“Jesus wept” (John 11:35), the shortest verse in the Bible, has deep significance and reveals Christ’s compassionate heart. Jesus’ humanity—His capacity to sympathize, weep, and experience another person’s suffering—is seen in these two words.
Even though Jesus was completely divine, this verse serves as a reminder that He felt human emotions and sorrow, demonstrating His empathy for those in need. It also emphasizes that crying is a normal reaction to grief, loss, and injustice rather than a show of weakness.
Believers get a glimpse of Jesus’ compassion for people when He cried at Lazarus’ tomb. He showed that God is not far from human pain by sharing in Mary’s, Martha’s, and the others’ grief over their brother.
His tears show compassion, love, and the universality of grief, showing us that God recognizes and values our feelings. These passages encourage contemplation on the breadth of Christ’s mercy and the knowledge that we are not alone when we are grieving.
Examining Bible passages about Jesus crying offers consolation and hope to anyone going through difficult times, losing loved ones, or experiencing emotional distress. They serve as a reminder that God is close, intimate, and understanding. Beyond just expressing grief, Jesus’ tears predict His resurrection and final triumph over all suffering by demonstrating His authority over death and suffering. By reflecting on these verses, Christians can take solace in the knowledge that their Savior is completely sympathetic to their plight and provides them with unending hope.
40 Inspiring Bible Verses About Jesus Wept (2025)
1. John 11:35
“Jesus wept.”
This shortest verse in the Bible carries profound depth. It reveals the humanity of Christ, showing His compassion and His willingness to share in human sorrow. Standing at the tomb of Lazarus, Jesus wept not because He lacked power to raise the dead, but because He fully identified with the pain of those grieving. His tears affirm that God is not distant but deeply present in our suffering, demonstrating divine empathy in human form.
2. Hebrews 5:7
“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.”
This verse reveals the intensity of Jesus’ prayer life and His profound reliance on the Father. His tears reflect His burden for humanity and His total surrender to God’s will, even in the face of suffering and death. It highlights the emotional reality of His mission and assures us that our Savior understands the weight of human anguish, having walked through it Himself.
3. Luke 19:41
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.”
Here, Jesus’ tears flow out of His love for Jerusalem and sorrow over its spiritual blindness. He grieved over the destruction that would come and the people’s failure to recognize God’s visitation in Him. This verse demonstrates His heart for the lost and His desire that none should perish. It reminds us that Christ’s mission was fueled not by judgment but by compassion, urging us to see the world through His eyes of love and mercy.
4. Isaiah 53:3
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”
Though prophetic, this verse foreshadows the weeping and suffering of Jesus. It portrays Him as one who fully embraced human sorrow, carrying the weight of rejection and grief. His tears were not a sign of weakness but of His deep identification with human brokenness. This passage reassures us that our Savior is not detached from our struggles but has borne them Himself, making Him the perfect mediator and comforter.
5. Psalm 34:18
“The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
Though written centuries before Christ, this verse finds fulfillment in Jesus’ weeping. His tears at Lazarus’ tomb and over Jerusalem echo the heart of God for the brokenhearted. Jesus demonstrates that God does not abandon those in pain but draws near to them. His compassion assures us that the divine presence is not absent in grief, but is most powerful in moments of sorrow.
6. Matthew 26:38
“Then he said to them, ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.’”
In Gethsemane, Jesus reveals the depth of His anguish. Though not explicitly mentioning tears, this verse captures the weight of His emotional suffering. His sorrow teaches us that it is not unspiritual to weep or feel burdened—it is human. Yet, even in His deepest distress, He submitted to the Father’s will, modeling for us how to turn sorrow into surrendered prayer.
7. Psalm 56:8
“Record my misery; list my tears on your scroll—are they not in your record?”
David’s lament foreshadows Christ’s own tears. This verse reminds us that God does not ignore tears but treasures them as evidence of faith and longing for Him. In Jesus’ weeping, we see God Himself validating human pain, recording it, and redeeming it. It assures us that every tear has meaning in the light of God’s compassion and eternal purpose.
8. Matthew 23:37
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing.”
This lament parallels Luke 19:41 and captures Jesus’ broken heart for the lost. His grief shows the intensity of God’s longing for His people to return. The tears of Jesus are not merely over personal sorrow but over rejection of salvation. It teaches us to share God’s burden for the lost and to weep not just for our own struggles, but for those who turn away from God’s grace.
