“Jesus Wept.”             John 11:15

Thomas Jefferson emphasized the worth of the economic use of words when he said, “The most valuable of all talents is that of never using two words when one will do.” I often emphasized this with my journalism students as I coached them in their writing. Now, I feel like I could do better by taking my own advice. (You may agree!)

Have you ever been to an event where the speaker had some great points to make and useful things to say; yet they begin to drone on and on leaving their message muddled and missed by the listeners?

Maybe someone delivered a public prayer that felt like it was the length of a sermon and you became weary and distracted, fidgeting while keeping your eyes closed or worse – you nodded off.

The two word scripture taken from John chapter 11 is a reminder that sometimes you don’t need a lot of words to speak volumes. There is nothing wrong with keeping things short and sweet.

Jesus wept.

This speaks to me on so many levels. These two words reveal more about Jesus than just the literal tears streaming down His face in the wake of a dear friend’s death. To me, this scripture reveals a description of Jesus the person. 

Jesus was caring. Jesus was overcome with sorrow. Jesus had real feelings and emotional connections. In two words, I learned so much about Jesus, the man. 

Sometimes we just need to keep things short and sweet. 

Jesus wept. 

Jesus suffered. 

Jesus loved. 

Jesus preached. 

Jesus taught. 

Jesus lived.