Many Christians struggle with a crucial question: Does Jesus truly sympathize with us? We know from Scripture that He is our great High Priest, but what does that actually mean? Does He feel our pain? Does He grieve with us in our suffering?
Theocast hosts Justin Perdue and Jon Moffitt explore the compassionate heart of Christ toward sinners. Their discussion delves into essential theological doctrines, including divine impassibility, the hypostatic union, and Christ’s role as our sympathetic mediator.
Divine impassibility is the doctrine that God does not experience emotional changes or suffering due to external circumstances. It means that God’s nature and affections are not subject to fluctuation, weakness, or emotional turmoil like humans.
This does not mean that God is cold, indifferent, or lacks love. Instead, His love, mercy, and justice are perfect, unchanging, and not driven by momentary feelings. Unlike humans, whose emotions can be unstable or reactive, God’s affections are steadfast and eternal.
This doctrine is rooted in passages like Malachi 3:6 (“For I the Lord do not change”) and James 1:17 (God has “no variation or shadow due to change”). It safeguards God’s immutability (unchanging nature) while affirming His deep, consistent love for His people.
When applied to Christ, divine impassibility is balanced with the reality of the hypostatic union—Jesus is fully God and fully man. In His humanity, Jesus truly suffered, grieved, and sympathized with us, yet in His divinity, He remained unchanging. This is why He can be our perfect, unwavering Mediator.
They also tackle misunderstandings about God’s nature and how Jesus’ affection for His people never wavers, regardless of our struggles. His compassionate, steadfast love gives us confidence to approach Him, casting our anxieties upon Him (1 Peter 5:7).
From an anthropological perspective, this episode is a powerful reminder that our weaknesses, emotions, and struggles are not things to be ignored or overcome by sheer effort. Instead, they are part of what it means to be human in relationship with Christ—who fully took on human nature and still sympathizes with us today.
For those wrestling with doubts about God’s nearness, listen in to this conversation. Christ is not distant—He is the same yesterday, today, and forever (Hebrews 13:8). His heart remains set on His people, offering us the rest for which we long.