DEEPLY MOVED IN SPIRIT / JOHN 11:33

START YOUR DAY RIGHT DAILY DEVOTION

(KJV) 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.

Deeply Moved in Spirit: Understanding Jesus’ Sacred Grief and Holy Anger

We often look to the Gospels to find comfort in Jesus’ kindness, peace, and gentle grace. But in John 11:33, we encounter a side of our Savior that is staggering in its emotional intensity. Standing before the tomb of His dear friend Lazarus, surrounded by weeping friends, the Bible tells us that Jesus was deeply moved in spirit and troubled

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This wasn’t just a brief moment of sadness. The original Greek word used here for “deeply moved”—embrimaomai—carries a profound weight. It describes a gut-wrenching grief combined with a fierce, holy anger.

Jesus wasn’t angry at Mary or Martha for their tears; He was grieved and angered by the misery, sorrow, and devastation caused by sin and death. He looked at a world broken by humanity’s rebellion against God and felt both overwhelming sympathy for His creation and righteous fury toward the enemy that stole its peace.

Moving Beyond Grief to Action

Jesus didn’t just stand by and lament the brokenness of the world. His deep movement of spirit always drives Him to powerful action:

• The Immediate Miracle: Right then and there, He confronted the sting of death by calling Lazarus out of the grave.
• The Ultimate Sacrifice: The grief He felt at Lazarus’ tomb foreshadowed the ultimate price He would pay. Jesus would later take on all the misery of human sin, die on the cross, and rise again to smash the power of death forever (John 11:35, Matthew 21:12-13; John 2:14-16).

Through His resurrection, He offers true forgiveness, healing, and salvation to anyone trapped in spiritual darkness.

A Heart That Beats Like His

One of the surest indicators that God is doing a saving work in our hearts is when we begin to see the world through Jesus’ eyes. We stop being indifferent to the wreckage of sin around us.

When we align our hearts with the Holy Spirit, we develop a dual perspective:

1. Greater Compassion: We weep with those who weep, feeling a deep tenderness for the broken and the suffering.
2. Holy Hatred for Sin: We learn to hate the things that destroy human lives and defy God’s standards of purity and truth.

As followers of Christ, we can no longer take pleasure in things that oppose God (Romans 1:32). Instead, the grief we feel over a broken world should compel us to act. It should inspire us to step out in love, sharing the hope of Christ’s forgiveness and the promise of eternal life with those who are spiritually lost.

A Closing Prayer

Heavenly Father,

Thank You for sending Jesus, a Savior who does not look at our pain from a distance, but steps directly into our sorrow. Forgive us for the times we have grown numb to the brokenness around us, or worse, taken pleasure in things that grieve Your heart.

Break our hearts for what breaks Yours. Fill us with the same holy compassion and righteous love that Jesus showed at the tomb of Lazarus. Give us a deep hatred for sin and its devastating effects, paired with an overwhelming love for people. Use us as instruments of Your healing, light, and truth to reach those who are hurting and spiritually lost.

In Jesus’ mighty name, Amen.

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Some of our Post That Might Interest You, All Out of the Current Book / Chapter

