Sympathizing Savior

Hey guys, welcome back! 

Have you ever felt like God is distant? Like you just can’t feel him? Like you’re going through something and God somehow doesn’t understand? Have you ever felt like God doesn’t get your pain? 

You’re not alone in that. Trust me. There are way too many Christians in the world who don’t understand just how well God can sympathize with our pain. You don’t have a savior who doesn’t get it. Every struggle you’ve ever faced, he knows the feeling. 

He knows how it feels to have anxiety. Don’t you remember the Garden of Gethsemane? Right before Jesus was arrested, he and the disciples went to the Garden of Gethsemane to pray. The disciples fell asleep, but not Jesus. He was so anxious about what was about to happen, he began to sweat blood. Look at what Luke says: “And being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground.” Jesus is well acquainted with anxiety. You know what, though? He also gives us the remedy. Look at the beginning of the verse. He prayed earnestly. He didn’t run. He didn’t hide. He didn’t try to avoid what he knew was coming. He turned to the Father for comfort and strength. That’s what we oughta do. When you’re faced  with anxiety turn to the Prince of Peace. Don’t run. Don’t hide. Go to him. Take comfort in knowing that Jesus gets it. When you tell Him about what’s worrying you, He understands every word. He faced the ultimate anxiety of knowing he was about to die for the sins of the world. He can take care of your worries about tomorrow. 

He knows grief. Jesus was well acquainted with the sorrow of death. He was human. With human friends. Remember Lazarus? Jesus gets word that his friend, Lazarus is sick. When he gets there, he’s dead. In that story we get the shortest verse in the entire Bible, but it’s a very important one. John 11:35 says two things “Jesus wept.” Why is this important? Why is Jesus crying? I’m sure he knew that he was about to bring Lazarus back to life. So why is he crying? He’s crying because he knows what you and I know. This isn’t how it’s supposed to be. He’s crying because he sees first hand the effects of the fall. He knows how things should have been. Death should not have existed. But because it does, his children are subjected to sickness, injury, old age, and others that bring about death. He’s crying because that’s his friend in that grave. He doesn’t want his friend or any of his children to know death. But that’s not where the story ends. He goes on to do what only God can do. He brought Lazarus back to life. He calls him forward from the grave. That’s good news for us. Because if he can bring Lazarus back to life, he most certainly will bring that family member or friend that we lost back to life, too.

He knows guilt. There’s a shock. How on earth could the perfect, spotless, sinless lamb of God know how guilt feels? Well, He shouldn’t. He shouldn’t know how guilt feels. But he does. He does because he bore our guilt. He died with our guilt on his shoulders. He knows the shame you feel. The good news is that he did away with it permanently. You see, when he was on the cross, he felt the full weight of our sins and took God’s wrath towards those sins. He bore it fully, and because he did, our sins our still buried in the grave. But guess who isn’t? Jesus. He took it away. He knows you’re ashamed. He knows how filthy you feel. But that was the point of the cross. To take the guilt away. He wants you to know that. He knows how it feels to feel too guilty to go to the Father. But he wants you to know that you still can because he took that guilt away. And because he knows how it feels, he has sympathy and grace there waiting for you. 

Guys, He knows. He understands. He was subjected to the futility of the human experience just like us. Don’t think that there’s anything He doesn’t understand. He felt pain. He felt anxiety. He felt guilt. And yes, he felt death. Take comfort in that. He knows what your going through. You have a sympathizing Savior. He’s not out of reach. He’s personal. Cling to the God who knows. He won’t leave you alone. 

“For our sake he made him sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21