Jesus Was Emotional

The healthiest person to walk the face of this earth was a man in tune to His emotions. We think of Jesus as so many things, but we often fail to see Him as emotional. Jesus was so aware of how He felt. When I teach this concept, I refer to the over 39 different emotions identified that Jesus experienced and expressed during His time on the earth. And that’s only what we know through Scripture! The Bible says that if everything Jesus did was recorded, “even the whole world would not have room for the books that would be written” (John 21:25).

Jesus allowed Himself to feel the signals His body transmitted. He modeled to us what it looks like to feel, and in doing so, gave us permission to be in tune with our own feelings.

Jesus felt joy (John 15:10-11).

Jesus felt sorrow (Luke 19:41).

Jesus felt grief (John 11:35).

Jesus felt exhaustion (John 4:6).

Jesus felt anger (Matthew 23:33).

Jesus felt compassion (Matthew 9:36).

Jesus felt agony (Luke 22:44).

Jesus felt all His feelings and then responded to them in a way that honored both God and the people around Him.

When Jesus felt something, He recognized the signal and then responded accordingly. To respond to an emotion means recognizing the feeling, getting to the bottom of what it might mean, and then choosing to act in a way that is beneficial to yourself and those around you. The opposite of responding to an emotion is reacting to an emotion. Reacting means instantly acting in a potentially unbeneficial way the moment you feel an emotion, rather than trying to understand it. Reacting could look like a number of different things: shutting down or withdrawing when you feel frustrated, shouting or cursing when you get angry, isolating when you feel anxious, or defaulting to an addiction to numb any uncomfortable feelings. Instead of using the feelings to help you heal, you use the feeling as an excuse for unhealthy behaviors. Remember, feelings are not bad or good; they are simply signals. It’s how we respond to feelings that leads us down healthy or unhealthy paths.

Jesus responded to His sorrow with gratitude to God the Father (John 11:40-41).

Jesus responded to His exhaustion by setting limits (Luke 5:16).

Jesus responded to His anger by pursuing justice (John 2:13-22) .

Jesus responded to His compassion by practically meeting the needs of those around Him (Matthew 14:13-21).

Jesus responded to His agony by going straight to the Father, by actively choosing truth in response to the pain His body was experiencing: “Being in anguish, he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” (Luke 22:44).

He didn’t just feel; He responded to His feelings in a healthy way. There’s so much more I could say about the emotions ofJesus. But for now, I want you to consider this: How often do you react to your feelings instead of responding to them? When those big feelings come up in your life, what do you do with them? Do you just follow them wherever they lead, or do you stop to consider what they mean and how they can inform you?

My friends, each and every one of your emotions is a sheer gift. Even when it’s a difficult emotion. Because emotions are God-given signals to help you pay attention to the things going on beneath the surface of your life. They convey important messages that we need to hear and acknowledge. They’re spotlights shining a light on the stress that needs to be addressed, the limits that need to be set, the healing that needs to take place, and the boundaries that need to be adjusted. As we care for our souls, it’s our job and our job alone to tune in to the signals and respond accordingly.

Debra Fileta appears this Wednesday on LIFE TODAY. Excerpted from Soul Care by Debra Fileta. Copyright 2024 by Debra Fileta. Published by Harvest House Publishers. Used by permission.