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.