Jesus wept. – John 11:35, NKJV
It’s the shortest verse in the Bible but it really packs a punch. To better understand it you need to know the tale of these two sisters.
Mary and Martha sent word to Jesus that their brother Lazarus was sick. They hoped their miracle working friend would come and heal their brother but Jesus had different plans. Jesus waits a few extra days and then goes but Lazarus was already dead and in the grave.
Here is where we see the two sisters interact with Jesus in very similar ways but get different results.
Now Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever You ask of God, God will give You.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to Him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?” – John 11:21-26, NKJV
Then, when Mary came where Jesus was, and saw Him, she fell down at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” Therefore, when Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, He groaned in the spirit and was troubled. And He said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. – John 11:32-35, NKJV
It’s easy to look at these two interactions and believe one got a better response than the other. After all Mary got Jesus to cry but there’s more to it than that. If you look closer at Martha’s interaction, she speaks a revelation that Jesus already shared with her. His response was an even deeper revelation building on the last, that He is the resurrection. With Mary, I don’t think she was ready for the same kind of deep revelation. She just needed someone to cry with her and that’s exactly what she got. It gives me hope that God meets us where we are and He will share what we are ready to receive whether it is a revelation or just someone to cry with.