God’s Grief

Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane; and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here while I go over there and pray.’ ³⁷ He took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and agitated. ³⁸ Then he said to them, ‘I am deeply grieved, even to death; remain here, and stay awake with me.’

Gospel of Matthew 26:36-38. New Testament, The Bible

Recently, a young friend wept when their grandparent-in-law died. They wept because the grandparent did not know Christ and so died without knowing salvation. This is a harsh truth that’s often held against Christianity but it is merely the outworking of the deeper truth that human beings are able to choose. It is Good Friday as I write and Good Friday reminds us that God has given us opportunity to choose salvation without condition for as long as we are able to choose. But many opt not to choose and so reject salvation. They are not rejected, they simply choose to open a different door (of course, there are complex questions regarding those who don’t have the opportunity to hear the offer of salvation). I feel that my young friend’s weeping reflects the deep heart of God. He has gone to such lengths to open a simple path to salvation it is surely inconceivable that He would not grieve when people reject the offer of salvation.

But where is this grief held? Salvation leads to eternal life and we are taught that eternal life is a place where every tear is wiped away and suffering ceases to exist (1). How is God’s grief held without colouring eternal life?  Reflecting on the work of the Cross, it seems to me that this is an unappreciated aspect of the Cross. What does the gospel record that the heavens darkened as Christ hung dying on the Cross mean if not the outpouring of divine grief (2)? Not only does the Son express His despair at the sudden abandonment by His Father, but,  through the failing of light, the Father expresses His grief at the suffering of the Son. But divine grief for the loss of all those who will reject the salvation won by the sacrifice of the Son is also present. Jesus’ raw confession of deep grief in the Garden of Gethsemane quoted above is not simply about His anticipation of the Cross but also about those who, despite His sacrifice, will still refuse to choose salvation. We know this weighed on His mind and heart because he is recorded by the gospel writers as weeping for Jerusalem precisely for this reason before He enters in triumphant procession on Palm Sunday (3). If the Son wept because of this, then we know the Father also wept as the Son perfectly reflects the heart of the Father (4).

At Jesus’ presentation in the Temple when He was born, Mary his mother, is told by Simeon that her heart would be pierced by a sword, a clear reference to the Cross (5).  This too, it seems to me, points to the grief that forms part of the essential aspect of the work of the Cross. Mary is not God, of course, but it does not seem far-fetched to suggest that her grief as a mother also expresses God’s grief at the Cross.  

Without the Cross, there is no Christian faith. Viewing it as only about the suffering of Christ as He bears the sin of humanity is, perhaps, to miss the grief of the Father for the loss of His Son and to miss the grief of God for all those who will, despite everything, still reject the offer of salvation and life eternal. If we don’t see the grief of God then we will not see that the only ones judging are human beings themselves. We are not helpless victims of an implacable, divine justice but free agents who choose our own fates.

1. Book of Revelation 21:4 New Testament, The Bible.
2. Gospel of Matthew 27:45-46 New Testament, The Bible.
3. Gospel of Luke 19:41-42 New Testament, The Bible.
4. Gospel of John 5:19 New Testament, The Bible.
5. Gospel of Luke 2:34-35 New Testament, The Bible.