems better to fall back on the contrast pointed out in the last note. He was indignant at seeing the hypocritical and sentimental lamentations of His enemies the Jews mingling with the heartfelt lamentations of His loving friend Mary (comp.