9. Psalm 42:3
“My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, ‘Where is your God?’”
This lament from the Psalms echoes the sorrow Jesus carried in His earthly ministry. It captures the deep pain of grief, misunderstanding, and loneliness. Just as David poured out his tears before God, Jesus wept openly, showing us that sorrow does not negate faith but often deepens it. His tears remind us that God understands our anguish.
10. Lamentations 1:16
“This is why I weep and my eyes overflow with tears. No one is near to comfort me, no one to restore my spirit.”
Jeremiah’s lament over Jerusalem foreshadows Christ’s own weeping for the holy city. Both express the grief of seeing God’s people reject His love and suffer the consequences. Jesus’ tears in Luke 19 reflect this same sorrow. It teaches us that intercession often begins with compassion and heartfelt lament for the lost.
11. John 12:27
“Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? No, it was for this very reason I came to this hour.”
Here, Jesus reveals the deep emotional turmoil within His heart. Though He did not shrink from His mission, His soul was weighed down with sorrow. His words connect with the same spirit of weeping seen at Lazarus’ tomb, reminding us that even the Son of God felt the full weight of suffering. Yet He submitted to God’s plan, modeling obedience in grief.
12. Mark 14:33-34
“He took Peter, James and John along with him, and he began to be deeply distressed and troubled. ‘My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,’ he said to them. ‘Stay here and keep watch.’”
This moment in Gethsemane reveals the vulnerability of Jesus. His grief was so intense that He confided in His closest disciples, inviting them to share in His burden. Though they failed to stay awake, His openness shows us that sharing our grief with others is not weakness but a path to strength. His sorrow points us toward honest prayer in our darkest hours.
13. Isaiah 22:4
“Therefore I said, ‘Turn away from me; let me weep bitterly. Do not try to console me over the destruction of my people.’”
The prophet’s tears for Jerusalem mirror the lament of Jesus centuries later. This verse shows the heart of God expressed through His servants—grieving over sin, destruction, and rebellion. In Christ, these tears became incarnate, as He wept over those who rejected salvation. It calls us to share God’s sorrow for a broken world.
14. Philippians 3:18
“For, as I have often told you before and now tell you again even with tears, many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.”
Paul’s tears reflect the same compassion that moved Jesus to weep. The sorrow here is not just for personal pain but for those rejecting the gospel. Just as Jesus wept over Jerusalem, Paul grieved for unbelievers. This teaches us that Christian love should move us to weep in prayer and intercession for those far from God.
15. Psalm 126:5
“Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”
Though not directly about Jesus, this verse captures the redemptive nature of tears. Jesus wept in sorrow, but His resurrection turned mourning into joy. This promise applies to all believers: tears are not wasted but are seeds of future joy in God’s kingdom. Christ’s own journey from weeping to victory models this truth.
16. Luke 22:44
“And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.”
Though it mentions sweat rather than tears, this verse reflects the depth of Jesus’ emotional and physical agony in Gethsemane. His intense prayer reveals His full humanity and the weight of carrying the world’s sin. It connects with His earlier weeping and shows us how deeply He felt the burden of redemption.
17. Jeremiah 9:1
“Oh, that my head were a spring of water and my eyes a fountain of tears! I would weep day and night for the slain of my people.”
This prophetic lament finds its fulfillment in Christ’s tears over Jerusalem. Jeremiah grieved over the destruction caused by sin, and Jesus did the same. This verse highlights God’s sorrow over human rebellion and calls us to share His heart by weeping in intercession for those who are lost.
18. Psalm 31:9
“Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief.”
This psalm reflects the anguish Christ experienced in His final hours. His body and spirit were burdened with grief, echoing the psalmist’s cry. Jesus’ weeping assures us that God understands the depth of our sorrow and invites us to bring our tears before Him.
19. Matthew 27:46
“About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ (which means ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’)”
Though not described with literal tears, this cry from the cross embodies the essence of weeping. Jesus expressed the deepest form of anguish—spiritual separation. His lament fulfills Psalm 22 and shows us that He entered the darkest sorrow on our behalf. This moment proves His compassion is not only felt but lived out to the fullest extent.
