When a person has a tragedy or trauma in their life, some will express sympathy to reach out in care and concern. One of the common responses is, “I will be there with you. Just let me know how I can be of support to you.” Often those words that are said with the intent of being kind but have little substance. They are well-meaning. They can be either felt or shallow for intent.
On the other hand, when a person experiences sadness beyond description and a challenge to proceed further in life, sympathy is of little help. What is truly needed from someone that recognizes pain is empathy. It is to be invested in the emotional state of the other person that is experiencing it. It is a type of shared trauma for what has happened by someone who cares. It is participating in the agony of the event as if it was one’s own experience.
The disciple John reports a deep emotion of Jesus in chapter 11, verse 35. The two words recorded here are profound. Remind yourself that Jesus was fully human and fully God and as such he wept for what had recently happened in the death of Lazarus. His empathy was a direct connection to what Mary and Martha were experiencing.
Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” Jesus felt the depth of the sadness that Mary and Martha had as if it was his own. In all the various temptations that Jesus faced he never became bitter or angry. He demonstrated their grief as his own. He connected with the loss that they were forced to face.
Know that Jesus is not sympathetic toward our cause of hurt and sadness. Instead, he is empathetic to whatever we are experiencing. Jesus as the Son of God is not just sitting on the heavenly throne watching us trudge through the pains of life. He aligns himself continually to our experience. When we pray for help and comfort, he knows the details of what ours is to face. Because those little two words (“Jesus wept”) be encouraged that the God we serve cares so much about this world and all of us in it.
Christian Writer 