Matt – I loved reading this post this morning because it again reminded me of how kind Jesus is. How you pointed out that she didn't ask anything of Jesus was an important point to make. Like you mentioned, in the past, I glossed over that important detail.
I also love that you brought up the word empathy. Another dynamic of empathy is that you have that same life experience that the other person has. This is the major difference between empathy and sympathy. As an example, my mom suddenly died in a car accident in 2018 when someone on heroin hit her car. It was a major shock to my system, but now, when I meet someone who has lost a parent or a loved one tragically, my emotions are much stronger, and I genuinely can feel what they are feeling. I can honestly say I know what they are going through, and before my mom’s death, I did not have this ability in this type of situation.
When we look at that dynamic with empathy, this really expands the depth of this passage even more in the sense that I think Jesus, even before his own death on the cross, could have empathy (not sympathy) for those who had lost someone similar in this situation. We definitely see this empathy when he greets Mary and Martha after Lazarus dies. It’s so amazing to me that in this moment, he knows he’s going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet the Bible shares that he wept. In this unique moment, Jesus knew the full reality of death, and the profound sadness one experiences both personally (one’s own death) and for others. Thanks for sharing your thoughts - it helped me think through this passage more deeply.
Wow Kelly. Thank you for such a thoughtful response. I had no idea about your mom. I am so sorry. What you described immediately made me think of what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1 - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
As a recipient of compassion, you are now a steward of God's compassion toward others, but in true empathy, entering into someone's pain with them.
It is wild to me that there seems to be a recent pushback again the idea of empathy among Christians. As you have rightly shown, we follow a risen Savior who did not think twice about stepping into the pit with others, even when he knows the outcome.
This is so true! I just wrote a poem expressing some of these very sentiments only about my own lack of “doing” when there is so much need in this world. God bless you for writing this
Matt – I loved reading this post this morning because it again reminded me of how kind Jesus is. How you pointed out that she didn't ask anything of Jesus was an important point to make. Like you mentioned, in the past, I glossed over that important detail.
I also love that you brought up the word empathy. Another dynamic of empathy is that you have that same life experience that the other person has. This is the major difference between empathy and sympathy. As an example, my mom suddenly died in a car accident in 2018 when someone on heroin hit her car. It was a major shock to my system, but now, when I meet someone who has lost a parent or a loved one tragically, my emotions are much stronger, and I genuinely can feel what they are feeling. I can honestly say I know what they are going through, and before my mom’s death, I did not have this ability in this type of situation.
When we look at that dynamic with empathy, this really expands the depth of this passage even more in the sense that I think Jesus, even before his own death on the cross, could have empathy (not sympathy) for those who had lost someone similar in this situation. We definitely see this empathy when he greets Mary and Martha after Lazarus dies. It’s so amazing to me that in this moment, he knows he’s going to raise Lazarus from the dead, and yet the Bible shares that he wept. In this unique moment, Jesus knew the full reality of death, and the profound sadness one experiences both personally (one’s own death) and for others. Thanks for sharing your thoughts - it helped me think through this passage more deeply.
Wow Kelly. Thank you for such a thoughtful response. I had no idea about your mom. I am so sorry. What you described immediately made me think of what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 1 - "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God."
As a recipient of compassion, you are now a steward of God's compassion toward others, but in true empathy, entering into someone's pain with them.
It is wild to me that there seems to be a recent pushback again the idea of empathy among Christians. As you have rightly shown, we follow a risen Savior who did not think twice about stepping into the pit with others, even when he knows the outcome.
This is so true! I just wrote a poem expressing some of these very sentiments only about my own lack of “doing” when there is so much need in this world. God bless you for writing this
Thank you! Is your poem posted?
If I can remember I’ll post it on here tomorrow morning. I’m not on my computer at the moment!
This is very true.