20. Revelation 21:4
“He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
The tears of Jesus point us toward this final promise. Because He wept, suffered, and overcame, one day all tears will be wiped away forever. This verse brings the story full circle: Jesus’ tears were not in vain but paved the way for eternal joy. His compassion ensures that grief will one day be no more.
21. Psalm 119:136
“Streams of tears flow from my eyes, for your law is not obeyed.”
This verse reflects the same grief Jesus felt when He saw people ignoring God’s truth. His tears over Jerusalem mirror this sorrow over disobedience. The psalmist and Jesus both reveal that godly sorrow flows from love for God’s Word and compassion for those who stray from it.
22. Acts 20:19
“I served the Lord with great humility and with tears and in the midst of severe testing by the plots of my Jewish opponents.”
Paul’s ministry mirrored Christ’s compassion, expressed through tears. Just as Jesus’ weeping showed His love for the lost and hurting, Paul’s tears demonstrated his dedication to the gospel. This verse reminds us that true service often comes with sacrifice, sorrow, and heartfelt intercession.
23. John 13:21
“After he had said this, Jesus was troubled in spirit and testified, ‘Very truly I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.’”
Though not described with tears, Jesus’ troubled spirit shows His deep grief over Judas’ betrayal. His sorrow here reflects the same compassion that led Him to weep elsewhere. This verse highlights His humanity—He felt the pain of betrayal just as deeply as we do.
24. Romans 12:15
“Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.”
This command echoes the heart of Jesus, who wept with Mary and Martha at Lazarus’ tomb. His example teaches us that love involves entering into the joy and sorrow of others. Weeping with others is not weakness but godly compassion, following the example of Christ.
25. Psalm 6:6
“I am worn out from my groaning. All night long I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”
This psalm captures the depth of human despair, which Christ Himself entered into during His life on earth. His tears in John 11 and Luke 19 echo the psalmist’s laments, showing us that God is fully present even in our darkest nights of sorrow.
26. Luke 7:13
“When the Lord saw her, his heart went out to her and he said, ‘Don’t cry.’”
Jesus’ compassion for the widow of Nain reflects the same heart that moved Him to weep. His empathy drove Him to action, raising her son from the dead. This verse reveals that His concern goes beyond emotion—His tears lead to restoration and hope.
27. Psalm 39:12
“Hear my prayer, Lord, listen to my cry for help; do not be deaf to my weeping.”
The psalmist’s plea resonates with the cries and tears of Jesus in Gethsemane. This verse reminds us that God hears every tearful prayer, just as He heard His Son’s. Christ’s weeping teaches us that our grief is never ignored but carried to the Father.
28. Isaiah 25:8
“He will swallow up death forever. The Sovereign Lord will wipe away the tears from all faces.”
This prophecy finds its fulfillment in Christ’s weeping and resurrection. His tears over death at Lazarus’ tomb point to the greater victory He would accomplish. Because He wept and overcame, one day all tears will be removed forever.
29. 2 Kings 20:5
“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will heal you.”
God’s response to Hezekiah reflects His compassion, the same compassion we see in Jesus. Just as God acknowledged Hezekiah’s tears, Jesus’ own weeping shows that tears have power before God. It assures us that God is attentive to our cries and responds with mercy.
30. Psalm 80:5
“You have fed them with the bread of tears; you have made them drink tears by the bowlful.”
This verse captures Israel’s sorrow under God’s discipline, which mirrors Jesus’ grief for the nation’s rebellion. His tears over Jerusalem reveal the same brokenness expressed here. It shows us that God’s heart is moved by His people’s pain, even when it comes through correction.
31. Mark 14:72
“Immediately the rooster crowed the second time. Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him… And he broke down and wept.”
Peter’s bitter weeping reflects the same atmosphere of sorrow that surrounded Jesus’ own tears. Both reveal the cost of sin and betrayal. This verse highlights the transformative power of godly grief, leading not to despair but to repentance and restoration.
32. Psalm 116:8
“For you, Lord, have delivered me from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling.”
This verse captures the hope beyond weeping. Just as Jesus’ tears turned to joy in His resurrection, this psalm celebrates God’s power to transform sorrow into deliverance. It reminds us that tears are temporary when placed in God’s hands.
33. Psalm 102:9
“For I eat ashes as my food and mingle my drink with tears.”
