[advance to: Trail of Tears - part 2]
[author’s note: Based on an article by Wayne Jackson, Christian Courier: Penpoints, Monday, February 24, 2003]
     Good morning and welcome to the Berean Break.  My name is George Sinkie and I am so glad that you have joined me this morning.  I encourage you to have your Bible handy and to check out what is said here this morning.  As we begin let’s go to God in prayer.

Almighty God in heaven, we thank You for this day in our lives, may we use it to bring You glory and honor.  We thank You for the moisture that we have received and the watering that it brings to this earth.  We pray for the nations of this world and their leaders, may they all realize that they are only in power because of Your will.  We thank You now for Your Word, that reveals Your complete will to us.  We thank You also for Jesus, who is the Savior of all who obey Him, may we be obedient to Him.  And it is in His name we pray! AMEN !!

     First of all I would like to thank Wayne Jackson at www.christiancourier.com for his article entitled “The Trail of Tears.”  The basic idea of this program comes from that article.
     When was the last time that you cried?  Oh I know some of you put on a front that you are tough guys and gals, but basically we all have cried, and will cry in the future.  There are a number of reasons why we cry and shed tears.  When some of that chilly wind blew in our faces we shed tears, or when a speck of dust gets in our eyes we cry.  Sometimes when an odor or chemical fumes are present our eyes water as we sometimes call it.  These same physical forces can cause the eyes of animals to water as well and sometimes we may say that the animal is crying.  But there are also emotional reasons for why, we as humans, cry - joy, sadness, fear - this characteristic is uniquely human.  The tears that we shed from these emotional causes are different, chemically different, than those that are shed due to physical causes.  Those tears caused by physical forces are designed to cleanse and protect the eyes, but these emotional tears are quite different. These tears cannot be explained for by those who believe in evolution.  Their attempts at explaining them make no sense, because tears point to design and intelligence, not random, meaningless chance.
     Tears are spoken of often in the Scriptures. R.B. Johnson in the Baker Encyclopedia of Psychology & Counseling says that “[t]he Bible has no fewer than 510 references to crying and uses at least 11 words in New Testament Greek to describe crying.”  This number of references shows that God takes note of mankind’s tears.  In Psalm 56:8, David says,

  8 Thou hast taken account of my wanderings;  Put my tears in Thy bottle;  Are they not in Thy book?

We can see from this that God remembers our tears and it is almost as if He keeps them.  When king Hezekiah was ill and had been pleading with the Lord, the Lord responded through Isaiah the prophet.  We want to consider especially what Isaiah says in 2 Kings 20:5

  5 “Return and say to Hezekiah the leader of My people, ‘Thus says the Lord, the God of your father David, “I have heard your prayer, I have seen your tears; behold, I will heal you.  On the third day you shall go up to the house of the Lord.”’”

As I mentioned before there are a number of emotions that cause us, as humans, to shed tears. Let’s take some time this morning to consider at least some of these emotions. As we look at these consider how you have perhaps shed these types of tears.

     First of all there are Tears of Grief.  When Sarah was 127 years old she died and Abraham mourned for her.  As we read in Genesis 23:2

  2 And Sarah died in Kiriath-arba (that is, Hebron) in the land of Canaan; and Abraham went in to mourn for Sarah and to weep for her.

Years later we read of the great patriarch Jacob weeping when he thought that his son Joseph had been killed. Note what it says in Genesis 37:35

  35 Then all his sons and all his daughters arose to comfort him, but he refused to be comforted.  And he said, “Surely I will go down to Sheol in mourning for my son.”  So his father wept for him.

Many of us have shed these tears of grief at the loss of a loved one.

     A second emotion that can bring about tears is joy.  While Jacob wept tears of grief because he thought Joseph was dead, Joseph wasn’t dead but had been sold into slavery by his brothers.  Years later their paths would cross again and we can read about this meeting in Genesis 45:1-2

  1 Then Joseph could not control himself before all those who stood by him, and he cried, “Have everyone go out from me.”  So there was no man with him when Joseph made himself known to his brothers.
  2 And he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and the household of Pharaoh heard of it.

And then in Genesis 45:14-15

  14 Then he fell on his brother Benjamin’s neck and wept; and Benjamin wept on his neck.
  15 And he kissed all his brothers and wept on them, and afterward his brothers talked with him.

Wayne makes an interesting statement in his article about tears of Joy, he says, “It is an interesting observation that, apparently, only adults cry tears of joy.”

     Emotional tears are also the result of Gratitude.  Consider the gratitude that the woman had that Jesus spoke of in Luke 7:40-50

  40 And Jesus answered and said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.”  And he replied, “Say it, Teacher.”
  41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors: one owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.
  42 “When they were unable to repay, he graciously forgave them both.  Which of them therefore will love him more?”
  43 Simon answered and said, “I suppose the one whom he forgave more.”  And He said to him, “You have judged correctly.”
  44 And turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman?  I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair.
  45 “You gave Me no kiss; but she, since the time I came in, has not ceased to kiss My feet.
  46 “You did not anoint My head with oil, but she anointed My feet with perfume.
  47 “For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
  48 And He said to her, “Your sins have been forgiven.”
  49 And those who were reclining at the table with Him began to say to themselves, “Who is this man who even forgives sins?”
  50 And He said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

As we see here sometimes a number of emotions may be present that go together to cause our tears.  While this woman was grateful for the forgiveness she received, she was probably joyful as well.

     Compassion is the emotion of feeling with someone else.  Sometimes because we feel with others we shed tears.  In the shortest verse in the Bible, John 11:35, it says,

  35 Jesus wept.

These tears were not just tears of sadness at the death of His friend Lazarus, because we have already seen that Jesus knew what was going on here. Read back earlier with me in John 11:4

  4 But when Jesus heard it, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified by it.”

Then read with me, John 11:11-15

  11 This He said, and after that He said to them, “Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep; but I go, that I may awaken him out of sleep.”
  12 The disciples therefore said to Him, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
  13 Now Jesus had spoken of his death, but they thought that He was speaking of literal sleep.
  14 Then Jesus therefore said to them plainly, “Lazarus is dead,
  15 and I am glad for your sakes that I was not there, so that you may believe; but let us go to him.”

Since Jesus knew that Lazarus was going to be raised, His tears would not be for sadness as those of the other people.  His were tears of compassion, He felt the loss that Mary and Martha felt.  He had compassion for mankind as He saw the effect and devastation that sin brought into the world.  The Hebrews writer speaks of this in Hebrews 4:15

  15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

     Concern is another emotion that can bring tears to our eyes.  Because of Paul’s great concern for the church he often shed tears.  As he spoke for the last time with the elders from Ephesus, note what he says in Acts 20:31

  31 “Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears.

Ephesus was not the only church that received these tears of Paul.  He shed them for Corinth as we read in 2 Corinthians 2:4

  4 For out of much affliction and anguish of heart I wrote to you with many tears; not that you should be made sorrowful, but that you might know the love which I have especially for you.

And also Philippi in Philippians 3:18

  18 For many walk, of whom I often told you, and now tell you even weeping, that they are enemies of the cross of Christ,

     For now our time is just about up.  We will continue to look at more emotions that can cause tears next week, Lord willing.  As we have looked at, emotional tears are truly a testimony to the intellectual design of a great creator.  May we truly look to God every time there is a tear in our eyes.

[advance to: Trail of Tears - part 2]