Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
38. Jesus therefore again groaning within himself. Christ does not approach the sepulcher as an idle spectator, but as a champion who prepares for a contest; and therefore we need not wonder that he again groans; for the violent tyranny of death, which he had to conquer, is placed before his eyes.
Here we have, I. Christ's tender sympathy with his afflicted friends, and the share he took to himself in their sorrows, which appeared three ways: - 1. By the inward groans and troubles of his spirit (Joh 11:33): Jesus saw Mary weeping for the loss of a loving brother, and the Jews that came with her weeping for the loss of a good neighbour and...
Commenting on John 11:33-44
Jesus therefore groaning in himself,.... Not only through grief, just coming up to the grave, where his dear friend lay, but through an holy anger and indignation at the malice and wickedness of the Jews; cometh to the grave of Lazarus, it was a cave; either a natural one, such as were in rocks and mountains, of which sort there were many in Judea, and...