Empathy from Jesus
Do you think Jesus understands your feelings, thoughts, and experiences?
Verse of the Day
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin.”
Today’s Devotional
Have you spent time with someone who has very little empathy? According to the internet, someone who lacks empathy displays some or all of the following characteristics: they are highly critical, can’t control their own emotions, unaware of the feelings of others, accuse others of being overly sensitive, they tend to overreact, they can’t admit when they are wrong.
That is not who Jesus is. Even though He is the most powerful human to ever live, nothing He did was about Him. He was full of empathy. So let’s look at the above list and describe Jesus as the opposites. Jesus was rarely critical, except to religious leaders who were stuck in their “rules”. Jesus controlled His emotions. Jesus was VERY aware of the feelings of others. Jesus never once told anyone that they were being sensitive. Jesus was not reactive. Jesus was never wrong, so He did not have to admit to that. But when accused, He did not need to defend himself.
What is empathy and why does it matter? Webster’s defines empathy as: “: the action of understanding, being aware of, being sensitive to, and vicariously experiencing the feelings, thoughts, and experience of another.”
So as far as our weaknesses go, Jesus understands. He is aware of all of our weaknesses, even when we are not. He experiences our emotions with us. He is with us during every moment. We are never alone. We can meet us in our weaknesses and still help guide us into God’s will.
When I think of a high priest, I think of someone who is not very approachable. They have a heavy burden of being the intermediary between someone and God. But when I think of Jesus, who died to grant us access to God through His own sacrifice, I find Him very approachable. Everything He did was for the purpose of drawing us closer.
It’s easy to connect with people who have a similar story to mine. Or even if someone’s story is vastly different than mine, I feel really drawn to people who can articulate having had similar emotional struggles to mine. This verse is telling me that Jesus has had the same struggles that I have had. He just handled them without sin. Without pride. Without selfishness. Without lies. Without gluttony. Without laziness. Without blame. Jesus is the one I should always be drawn to, for what He lived through and how He must have felt and how He handled it all.
Ultimately, we all want to know that we are not the only one who has been through (and survived) the struggles in our life. As we seek discernment for the decisions we need to make, we need to first look for how Jesus handled the situations He was in. We need to be on our knees asking for Jesus to empathize with our desire to seek His guidance. We need to be honest about our need for guidance and direction. The more authentic we can be, the more God sends us people of similar experiences to help us. But before God sent anyone to walk with us through this life, he sent Jesus. Thank you, God.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
How do you understand and experience the empathy Jesus has for you? Do you believe that he has felt what you are feeling?
How can you rely on Jesus’s nearness and understanding of your current situation?
How can you seek the guidance of Jesus in any area where you need discernment?