Bruce Marchiano - Jesus Wept: Gods Tears Are For You

Our purpose at Howard Publishing is to:

• Increase faith in the hearts of growing Christians
• Inspire holiness in the lives of believers
• Instill hope in the hearts of struggling people everywhere

Because Hes coming again!

BRUCE MARCHIANO

Howard Publishing Co., Inc.
New York London Toronto sydney

Jesus Wept 2004 by Bruce Marchiano

All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America

Published by Howard Publishing Co., Inc.
3117 North 7th Street, West Monroe, Louisiana 71291-2227
www.SimonandSchuster.com

04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3

Edited by Michele Buckingham

Interior design by John Mark Luke Designs

Cover design by LinDee Loveland

Cover photo by Robbie Botha

Cover Illustration by Renae Mitchell

ISBN: 1-58229-350-3

ISBN 13: 978-1-582-29350-9

eISBN 978-1-439-12395-9

No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations within critical articles and reviews.

Some of the names used in the stories in this book are not the actual names; identifying details have been changed to protect anonymity. Any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Scripture quotations not otherwise marked are from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked NKJV are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version, Copyright 1994 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from THE AMPLIFIED BIBLE, Old Testament Copyright 1965, 1987 by the Zondervan Corporation. The Amplified New Testament copyright 1958, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.

DEDICATION

To my pastor, Scott Bauer, in his memory I miss you, Scott. As a shepherd you led me like Jesusas a man you called me Friend. Rest assured, dear Brother, for through me and the many others you poured yourself into, your ministry lives on!

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION
LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS

CHAPTER ONE
JESUS WEPT

CHAPTER TWO
BEFORE ABRAHAM WAS BORN, I AM

CHAPTER THREE
WHY, O LORD?

CHAPTER FOUR
MY EYES FAIL, LOOKING FOR MY GOD

CHAPTER FIVE
NOT A SPARROW FALLS

CHAPTER SIX
BY HIS WOUNDS WE ARE HEALED

CHAPTER SEVEN
BUT REJOICING COMES IN THE MORNING!

IN CLOSING
LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS

The grace of our God is so big, and I just thank Him for leading me so specifically to Howard Publishing

Thank you John, Denny, Philis, and company for your constant support, genuine care, and your willingness to step out of the box so that people would know the heart of God.

Thank you, also, to Mary Ann Jeffries whose encouragement is the reason this book exists; to Gesina, who believes in me beyond what I can understand; and to the many people across the world, most of whom Ive never met, who selflessly and privately carry me in prayer Thank you!

INTRODUCTION

LET US FIX OUR EYES ON JESUS

As many of you may know, several years ago I had the remarkable privilege of portraying Jesus on film. The movie is called The Gospel of Matthew, and the incredible thing about it is, thats exactly what the movie isword for word, the Gospel of Matthew. As an actor I had to memorize Jesus every word and strive to understand His heart like never before. The only word to describe that time in my life is extraordinary.

But thats not the experience I want to focus on in this introduction to Jesus Wept. Rather, its something that happened years laterin fact, just a few months ago.

Consider him so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

I was scheduled to speak at a gathering of maybe two thousand people. When I walked into the auditorium, the music had already begun, and I could tell the evening was going to be a great time of celebrating Jesus.

Right away something on the stage caught my eye. There, propped on an easel along the right side of the platform, was a huge paininga montage of three images of Jesus, two of which were obviously based on scenes from The Gospel of Matthew.

Now, Ive seen my own face in paintings of Jesus before. As you might imagine, it feels a little funny. Im humbled and honored that what I did in film means so much to some people that they would actually paint it. But seeing one of those paintings, especially when its bigsome have been huge! Kind of makes me want to crawl under a table.

The two images from the movie were of Jesus bloodied and hanging on the cross and Jesus weeping over a blind beggars shoulder, holding him tight against His chest, just weeping. This second image brought back one of my favorite memories of the entire filminga favorite because in that scene, Jesus was revealed to me like Id never understood Him before.

You will find me when you seek me with all your heart.

I will never forget it. We were filming in rural Morocco, and the man who played the blind beggar really was a blind beggar. Sparing you all the pre-scene details, the director called, Action! and the filming began. Suddenly I found myself down in the dirt with this guy,

face to face

close up

eye to eye

just as Jesus undoubtedly was when the encounter really took place two thousand years ago.

As the scene progressed, I was so overwhelmed with this mans brokenness that I started to cry and cry. My heart shattered, and all I could do was cry.

But far beyond my own feelings, what really hit me was Jesus heartbreak over himthe depth of Jesus compassion for this man and how desperately Jesus must love him. I tell you, I knew about Jesus love for people in pain before that day, but I never really got it until that moment.

For the very first time, with every tear that I cried as I knelt in that Moroccan sand, I understood that Jesus was crying a thousand more. He loves that man so muchso desperately

Streams of tears flow from my eyes because my people are destroyed.

And I just broke completely. I pulled the guy into my arms, and long after the camera stopped rolling, I cried and cried and cried. You could have heard a pin drop; the cast and crew were frozen. I will never forget what one cast member told me while watching the footage later: Ive known Jesus a long time, but I dont think I ever really knew Him until now.

Flash forward. There I was, about to speak to the crowd, and I saw that revelation moment immortalized in a painting sitting to the right of the stage. The memories flooded back to methe memory of the experience and the memory of discovering who Jesus truly is within it.