Loved
This is a place where the language fails. The word here is phileo - the brotherly love. Maybe that’s right. Maybe it is the brotherhood of humanity when Jesus cries. But is the love of Jesus ever just phileo? Isn’t everything he does rooted in agape? And who are “the Jews”? Are these hired mourners come to fill up the seats at the funeral? They see Jesus crying and call it love. They are right. Jesus loved Mary and Martha and Lazarus. But is that why he’s crying? And why does the story shift focus here from Mary and Martha and Jesus to the outsiders perspective of these nameless faceless Jews? Why Jews and why not crowd or family? This is an odd expression and it is out of place. It reminds me of the place where the disciples are locked away in an upper room for fear of “the Jews.” Is this who it is? The religious crowd that’s at the tomb because it is a religious obligation to sit shiva with the family? Then Jesus’s tears must surprise them. Their emotions are not engaged by their religious duty. They don’t mourn for the people who’ve lost someone; they mourn for their own sakes to keep their ledger clean with God. Jesus is different. He didn’t come out of religious obligation. He came out of love. He cries because he’s not removed from the story, he’s in it. He never had to experience this feeling but he’s here now. He is here on this planet because he loves.
“The Jews” is a uniquely John phrase that is repeated so often it’s impossible to miss. The Spirit is identifying this group, setting them apart from Jesus and his people. Some of them may become converts but in the flow of the story John tells, they are opponents. This includes their leadership and the people over whom they hold sway. It might be correct to ascribe doubt to anything they say - a sneering tone that puts a question mark at the end of anything Jesus says or does.
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