Jesus is Empathetic

• Empathy: the ability to feel deeply for someone, despite not sharing the actual experience.

“For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weakness, but One who has been tempted in all things we are, yet without sin.” – Hebrews 4:15

Matthew 4:1-11: Here are three situations in which Jesus was faced with temptations, yet did not sin.

• “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry. The temper came to him and said, ‘If you are the Son of God, tell those stones to become bread.‘ Jesus answered, ‘It is written: Man should not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
• “…the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. ‘If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.” For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’ Jesus answered, ‘It is also written: Do not put the Lord your God to the test.“
• “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. ‘All this I will give you, if you will bow down and worship me.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Away from me, Satan! For it is written: worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.“

In the first scenario, the devil tempts Jesus to squelch his hunger, we face these same self gratification experiences where we try to fix our own problems. In the second scenario, the devil tempts Jesus to prove that God will save us-just as we try to protect ourselves when we face problems. In the third scenario, the devil tempts Jesus to give into his desires-and we struggle with believing God is faithful in his timing.

So the empathy here that we are referring to in Hebrews is that Jesus has never sinned. Oh, this guy was tempted. He had many opportunities to sin, but rose against that temptation. Since he’s never actually shared in the experience of sin, Jesus empathizes with our experiences.

We are all going to face temptation. We are equipped to endure and resist them. To combat temptation, Jesus refers back to scripture (Deuteronomy). God has prepared us to face struggles of this world, and we will not be able to overcome them ALL…but we are given grace through Jesus to help us avoid them.

“No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure.” 1 Corinthians 10:13

We’ve all experienced empathy. Those days when we are upset about something, we just want someone to come by our side and understand how we are feeling. It is important, that we as Christians, empathize and care for others. Just like Jesus, we will meet many people who have struggles we do not understand. You may have a friend at school who has faced sins you just simply don’t get. What is next? How do we help them?

Ideally, we should hope that when others see the way we live and treat others, it is the result of theGod who loves us and our Jesus who has redeemed us. Are you emulating the empathy of Jesus, who loves you despite every sin you’ve ever committed?