Consider Our Sympathetic High Priest - Jesus - JESUS SHOWS FELLOW FEELING FOR PEOPLE - Conclusion

 In Jesus' day, many Jews believed that those who suffered afflictions were being punished for their own sins of their parents. (John 9:2) As a result for the wrong belief, afflicted ones were made to feel worthless. In fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy, Jesus physically healed suffering ones and rekindled their hope in God. What confidence does this give us? 

Read Hebrews 4:15, 16. We can be sure that Jesus will always be sympathetic towards us. What does that mean? A sympathetic person is one who is moved by the sufferings and emotions of another person. The Greek word rendered "sympathize" means to share the experience and feelings of another person. (See also Hebrews 10:34, where Paul uses the same Greek verb.) The accounts of Jesus' miracles reveal just how deeply Jesus was affected by the suffering of others.  He did not cure people out of mere sense of duty. He truly cared about them and wanted to help them. For example, when he cured the leper, he could have performed the miracle from a distance but instead he was moved to touch the man-perhaps the first human touch the leper had experienced in many years! Jesus considerately took the deaf man away from the noise of the crowd and healed him in private. And when a Pharisee  looked on the repentant woman who had washed Jesus' feet with her tears and dried them off with her hair, Jesus strongly defended her. (Matthew 8:3; Mark 7:33; Luke 7:44) Jesus did not shun those who suffered from infirmities or those who had seriously sinned. On the contrary, he welcomed and compassionately reassured such people. We can trust that he is just as sympathetic toward us. 

Next time: Consider Our Sympathetic High Priest - Jesus - IMITATING OUR HIGH PRIEST TODAY

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