A Weeping Heart

June 2, 2025

At the outset, I promise that this will not be a sad blog post. Don’t let the title deceive you. After sorrow there is joy and hope in Jesus.

Sorrow and weeping are parts of life, even a life full of joy and blessings. Yet we live in a sin-cursed world, and we feel the effects of sin every day of our lives—even the creation groans until the awaited day of full restoration.

In today’s devotional, I’d like us to take a look at a woman who wept. Her heart was full of sorrow, and scripture mentions her tears four times in one passage—that’s a lot of crying. Yet for Mary Magdelene, her tears endured only for a time because her joy came in the morning (Psalms 30:5).

We find Mary Magdelene in the book of John, and I love this book of the Bible. It’s probably one of my absolute favorite books in God's Word. In the book of John, I see the tender love of Jesus through the eyes of a disciple who was truly beloved himself. I see Jesus’ compassion as the Shepherd (John 10), and I see His mighty love as the Savior (John 3). I see in the book of John Jesus’ longing for a personal relationship with me and a desire for daily fellowship (John 15).

Recently, I read John 20 to my children during the Easter season, and one account in this chapter touches my heart every single time I read it. In case you are not familiar with this passage, several of Jesus’ disciples and followers have run to the tomb only to find it empty. While Peter and John run to tell the others about the missing Jesus, Mary Magdelene stands outside the grave weeping because she does not know where her Lord has gone.

Looking inside the empty tomb, Mary Magdelene is greeted by two angels, sitting at the head and foot of where Jesus had been. The angels ask her, “Why weepest thou?” Mary shares her sorrow over the unknown whereabouts of her Lord, and almost simultaneously, she turns around and sees a man she supposes to be the gardener.

This supposed Gardener asks her the same question, “Why weepest thou?” but probing deeper and further than the angels’ inquiry, He also asks, “Whom seekest thou?”

In Jesus’ 2 questions, I see nourishment for the heart and a deeper understanding of the Savior’s love.

1.       Woman, why weepest thou?

2.       Whom seekest thou?

Why are you crying? Jesus wants to know. What makes you sad? Jesus wants to know. He is asking because He wants to know. He wants us to share our sorrows with Him.

Whom are you seeking? This question makes all the difference for the very path of your life. If you seek the approval of others, you will never find it. If you seek for joy in people, they will fail you. If you seek for Jesus, He will satisfy your soul and fill your deepest needs. If you look for Jesus, He will never let you down.

Ps 145:19 He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.  

Still thinking that Jesus is the Gardener, Mary asks if He has born the body of her Lord to some other corner of the garden. With a breaking heart, she promises to care for the tortured body of her Lord.

Revealing His true identity, Jesus simply says, “Mary.” In one word—her very own name—Mary Magdelene’s spiritual eyes are opened and all the doubt, sorrow, and turmoil depart and in floods the joy, radiance, and love that only Jesus can bring.

Mary.

That one word makes me weep almost every time I read this passage. In that one word—one woman’s name—I see the tender love of Jesus, His personal knowledge of His children, and His heartfelt compassion for our sufferings. Jesus knew Mary’s name, and He knew everything about her. Jesus knew her sadness and emotional agony, and He longed to comfort her.

Mary also knew her Master’s voice. She did not recognize His risen body, but she knew His voice. Humbly, she responds to His voice with adoration and submission by calling Him, “Rabboni [Master].”

Do I hear my Master’s voice when He speaks to me? Or do I ignore Him? Do I own Jesus as my Master, or do I just view Him as my ticket to heaven?

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Dear friends, Jesus wants to give us joy in the midst of life’s trials. While we all weep over losses in this life, Jesus can patch our hearts and make our spirits anew with His life-giving power and tender love.

If something has broken your heart and spilled the well of your tears, Jesus knows and He cares. Just like He comforted Mary Magdelene, so He longs to comfort you and bring the peace and joy so desperately craved by every human heart.

Jesus knows you and He loves you! And I hope you know how much you are loved by Him.

Have a blessed week surrounded by the love of Jesus.

-Ashley

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