Christians recognize the deity of Jesus Christ. We confess He is the Son of God (Matt. 16:16; Acts 8:37; Rom. 10:9). He is the mighty God, the everlasting, the I AM (Isa. 9:6; John 8:58). However, we also must be reminded of His humanity. Jesus Christ came in the flesh (John 1:14). He took part in flesh and blood for a third of a century (Heb. 2:14). He “made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil. 2:7, 8). Thus, He experienced the same emotions that you and I experience. Part of the way God has designed humans is to have emotions to external stimuli. Emotions are natural. But we choose how we react to them. For example, courage is not an absence of fear, but a virtuous reaction to fear. It is a choice to act courageously in the face of fear. Unlike us, Jesus always chose the proper reaction to His emotions, but He did have emotions. Thus, He can empathize with whatever situation we are struggling with in life because He was tempted in all points as we are, yet He never sinned (Heb. 4:15). The Lord should not just be an abstract thought in our minds, but the person with Whom we relate when no one else seems to understand us. Notice the emotions Jesus experienced as a man and how as our Lord in heaven He can relate to us.
First and foremost, Jesus showed compassion to those who were in need. He had compassion on those who were hungry, who had followed Him three days with nothing to eat (Matt. 15:32). He could empathize with hunger (Matt. 4:2), thirst (John 19:28), and weariness (John 4:6). His pity and compassion were triggered by His love for every soul (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8). After all, God is love (1 John 4:8, 16); if Jesus came to reveal God to mankind (Jn. 1:18), then He came to show love (John 13:1). Jesus died for us because He loves us. He said, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:12-13). If He loved you enough to die for you, then you can go to the Lord in prayer and cast all your cares on Him being confident that He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7). In a passage on prayer (1 Tim. 2:1-8), the inspired apostle Paul explained, “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim. 2:5). Jesus came to show the Father to humanity (John 1:14, 18), but He also can go to the Father on our behalf because He understands us and our petitions. He understands what it is like to be human, to be tempted, and to negotiate the variety of feelings a person goes through. Consider how Job desired such a mediator when he was suffering (Job 9:32, 33). As the great high priest, Jesus has compassion on you (Heb. 4:14; 5:1, 2; 6:20; 8:1).
Many in the religious world might be surprised to know that the Lord also showed anger and hate. The Lord hates sin (Psa. 5:6) and those who love the Lord hate sin as well (Psa. 139:21). Jesus expressed His hatred for the deeds of the Nicolaitans and approved of the church of Ephesus for hating these deeds as well (Rev. 2:6). It is in fact the Lord’s love that makes Him hate that which destroys souls. His love rouses His anger to call people to repent (Rev. 3:19). Jesus looked around those in the synagogue in anger because of their hard hearts that objected to healing a man with a withered hand on the Sabbath (Mark 3:5). It is not a sin to be angry. But we can let our anger cause us to sin. In fact, we are commanded to be angry when it is proper but not to express it sinfully (Eph. 4:26). Jesus, as with all His other emotions, never let His anger control Him, but used it to serve righteous purposes (John 2:15-17).
Jesus knows what it is like to feel sadness. He is “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isa. 53:3). When Jesus heard that John the Baptist had been beheaded, He departed into a deserted place; He just wanted to be alone (Matt. 14:13). Jesus knew the sting of betrayal that Judas inflicted (Luke 22:48; John 13:1-21). Jesus prayed to God with loud cries and tears (Heb. 5:7). He felt the loneliness on the cross that made Him cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46.)
Jesus also experienced joy. The reason He was able to faithfully endure the cross was His concentration on the joy that was set before Him (Heb. 12:2). He knew that through His death many souls would be saved (Heb. 2:10). Jesus wants His joy to be in His disciples, that through Him their joy may be full and complete (John 15:11; 16:24).
Jesus understands you better than you understand yourself. While He was on earth, He displayed His ability to look within the hearts of men and bring out their motives when they were not aware of them (John 1:47-48; 2:25). Bring your fears before Him to be cast out in His perfect love (1 John 4:18). Bring your anxieties and lay the cares of this world at His feet. This way you can be anxious for nothing but let your requests be made known to Him (Phil. 4:6). Cast all your care upon Him, for He cares for you (1 Pet. 5:7).
–Mark Day