In the Book of John, chapter 11, verse 25, rests the well-known shortest verse in most English versions of the Bible, although it is not as short in the texts of original languages:
Jesus wept.
Before describing what makes this sentence so surprising to readers, I want to make clear I am not professing religious ideologies. Rather, I am positioning this sentence in the context of literature. I ask that you imagine a personal heroic figure, whether he or she be Muhammad, Thor, Harriet Tubman, or Malala Yousafzai.
The first 34 verses of John 11 total 652 words in 37 sentences, 17.6 words per sentence, a typical word count for this book. For examples, chapter 1 averages 16.7, and chapter 9 averages 18.6. After reading the book from its beginning, a reader would be unsettled simply by the brevity of a two-word sentence.
The human drama of the sentence makes it far more surprising. We expect our heroes to exude righteous precision and finality in righting wrongs, resisting injustice, comforting victims, and conquering villains. At this point in the story, Jesus has already converted numerous people to his worldview, endured several stand downs with his severest critics, performed many miracles, and expressed outrage over impious actions. He has served as a consistently steadfast model of holy behavior for his friends and disciples. We do not expect our heroes to show emotional weakness in times of distress. They have no time for mercy toward evil adversaries or tenderness toward weakness, and Jesus has lived up to these expectations. In addition, we already know that Jesus will "awaken" from the dead his dear friend Lazarus. He intentionally lingered far from his dying friend for two days (11:6), returned to a hostile area at his own risk instead of visiting Lazarus's family in a safer place (11.7), and intimated he would soon do something big to reinforce his disciples' faith (11:15). We are prepared for the resurrection of Lazarus, thanks to the superhuman powers that Jesus has well established at this point in the book.
What happens next comes as a complete surprise, not because Lazarus's sister proves her faith in Jesus's powers by proclaiming only he could have saved her brother from dying (11:32), and not because she and all those who try to comfort her break down and cry when they see Jesus (11:33). Indeed, Jesus's initial matter-of-fact response, "Where have ye laid him?" (11:34) shows he is all business. Then comes the unexpected famous two-word sentence, showing a lovingkindness from Jesus that surfaces in the midst of all the mourning, a reminder that he too, is human.
