sympathy.

15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. (Hebrews 4)


In sundry places and during various times I dismissed the possibility that anyone could understand my plight and problem. I could not fathom anybody understanding my predicament, my anxiety, or my fears simply because they seemed too great for someone who wasn't in my shoes to grasp. How could they understand?

Yet, Jesus does. As our High Priest, He not only is there to counsel and help, He has experienced the very human sufferings and pains we experience now, even in our present day. Rejection, loneliness, fear, betrayal...He's felt it all, but to the extreme. What He experienced is far greater than anything we could ever experience because He was completely innocent. The question is now, how could we EVER understand what it felt like to be Him and to be in His situation.

However, He doesn't ask us to sympathize with Him; He simply offers His sympathy to us. He really knows and really understands and really wants to help us in our time of sorrow.