Jesus' Emotions Inferred

Emotions and behaviors are closely related because behaviors can tell us so much about what a person is feeling.  We can look at Jesus and his reactions to infer the set of emotions he was having. Jesus did not just "have" feelings and then stuff them.  His being, his body had a response. Such a discussion of Jesus and his emotions helps us access the truth about being a whole, healthy human, too.  Let's look at the most obvious.

Sometimes, Jesus had a measured response, like when he "sighed" before the deaf/mute.  (Mark 7:32-35) Was it a sigh of pity or, as translations show, was it reflective of the strong emotions he felt as he battled satanic power?  Jesus also sighed at the request from the Pharisees for a miraculous sign his authority. (Mark 8:11-12) This sigh was obvious distress over their obstinate unbelief and it is recorded as "sighed deeply," indicating it was a groan.  

Have you ever groaned under the weight of pressure?

Sometimes, inference can be made about emotion given the context and action in which Jesus is engaged.  It is not too hard to infer Jesus' vehement indignation with Herod and the Pharisees' threat to his work in Luke 13:32.  Jesus responds to Herod's threats by calling him a name!  His boldness comes ringing through as he offers this stinging retort:

A few minutes later some Pharisees said to him, "Get out of here if you want to live, because Herod Antipas wants to kill you!"  Jesus replied, "Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and doing miracles of healing today and tomorrow;  then the third day I will accomplish my purpose."

Jesus' expressions of anger do not end with just verbal exchanges.  The picture that John gives us of Jesus cleansing the temple is the most graphic of all the Gospels.  Jesus fashions a whip (notice the forethought) and used it forcefully to drive the merchants out of the temple.  This is a passioned Jesus, demonstrating it with a strong human response.

Take note of the passion in Jesus' weeping, too. In English, "weep" is a passive, tepid word, but it is translated from a Greek word that has connotations of "overflowing" and "sore."  That would be "wailing" in today's English.  Jesus felt such loss over Jerusalem's future destruction and the grief-state of Mary and Martha's loss of their brother that he was overly demonstrative.  Both are examples of deep and heartfelt anguish.

Yet, this Man of Sorrow was never far removed from also being the Man of Joy.  Jesus was responsive to the joy inside of himself.  When filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit, Jesus gave thanks to God (Luke 10:21; Matthew 11:25-27).  He greatly rejoiced with the 72 when they returned with the report of their great successes over demons and sickness.  Jesus took particular note of the source of his joy and explained it to the disciples, "I saw Satan falling from heaven with a flash of lightning!"  and properly focused the disciples' joy by adding, "Don't rejoice just because evil spirits obey you; rather, rejoice because your names are registered as citizens of heaven." (Luke 10:18-21).  Then, after the resurrection, I can only begin to imagine how much joy was exchanged between Jesus and his disciples!

Past what is obvious by Jesus' emotions and his responses, we can probably presume some things about Jesus' emotional life by his associations with certain types of people.  The Bible records him eating with tax collectors and "notorious sinners" and that the Pharisees looked down on his behavior.  I assume Jesus wasn't condemning those at the table, but laughing and participating in hearty discussions, especially since the Pharisees were so quick to call Jesus and his disciples "gluttons and drunkards."

Well, it seems like Jesus knew how to have a good time.  He got along well with others (except the authorities).  Hey!  That sounds like me!  How much of that sounds like you?

We are not done exploring the emotions of Jesus, but I want us all to begin to see his human self, so you can see and honor your human self more clearly, too.  

Jesus' Emotions clearly stated

 There is a distinctive and distinguishable feature of humans over and above all other parts of God's creation:  the emotions.  I wonder if in our question to look at and follow Jesus, his emotional side has been overlooked.  In so doing, we minimize his full humanity and our ability to identify with him.

Did Jesus have emotions?  Anyone who has ever participated in Bible quizzing knows the shortest verse in the Bible:  "Jesus wept."  Okay, he shared the grief of the sisters of Lazarus and cried at Lazarus' tomb.  Who wouldn't?  But, did Jesus have a full range of emotions?  Taking into consideration that Jesus was betrayed by a disciple, rejected by his family and community, taken care of by a group of loving women, dogged by religious leaders, partied with notorious sinners, saw serious pain and suffering, how can we ever imagine that he did NOT have emotions and emotional responses?

There are several places in the Gospels where Jesus' emotions are mentioned by name.  Jesus felt "compassion" several times for those in need.  The word in Greek and Aramaic (Jesus' spoken language) means "from the gut."  For anyone emotionally stirred and wrenched by someone else's suffering, you know this is not a trivial emotion.  He felt it physically and it always moved him to action, igniting and fueling his mission. Jesus was also moved to compassion after spending time with God (Mk 1:35-42).  Compassion was a significant and frequent emotion for Jesus.

Jesus also experienced great sorrow, even to the point of depression ("sorrowful unto death") (Matt 26:38)  He seemed to grieve most over things that separated people from him.  He was grieved over the Pharisees' hardness of heart, over the future desolation of Jerusalem and over the grief at Lazarus' grave.