This verse captures the depth of despair felt by the psalmist, a grief that foreshadows the weeping of Christ. Just as the psalmist felt overwhelmed by sorrow, Jesus entered into the fullness of human grief, weeping openly at the tomb of Lazarus and over Jerusalem. His tears remind us that God is not untouched by human suffering; instead, He willingly took it upon Himself. In Christ, we see a God who identifies with our darkest hours and transforms despair into hope.
34. Matthew 5:4
“Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”
This beatitude echoes the heart behind Jesus’ own weeping. His tears demonstrated that mourning has a place in the life of faith and that God draws near to the brokenhearted. When Jesus wept, He embodied this promise, showing us that mourning is not the end of the story but the doorway to divine comfort. His life teaches us that God blesses those who bring their grief to Him and assures them of eventual restoration and peace.
35. Psalm 30:5
“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.”
This verse speaks to the temporary nature of sorrow and the ultimate triumph of joy. Jesus’ tears at Lazarus’ tomb were followed by the miracle of resurrection, demonstrating that weeping is not wasted but prepares the way for God’s glory. Similarly, His anguish in Gethsemane gave way to the victory of the cross and the resurrection. This passage assures us that while grief may feel overwhelming, joy is always God’s final word.
36. Jeremiah 31:16
“This is what the Lord says: ‘Restrain your voice from weeping and your eyes from tears, for your work will be rewarded,’ declares the Lord.”
God’s reassurance to His people mirrors the hope offered through Christ’s tears. Jesus wept deeply, yet His sorrow was not without purpose. His grief accomplished redemption, and His tears paved the way for restoration. This verse encourages us that God sees every tear, and in His timing, sorrow will give way to reward and renewal. The tears of Christ show us that God never wastes our weeping but transforms it into blessings.
37. Psalm 84:6
“As they pass through the Valley of Baka, they make it a place of springs; the autumn rains also cover it with pools.”
The “Valley of Baka,” often translated as the “Valley of Weeping,” represents seasons of sorrow and hardship. Yet, even in such valleys, God provides refreshment and transformation. Jesus Himself walked through the valley of weeping, shedding tears for humanity. His example teaches us that sorrow can become a channel of blessing, turning barren places into springs of life when surrendered to God. His weeping sanctifies our tears and gives them eternal significance.
38. 2 Corinthians 2:4
“For I wrote you out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears, not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you.”
Paul’s tears here mirror the compassion of Christ. Just as Jesus wept from love—over Lazarus, Jerusalem, and humanity’s brokenness—Paul wept for the church out of deep pastoral concern. This verse shows us that true love is often expressed through tears. It reminds us that grief for others, born out of love, is a Christlike response that builds up and restores.
39. Isaiah 38:5
“I have heard your prayer and seen your tears; I will add fifteen years to your life.”
God’s response to Hezekiah reveals the power of prayer mingled with tears. This aligns with the prayers of Jesus in Hebrews 5:7, where He offered up petitions with cries and tears to the Father. Just as God heard Hezekiah, He heard His Son and raised Him from death. This verse reassures us that our tearful prayers are precious to God, moving His heart toward mercy and restoration.
40. Psalm 147:3
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
This closing verse captures the ultimate purpose behind the tears of Jesus. He wept not only to show empathy but to bring healing and hope to a broken world. His tears are a reminder that God enters into our wounds, binds them up, and offers restoration. Just as His compassion led Him to weep, His power brings healing to all who are brokenhearted. In Christ, tears are transformed into testimonies of grace and redemption.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the straightforward but deep verse “Jesus wept” demonstrates Christ’s unparalleled empathy and compassion. It serves as a reminder to believers that God is fully conscious of our suffering and does not stand by while we go through it. Jesus’ tears demonstrate that grieving is a normal aspect of human life, one that He completely understands and shares with us, rather than a sign of weakness. By considering these lines, we are reassured that the Savior, who lived among us and completely experienced human life, recognizes and values our feelings.
In the end, the stories of Jesus crying inspire us to be open with God about our difficulties because we know that He will respond to us with compassion, love, and understanding. They offer consolation that goes beyond the present suffering and looks toward hope, healing, and eternal life by pointing to both His humanity and His divinity. By reflecting on these lines, believers are reminded that Jesus is always there, grieving with us, consoling us, and giving us the fortitude to persevere, heal, and have faith in His unending promises.
