Whatever you’re going through, Jesus relates!
Whenever you pray and you’re not sure that God can empathize with your situation, just remember that there’s now a human—Jesus!—who’s a member of the Trinity.
Jesus is fully God and fully human (John 1:1,14; John 10:30).
He didn’t stop being God when he became a man.
He didn’t stop being a man when he ascended to the right hand of God the Father, 40 days after his resurrection from the dead.
The scars from the nails of his crucifixion will be on his holy hands forever (Zechariah 12:10, Revelation 5:6), as a visceral and eternal reminder of his humanity.
Jesus Suffered on our Behalf
This God/man is our intercessor and advocate before the Father (Romans 8:34).
As he intercedes for us, he relates with all our hurts because he’s been hurt more deeply (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) than we can imagine.
- He was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain” (Isaiah 53:3).
- He was abandoned by all his friends (Mark 14:50).
- He was beaten beyond human recognition (Isaiah 52:14).
- He was nailed to a cross with spike nails (Mark 15:24).
- He was verbally abused by the religious authorities, the crowds, and the criminals (Mark 15:21-32).
- He was forsaken by the Father, who poured out His wrath upon Him as He hung on the cross, in our place for our sin (Mark 15:34).
What Jesus’ Suffering Means for Us
Whatever you’re going through, Jesus relates.
He more than relates, because he’s gone through more pain, grief, abuse, hurt, abandonment, and torture than you and I can imagine.
So bring it all to Jesus.
He doesn’t condemn—he empathizes.
As Hebrews 4:14-16 reminds us:
…let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. 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. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Come boldly before God’s throne of grace and bring all your struggles, for you have a God/man who relates.
You have Jesus!
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
