River Valley Church Podcast
Episode: "Why Jesus Wept" – Pastor Logan Ketterling
Date: September 21, 2025
Episode Overview
In this message, Pastor Logan Ketterling concludes River Valley Church’s "Love Your Neighbor" series by exploring the significance of Jesus weeping, focusing on empathy, compassion, and the deep love Christ has for humanity. Pastor Logan weaves together biblical narratives, theological insights, personal stories, and practical applications, challenging listeners to reflect the compassionate heart of Jesus to their neighbors, especially in moments of suffering and brokenness.
Key Discussion Points & Insights
1. Empathy and Our Need for Compassion
- Pastor Logan opens by reflecting on his personal history with empathy, humorously noting he scored lowest in empathy on the Strength Finders test—contrasted with his wife’s high score.
- He stresses that, though empathy doesn’t come naturally to everyone, it is essential for Christians and pastors alike.
- He refers to the last week’s message by Aaron Pierce about how “broken hearts change the world” and questions his own emotional responses.
"Sorry. Empathy's not a strength... but as a pastor and as a Christian, we definitely need empathy."
— Pastor Logan (03:30)
- Brief discussion on types of tears—emotional tears uniquely mark humanity, illustrating God-designed depth of feeling.
2. Why Did Jesus Weep? (John 11:35)
- Reviews the story of Lazarus, emphasizing how Jesus, despite knowing he would raise Lazarus, chose to deeply share in the grief of those around Him.
- Explores reasons why Jesus might have wept:
- Empathy with human sorrow: Jesus identifies with the pain of His friends.
- Frustration at being misunderstood: People questioned Jesus’ love due to Lazarus’ death.
- Anger at death itself: Jesus is emotionally disturbed by death and unbelief.
"Sometimes we question God's love for us because of our circumstance. We question God's love for us because he allows us to suffer. We question God's love for us because he allows people to die. And Jesus is frustrated that people are questioning the love that he had for a good friend."
— Pastor Logan (09:30)
- Cites Charles Ellicott: Jesus’ human sympathy is as much part of His nature as His divine strength (15:10).
- Concludes: True Christlike love moves beyond approval—it is honest and sometimes corrective.
3. Receiving and Extending Christ’s Love
- Asserts that many Christians struggle to love others because they struggle to believe in God’s love for themselves.
- References 1 John: We love because He first loved us.
- Shares a humorous childhood story about understanding one’s identity as loved—not out of privilege but proximity to Jesus.
"Before we can love like Jesus, we must receive his love first."
— Pastor Logan (22:35)
4. Personal Story: Suffering and the Presence of God
- Shares the pain of a recent miscarriage experienced with his wife, Mac, underscoring the helplessness and empathy that suffering produces.
- Connects his tears during Mac’s pain to Jesus’ tears for Lazarus—when words and actions aren’t enough, presence and empathy matter most.
"The only thing I could do was to cry. Sounds a lot like empathy. This must be how Jesus felt for his friends when they saw Lazarus gone. This must be how Jesus feels for us when we go through pain and we go through suffering."
— Pastor Logan (29:45)
- Stresses that God’s presence often exceeds the depth of our anguish.
5. Suffering and God’s Glory
- Highlights John 11: The sickness “is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
- Not all suffering is evidence of God's absence; sometimes God allows suffering to draw us closer to Him and display His glory.
"Sometimes our suffering is used so that God can get the glory. Other times we suffer because of our own mistakes. But not all of our suffering is because God doesn't love us. In fact, sometimes it's because he loves us."
— Pastor Logan (34:10)
- Quotes John Piper: Do not measure God’s love by health, wealth, or comfort, but by how much of Himself He shows you (35:00).
6. Other Moments When Jesus Wept
- Over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41–44):
Jesus weeps not over pagans, but over God’s people whose hearts are hardened by ritual and pride. - Emphasizes that church attendance and ritual do not guarantee a relationship with God.
"Rituals don't save us. It's only Jesus who can save."
— Pastor Logan (41:23)
- Cites Sister Martha Tennyson: "Laughter is healing, weeping is cleansing, and if your eyes leak, your head won't swell." (44:10)
7. Praying for a Heart Like Jesus
- Pastor Logan prays for increased empathy and a deeper burden for lost people.
- Encourages the church to pray for eyes to see, hearts to love—even those who disagree with or oppose them.
"Would you help me love in a new way? Would you give me empathy? Would you give me a love for the people around me, even if they disagree with me? God says, I'm granting that request."
— Pastor Logan (46:55)
8. Paul’s Sorrow for the Lost (Romans 9 & Philippians 3)
- Paul expresses deep, unceasing anguish for those separated from Christ.
- Pastor Logan connects true love with genuine sorrow for the lost, challenging the church to move beyond indifference to active, compassionate engagement.
9. The Gravity of Sin and Christ’s Sacrifice
- Reflects on Jesus’ tears in the Garden of Gethsemane, experiencing anguish over becoming sin for humanity’s sake.
- Warns against trivializing sin; contrasts the deep suffering and the high cost of Jesus’ redemptive work.
"God, forgive us for saying sin is not a big deal... Forgive us for being numb. Forgive me for comparing anything in this life to hell."
— Pastor Logan (58:10)
- Emphasizes the motivation of God’s love in sending Jesus (John 3:16).
10. The Offer of Forgiveness and Plea for Reconciliation
- Shares a poignant story of a boy pleading with his mother not to leave his family, underscoring the pain when people grip their sin instead of receiving forgiveness.
"I'm sad because sin has a grip on people. But I weep because people have a grip on sin. And that's the message for us today: You don't have to go. You don't have to choose sin. You don't have to choose to be separated from God."
— Pastor Logan (1:05:00)
- Urges listeners to open their hearts to forgiveness, reconciliation, and the persistent love of Jesus.
Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments
- On Empathy:
"We can't talk about loving our neighbor if we don't see the people right in front of us." (18:10) - On Jesus’ Compassion:
"Jesus is showing us this love and compassion. And some of us struggle so much to have compassion for others because... we don't think that God can love us." (21:05) - On Suffering:
"God exceeded the depth of our anguish with the significance of his presence." (31:09) - On Forgiveness and Sin:
"You don't have to go. You don't have to choose separation. You can choose Jesus. It's our prayer... Please don't go. What Jesus has done for you is enough." (1:07:30)
Important Timestamps
- Empathy and Personal Story: 03:30–07:00
- Why Did Jesus Weep?: 08:30–17:00
- Receiving Christ’s Love: 21:00–23:00
- Personal Suffering and Empathy: 28:30–32:00
- Suffering and Glory: 34:00–35:30
- Ritual vs. Relationship: 41:00–44:30
- Jesus Weeps Over Sin: 56:00–59:00
- Final Plea and Prayer: 1:04:45–end
Takeaways
- Jesus’ tears reveal His deep empathy, not only for personal loss but for human suffering, unbelief, and sin.
- Loving our neighbor begins with recognizing God’s love for us and extending compassion to others, especially those who are lost or hurting.
- Suffering is not always an absence of God’s love—it can be an invitation to deeper intimacy with Him.
- The Christian life is not about ritual, status, or perfection, but about relationship with Jesus and a heart that mirrors His empathy and passion for the lost.
- Pastor Logan closes with a prayer that the congregation would carry a burden for their neighbors and experience the full measure of Christ’s love in their own lives.