The Compassion Of Christ

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.” - Hebrews 4:15

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There is comfort in Christ’s being made like us in all things, sin excepted. His taking our nature was not only that He might satisfy justice for us, but that He might have a heart suited to those who suffer and are tempted. Though He is now exalted above all heavens, yet He retains the affections of a man. He is still touched with the feeling of our infirmities. The heart of Christ is not enlarged in glory so as to forget His brethren on earth. His human nature is glorified, but it is not changed. The sympathy He showed in the days of His flesh He still shows now.

Christ knows in His own experience what weaknesses are, what sorrows are, what temptations are. He remembers what it is to be weary, hungry, and forsaken. He remembers what it is to have Satan assault Him, men revile Him, and friends misunderstand Him. His compassion toward sinners does not flow from mere knowledge of their state, but from personal experience of their trials. If you will consider Christ in heaven, remember that He has the heart of a man who has suffered on earth. He is the most tender of all husbands, the most compassionate of all brothers, the kindest of all friends.

Therefore, when you approach Him, do not imagine a Christ who is austere or distant, but a Christ who delights to bind up the brokenhearted. He does not upbraid weakness but pities it. He does not crush the trembling believer but carries him. The more heavily the burdened soul leans on Him, the more He supports it. The heart that bled for sinners on earth beats with the same love for sinners in heaven. Christ’s compassion is not diminished by His glory, but heightened by it.

(Taken From The Heart of Christ in Heaven Toward Sinners on Earth by Thomas Goodwin)