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“MOVED WITH PITY” 153
about to resurrect Lazarus, Jesus was so moved that his
eyes brimmed with tears.—John 11:33, 35.
6 On another occasion, a leper approached Jesus and
pleaded: “If you just want to, you can make me clean.”
How did Jesus, a perfect man who had never been sick,
respond? His heart went out to the leper. Indeed, “he was
moved with pity.” (Mark 1:40-42) He then did something
extraordinary. He well knew that lepers were unclean under
the Law and were not to mingle with others. (Leviticus
13:45, 46) Jesus was certainly capable of healing this
man without any physical contact. (Matthew 8:5-13) Yet,
he chose to reach out and touch the leper, saying: “I want
to. Be made clean.” Immediately the leprosy vanished.
What tender empathy Jesus expressed!
7 As Christians, we are called on to imitate Jesus in
showing empathy. The Bible urges us to show “fellow
feeling.” (1Peter3:8)Itmaynotbeeasytograspthe
feelings of those suffering from chronic illness or depression—especially
if we have not gone through such pain
ourselves. Remember, though, that empathy does not
depend on shared circumstances. Jesus empathized with
the sick even though he himself had never been sick.
How, then, can we cultivate empathy? By patiently listening
as suffering ones open up their hearts and share
their feelings. We might ask ourselves, ‘If I were in their
situation, how would I feel?’ (1 Corinthians 12:26) If
we sharpen our sensitivity to the feelings of others, we
will be better able to “speak consolingly to the depressed
souls.” (1 Thessalonians 5:14) At times, empathy may be
The Greek adjective rendered “fellow feeling” literally means
“suffering with.”
7. What can help us to cultivate empathy, and how may this quality
be expressed?