Jesus Slept

John 11:35 is a famous Bible verse partly because it's so easy to memorize, but also because it's so profound. It says simply, "Jesus wept."

Scripture identifies three times when Jesus cried. On the day of the Triumphal Entry, he shed tears for the spiritual blindness of God's people. "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it" (Luke 19:41). Visiting Mary and Martha, he wept over the death of Lazarus, their brother and his friend (John 11:35). Overcome by anguish in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus "offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death" (Hebrews 5:7).

Rare but revealing, Jesus' tears show the depth of his ability to relate to our human emotions. He knows how it feels to be frustrated by injustice and unbelief. He knows what it's like to grieve the loss of a loved one, to endure searing pain, to be misunderstood and rejected.

Three times the Bible says Jesus wept, but there's only one occasion when the Gospels explicitly say Jesus slept. And this situation wasn't conducive to a good night's sleep.

Mark chapter 4 tells how the disciples were in a boat crossing the sea of Galilee when "a furious squall came up, and the waves broke over the boat, so that it was nearly swamped" (v. 37). It must have been a chaotic scene as the disciples frantically bailed water out of the boat and vainly tried to adjust the sails. Though most of them were experienced fishermen, they panicked.

Meanwhile, "Jesus was in the stern, sleeping on a cushion" (v. 38). How could he sleep in the middle of a storm? Wasn't he getting wet? Didn't he feel the waves threatening to capsize the boat? The disciples woke him and shouted, "Teacher" (for even amid the tumult of a storm they sensed his ability to instruct them), "don't you care if we drown?" What a question! If anyone ever has shown concern for perishing people, it's Jesus; but in those terrifying moments the disciples wondered if he cared at all.

Undaunted, Jesus "got up, rebuked the wind and said to the waves, 'Quiet! Be still!' Then the wind died down and it was completely calm" (v. 39). The weather bowed to Jesus' command like a well-trained dog responding to its master. Chaos quickly turned to calm, pandemonium to peace. The pounding waves gave way to a sea as smooth as glass—like the one John saw years later in his glimpse of Heaven (Revelation 4:6). Jesus asked his disciples, "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" Awestruck, they asked, "Who is this? Even the wind and the waves obey him!" (Mark 4:40, 41).

Jesus was such a master teacher he could do it in his sleep. He slept because he was physically tired, and basic as it is, that's a lesson we all should heed. He slept because he rejected the "all-is-lost" attitude of his panicky disciples. He slept, not because he was oblivious to the chaos around him, but because he understood that in a crisis, the calmest person earns the right to lead.

There are other lessons here, too. When strong winds blow and it looks like all is lost, the Lord remains quietly in control. When it appears that the Lord doesn't care, he really does. When the time is right, the Lord will take decisive action. And when fear and worry surround us, faith is still the best choice.

After all, it's better to be in a storm with Jesus than anywhere else without him.