1. I BELIEVE THAT YOU ARE THE CHRIST / JOHN 11:27
2. I AM THE RESURRECTION / JOHN 11:25-26
3. STAYED WHERE HE WAS TWO MORE DAYS / JOHN 11:6
4. JESUS LOVED MARTHA AND HER SISTER AND LAZARUS / JOHN 11:5
5. SICKNESS FOR GOD’S GLORY / JOHN 11:4
6. YOU ARE GODS? / JOHN 10:34
7. THEY SHALL NEVER PERISH / JOHN 10:28
8. MY SHEEP LISTEN TO MY VOICE / JOHN 10:27
9. I KNOW MY SHEEP / JOHN 10:14-15
10. I AM THE GOOD SHEPHERD / JOHN 10:11
11. THE THIEF COMES … I HAVE COME / JOHN 10:10
12. I AM THE GATE / JOHN 10:9
13. JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD / JOHN 10:1
14. THOSE WHO SEE WILL BECOME BLIND / JOHN 9:39
15. THEY THREW HIM OUT / JOHN 9:34
16. WORK OF GOD MIGHT BE DISPLAYED / JOHN 9:3
17. BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS BORN, I AM / JOHN 8:58
18. WILL NEVER SEE DEATH / JOHN 8:51
19. HE IS A LIAR AND THE FATHER OF LIES / JOHN 8:44
20. IF GOD WERE YOUR FATHER / JOHN 8:42
21. YOU WILL BE FREE INDEED / JOHN 8:36
22. EVERYONE WHO SINS / JOHN 8:34
23. THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE / JOHN 8:32
24. IF YOU HOLD TO MY TEACHING / JOHN 8:31
25. I PASS JUDGMENT ON NO ONE / JOHN 8:15
26. I AM THE LIGHT OF THE WORLD / JOHN 8:12
27. NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU / JOHN 8:11
28. IF ANY ONE OF YOU IS WITHOUT SIN / JOHN 8:7
29. JESUS HAD NOT YET BEEN GLORIFIED / JOHN 7:39
30. AS THE SCRIPTURE HAS SAID – STREAMS OF LIVING WATER / JOHN 7:38
31. GAIN HONOR FOR HIMSELF / JOHN 7:18
32. IF ANYONE CHOOSES TO DO GOD’S WILL / JOHN 7:17
33. IT HATES ME / JOHN 7:6-7
34. FEAST OF TABERNACLES / JOHN 7:2-3
35. JESUS HAD KNOWN FROM THE BEGINNING / JOHN 6:64
36. EATS MY FLESH AND DRINKS MY BLOOD / JOHN 6:54
37. THE FATHER … DRAWS HIM / JOHN 6:44
38. MY FATHER’S WILL / JOHN 6:40
39. I WILL NEVER DRIVE AWAY / JOHN 6:37
40. I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE / JOHN 6:35
41. DON’T BE AFRAID / JOHN 6:20
42. JESUS PRAYS ALONE / JOHN 6:15
43. THE FEEDING OF THE FIVE THOUSAND /JOHN 6:7
44. MIRACLES / JOHN 6:1-2
45. DO NOT BELIEVE WHAT HE WROTE / JOHN 5:47
46. ACCEPT PRAISE FROM ONE ANOTHER / JOHN 5:44
47. YOU DILIGENTLY STUDY / JOHN 5:39-40
48. YOU HAVE SENT JOHN / John 5:33
49. THOSE WHO HAVE DONE GOOD – RISE TO LIVE – THOSE WHO HAVE DONE EVIL / JOHN 5:29
50. HAS GRANTED THE SON TO HAVE LIFE IN HIMSELF / JOHN 5:26
51. HEARS … BELIEVES / JOHN 5:24
52. MAKING HIMSELF EQUAL WITH GOD / JOHN 5:18-24
53. PERSECUTED HIM / JOHN 5:16
54. STOP SINNING / JOHN 5:14
55. THE MAN WAS CURED / JOHN 5:9-10
56. THIRTY-EIGHT YEARS / JOHN 5:5
57. SIGNS AND WONDERS / JOHN 4:48
58. CROP FOR ETERNAL LIFE / JOHN 4:36
59. LOOK AT THE FIELDS / JOHN 4:35
60. SURPRISED TO FIND HIM TALKING WITH A WOMAN / JOHN 4:27
61. TRUTH / JOHN 4:24
62. WORSHIP … IN SPIRIT AND TRUTH / JOHN 4:23-24
63. SAMARITANS WORSHIP WHAT YOU DO NOT KNOW / JOHN 4:22
64. WATER … ETERNAL LIFE / JOHN 4:14
65. SAMARITAN WOMAN / JOHN 4:7
66. WHOEVER REJECTS / JOHN 3:36
67. GIVES THE SPIRIT WITHOUT LIMIT / JOHN 3:34
68. LOVED DARKNESS INSTEAD OF LIGHT / JOHN 3:19
69. GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD /JOHN 3:16
70. JUST AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE SNAKE / JOHN 3:14-15
71. THE WIND … THE SPIRIT / JOHN 3:8
72. BORN OF WATER / JOHN 3:5
73. BORN AGAIN / JOHN 3:3
74. TEMPLE / JOHN 2:19
75. DROVE ALL FROM THE TEMPLE AREA / JOHN 2:15
76. SIGNS / JOHN 2:11
77. CHOICE WINE – HAD TOO MUCH TO DRINK / JOHN 2:10
78. WINE – THEY HAVE NO MORE WINE / JOHN 2:3
79. YOU SHALL SEE HEAVEN OPEN / JOHN 1:51
80. CEPHAS … PETER / JOHN 1:42
81. THE FIRST THING ANDREW DID / JOHN 1:41
82. THE TENTH HOUR /JOHN 1:39
83. WILL BAPTIZE WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT / JOHN 1:33
84. LAMB OF GOD / JOHN 1:29
85. PHARISEES / JOHN 1:24
86. GRACE AND TRUTH / JOHN 1:17
87. THE WORD BECAME FLESH / JOHN 1:14
88. BORN NOT OF … HUMAN DECISION / JOHN 1:13
89. RECEIVED … BELIEVED / JOHN 1:12
90. THE WORLD DID NOT RECOGNIZE HIM / JOHN 1:10
91. GIVES LIGHT TO EVERY MAN / JOHN 1:9
92. HIS NAME WAS JOHN / JOHN 1:6
93. LIGHT SHINES IN THE DARKNESS / JOHN 1:5
94. LIFE WAS THE LIGHT OF MEN / JOHN 1:4
95. WITH GOD IN THE BEGINNING / JOHN 1:2
96. THE WORD / JOHN 1:1
97. CREWS N AWAY: ANCHORED IN GRACE

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Blessings, Margarita & Stace