Good Friday: The Empathy of Jesus
How the suffering of Christ enables us to empathize with the Creator of the Universe
Last Sunday, I had the honor of speaking at Covenant Church in Shepherdstown. If you’ve never visited West Virginia in the spring, I highly encourage you to make the trip. I stayed at the Bavarian Inn, a resort and brewery overlooking the Potomac. Rolling hills are spotted with daffodils and bluebells, while pear trees and redbuds decorate the woods for Easter.
My speech at Covenant was on the suffering of Jesus, and how our own suffering allows us to know him better. You can watch the video here, and read my notes below.
Suffering often results in us feeling separated from God. As a child abuse victim, I remember praying, “God, if you love me, why don’t you fix my dad? Why didn’t you give me a happy family?”
Grief is a strange thing. We often feel isolated in our grief, and yet grief connects us to one another. Everyone has suffered. Everyone has felt alone. And because everyone has felt alone, nobody is alone.
Not too long ago, I spoke with a young mom who was grieving a miscarriage. She said, “I’m so beaten down and heartbroken. I think I may have lost my salvation. I can’t feel my faith anymore. I feel abandoned by God.”
Does that remind you of anyone? Because it reminds me of Jesus.
As Jesus hung on a blood soaked cross, he cried out on anguish, “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?”
You see, no matter how abandoned or forgotten we may feel, the reality is, God understands.
Because Jesus was beaten up, I know he can personally relate with me. Because Jesus was falsely accused and called a liar and crazy, I know he knows how I feel. Because Jesus was humiliated and dehumanized, I can relate with the God who created the universe.
Our God works all things – all things – together for the good of those who love him.
Hebrews 4:15 says, “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.”
If you have ever suffered; no matter what you’ve been through, God can relate with you, and you can relate with God.
Social media preview image by Manfred Langpap.