Jesus seemed to take in the full measure of many emotions.  He was indignant when the disciples kept the children from him (Mk 10:14)  "He took it very ill that his disciples should keep the children away.  When he saw it, he was very displeased (or angry or indignant, depending on the translation)...and had a few pointed words for the disciples:  "What do you mean?  Will you hinder me from doing good to the rising generation, to the lambs of the flock?"  Christ is very angry with his disciples and probably isn't using a gentle voice with them.  

Even though Jesus knew and expected the suffering required as part of the redemption plan, that foreknowledge did not keep him from experiencing emotional angst.  He was troubled over the coming betrayal of Judas (John 13:21) and experienced "great anguish of spirit."  Later, in the Garden of Gethsemane, with the betrayal imminent, Jesus was "terror struck and in terrible anguish."  (Mk 14:33)

Jesus didn't just observe pain, he felt it deeply.

While Jesus obviously bore well the title of the "Man of Sorrow," do not let that foreboding title lead us to forget that he was also the "Man of Joy."  John says that Jesus was full of joy that he wanted to give the disciples so that their own joy would be "full." (John 15:11).  This expression of joy has a quality of being more than a felt-emotion but a sure-experience, grounded upon God himself and indeed derived from Him.  Jesus would go on to teach much about this kind of joy.

Surely, not the least of Jesus' emotions was his ability to love.  Jesus loved sacrificially and he also loved people as his friends.  He loved Lazarus, Mary and Martha.  He loved the rich, young man who, in his own way, was truly seeking the kingdom.  Jesus' love for his disciples made his moments with them treasurable.  In Luke 22:15, Jesus "greatly desired" to spend the Passover, a last meal with them.  The Greek form gives it a double intensity such that the New Translation says, "I have looked forward to this hour with deep longing, anxious to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins."  

This description reminds me of our own family dinners that have been the setting before a member leaves for college, overseas duty or extended vacations.  No one wants to miss the event.  We long to spend any time together before the impending separation, however short in length it may be.

So, the Gospels, in their overtly stated presentation of emotions of the human Jesus says more about him and us than we might have previous focused.  It seems intense to think of him this way to me.  I was hoping a peaceful detachment from life.  Since it was not so for Jesus, it won't be so for me.

Reflect the Glory of the Humanity of Jesus

In light of the hope that we have, we act with great confidence and speak with great courage. [not like Moses and the Israelites who could not face the truth of God's glory presented...] Now all of us, with our faces unveiled, reflect the glory of the Lord as if we are mirrors.  We are being transformed into his same image from one radiance of glory to another, just as the Spirit of the Lord reveals it. 2 Corinthians 3:12, 18

Oh, to reflect the glory of the Lord!  That is what we are called to do now that the "veil is lifted."  What is the image of the Lord we will reflect?  Paul says in verse 16, that this veil is lifted by the Spirit, which becomes present in such a way that there is liberty:  freedom to be.  Maybe freedom to be fully human and divine?

How often Christians have been challenged to be like Jesus, to seek his way! While we have looked intently at Jesus' divinity in that call, we sometimes fail to look at the breadth (fullness) of his humanity.  It is hard to reconcile the divine Jesus with the human Jesus, who spent time with children, women and notorious sinners. We forget to look at him as a person with daily, physical, emotional and spiritual needs.  We forget to look at his relationships with others.  Our Jesus - as the suffering servant, facing accusers or praying into the night - can seem far from our human capability and experience, such that we don't even try.  

We, also, forget to look at the passion which drove him.  Yet, to properly understand ourselves, it seems necessary to look more closely at Jesus' humanity, for, like him, we are a reconciliation of the spiritual and the human, especially now that the "veil is lifted."  We may be surprised to find that in our search to relate and identify with our Lord, the solution may be found at our own fingertips:  our humanity.  What if to be more like Jesus might be for us to be more fully human:  a Spirit-revealed and Jesus-modeled human?

Was Jesus Real(ly human)?

This begins a series on the humanity of Christ.  Christians have long sought the divinity of Christ, often to the neglect of his humanity.  Even worse, we have done it to the point of misrepresenting what it means to our own humanity:  we neglect it, too.

Jesus' teachings were great, but my childhood picture of the pious, passionless Jesus was just too hard to identify with.  The image of Christ, on a picture on the Sunday School wall holding a sheep, was far too restrained for me. As a result, I once avoided looking at Jesus too hard, especially in contrast with my own energetic and enthusiastic humanity. 

I preferred Pauls' style:  raw and reckless.  Like the bumper sticker my friend said described me, "I tried to contain myself, but I escaped," Paul could not be contained.  He was bold and brazen.

This distorted view of Jesus' humanity I also heard spoken by a man in my Sunday School class, "Didn't Jesus ever have fun?"  He, too, was looking for a Jesus with whom he could identify.

Then I discovered the retort Jesus had given the Pharisees in Luke 13:32.  He called Herod a name!  And he called him a bad name, for his era.  I checked several translations and the original Greek and Hebrew and Aramaic.  It doesn't mean "sly or cunning," but rather is an idiom for being a "lowlife."  It was an intense slur.

This was not my childhood, passionless Jesus.  Here was a man calling Herod "out."  I became determined to find out who this Jesus, this man really was.  I knew him as the Messiah, the Holy One, the Son of God, the Savior, but I wanted to know the man, because I knew that in finding him, I might understand myself and my place with him better.