Where have you laid him?

Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, "Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died." When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to him, "Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. So the Jews said, "See how he loved him!"

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I think that the two words, "Jesus wept", paint a moving picture of the humanity and the heart of Jesus. Many times in the gospels we read how Jesus was moved by compassion to heal a hurting soul. When I read those passages I wonder how the gospel writers knew that. Could it be that the writers saw compassionate tears flowing from the very eyes of God incarnate? I think that compassion is the heart of what we see in this moving passage.

I find it so interesting how Jesus reacts so differently to Mary than he did to Martha. It is like he moves from the external aspects of his healing mission to something very internal and personal. He seems to break as Mary falls at his feet. He is moved deeply and begins to weep at her deep pain. This image comforts me. Knowing that God cares deeply about hurting hearts invites me to pray and share my pain with Him.

Lord, thank you for compassion. Help me to not hold back when I pray.