5 Ways and Verses That Show Us How Jesus Relates to Our Pain

Being human, Jesus was tempted to disobey God. Hebrews 4:15 explains how Jesus experienced temptation “in every way” and yet without sin. The phrase “in every way” is extreme. Jesus faced every temptation men and women encountered. This includes every dark and evil thought, thoughts that scare us in their evil intent. 

First, Jesus struggled with a will to separate from his Father. In the Garden, the night before his death, he had to submit his contrary will to God and participate in the pain and crucifixion to come (Matthew 26:42). Earlier in his ministry, the Devil himself came to tempt Jesus. Jesus was in a weakened state after having fasted for forty days (Matthew 4:1-11) and didn’t overcome Satan’s attack. 

Hebrews goes on to reveal Jesus is, therefore, the perfect High Priest in Heaven for humanity. This truth calls for a shift in perspective during Lent, encouraging us to approach Jesus not only as the divine Savior but also as a relatable companion in our pain. Further, Jesus was not only tempted in every way but also knew how to overcome each temptation in righteousness. 

This becomes an invitation to draw near to Jesus, find solace in His understanding, seek refuge in His grace, and find strength to overcome the various temptations and pains that accompany the human journey.

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Jesus knew he was about to raise Lazarus from the dead, and he still wept with those who grieved. 

In the poignant story of Lazarus found in John 11:35, the simple yet profound statement, “Jesus wept,” reveals the compassionate heart of Christ and His deep empathy for human pain and sorrow. This moment serves as a powerful testament to Jesus’ ability to relate intimately to our experiences of grief and loss. Yes, those who believe are promised a resurrected, heavenly life after our death. But God doesn’t dismiss the pain and grief in the meantime. In fact, as Jesus reveals, he enters our pain and weeps with us. 

As believers meditate on this, it becomes a source of profound comfort. The Son of God, in His humanity, openly expresses the depths of His emotions, mirroring the genuine sorrow and compassion He feels for those who are hurting. This tender display of emotion demonstrates that Jesus is not detached from our pain but fully enters our human condition.

We can approach Jesus with our own sorrows and struggles. It invites us to seek solace in the understanding that our Savior actively shares in our emotional burdens. Oh, what a friend we have in Jesus, indeed. 

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Throughout the earthly ministry of Jesus, the Gospels continually comment on how Jesus acted with compassion when he witnessed people in need. From the city of Jerusalem to a person with a disability, Jesus felt deep compassion for the pain and bondage of men, women, and children. 

In extending forgiveness, Jesus exemplifies a divine understanding of the weight of guilt and the longing for redemption. His encounters with sinners, such as the woman caught in adultery (John 8:1-11) or Zacchaeus, the tax collector (Luke 19:1-10), showcase a compassionate Savior who forgives and restores, acknowledging the deep-seated need for healing from spiritual wounds.

Moreover, Jesus’ compassionate healing ministry amplifies His empathy for physical and emotional pain. Miraculous healings, like restoring sight to the blind (Mark 10:46-52) or curing the leper (Matthew 8:1-4), emphasize a Savior who actively engages with the physical and emotional suffering of individuals, offering not only relief but a tangible manifestation of His love and understanding.

Meditating on Jesus’ forgiveness and compassionate healing becomes a transformative journey into the heart of a Savior who intimately relates to the multifaceted aspects of human pain. His mercy triumphs over judgment. This reflection invites believers to approach Christ with their wounds, trusting in His forgiveness and seeking His healing touch to restore body, soul, and spirit.

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Most of us have been betrayed by a friend or family member, and this caused great pain and grief. Jesus also experienced intense sorrow through the actions of Judas Iscariot. This provides a poignant example of his profound connection to the pain of human relationships. 

In the Gospels, Judas takes money from the religious leaders to bring Jesus into their hands since they were seeking to arrest and kill him. Judas brings the Jewish soldiers into the Garden of Gethsemane. He betrays Jesus with a kiss, marking the onset of a sequence of events leading to Christ’s arrest and crucifixion.

By personally enduring betrayal, Jesus enters into the depths of human pain caused by broken trust and disloyalty. Further, Jesus not only suffered such a personal betrayal, but he also experienced sorrow when anyone made in his image rejected him and rebelled against him. We have each given him such sorrow as others have with us. Christ offers a way for us to be reconciled through his blood and sacrifice. 

Reflecting on Jesus’ betrayal assures us that Christ is not a distant deity untouched by the wounds of human relationships but a compassionate Savior who comprehends the complexities of relational pain. This realization invites us to bring our own experiences of betrayal to Jesus, finding comfort in the knowledge that He intimately shares in the anguish caused by broken trust. We can also find grace for our own acts of betrayal. 

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Death is a common experience for every human and our death results from the sin of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. This curse of death extended to all of creation, caught in entropy. 

Jesus’ experience of death, culminating in His crucifixion, stands as the ultimate demonstration of His profound connection to human pain. In the Gospel accounts, particularly in Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19, the narrative unfolds as Jesus willingly embraces the agony of death on the cross.

By undergoing death, Jesus offers a unique understanding of the existential pain associated with mortality. His death is not a distant event but a deliberate and personal encounter with mortality, one he willingly took upon himself. Yet he didn’t experience death to only relate to humanity. It includes this, but at the same time, there is hope within the crucifixion of Jesus. Through his death, we have access to eternal life. Not only us but all of creation. 

Christ’s journey to the cross assures us that He intimately comprehends the fear, uncertainty, and physical pain associated with mortality. The One who conquered death provides a transformative perspective on the inevitability of human mortality, infusing it with the hope of resurrection and eternal life. Jesus’ experience of death becomes the focal point of a renewed hope that extends beyond the temporal, offering eternal significance to the human journey.

Yes, since Jesus came as a human being, he experienced all the temptations, struggles, pains, and sorrows we encounter. On one level, he did this to relate to us in our pain because he loves us and enters our journey with us. Yet, there is more. He enters our pain not to leave us bound within it. He offers hope and transformation through his righteous overcoming of those same struggles and temptations. And finally, the sure promise is that all will work together for good eternally for those who love him and are called according to his purpose (Romans 8:28). 

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