We weep as “Jesus wept” : a New Testament perspective on grief and tears for emotionally suppressed Asians

Abstract

It is observed that the New Testament contains fewer records of weeping narratives and employs comparatively restrained emotional language in contrast to the Old Testament. Additionally, psychologists and sociologists have noted that individuals from Asian cultures tend to exhibit a lower degree of emotional expressiveness relative to their counterparts in a European/ American culture. This article is a response to both claims through the lens of weeping and tears in the NT, in particular, the tears of Jesus. I demonstrate that there is sufficient data for a survey on the topic of weeping and sorrow in the NT and argue that our findings can and should inform the relatively emotionally suppressed Asian culture. I focus only on the emotional expression of weeping by Jesus, for if Jesus himself is known to have personally experienced pain and sorrow and even openly wept and cried, then should not followers of Jesus also be encouraged and allowed to do the same?