Over and over in the Gospels, an important word is used to describe what Jesus feels whenever he sees someone who is poor, or hungry or struggling. Most English-language translations say that upon seeing suffering, Jesus's "heart was moved with pity."
In Matthew 9:36, when Jesus sees hungry crowds, "like sheep without a shepherd," the Greek word used to describe his feeling is σπλάγχνον ("splagchnon").
Basically, that word means that he felt compassion in his spleen, or as we might say, in his "guts," the seat of emotion in the Hellenistic world. It is an almost physical reaction to seeing someone suffer.
That word is used repeatedly in the Gospels to describe Jesus's emotional reactions. Jesus himself also uses the same word in some of his most famous parables: for example, to describe the feelings of the Good Samaritan towards the man by the side of the road (Luke 10:33),
or the compassion of the loving father in the Parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:20).
In other words, Jesus himself felt compassion so intensely that he felt it in his guts. And his own parables invite us to feel that same compassion ourselves.
Sympathy is feeling how you would feel if you were suffering like the other person. Empathy is feeling how they would feel. Compassion is the willingness to suffer what they are suffering, alongside them.
Jesus felt deep compassion, in his guts, for anyone who was poor, sick, hungry or struggling in any way. For the Christian, then, empathy is not a sign of weakness but of strength, as we follow Jesus along the road of compassion. (Image: "The Return of the Prodigal Son," by Rembrandt)
Good word Father
AMDG
I think the problem is that he ended up crucified. He must have been a wonderful human being but we don't want to end up like him. Both Jesus and his society represent humans both natures, the good, generous & the selfish, happy-to-see-you-fall evil, the suffering powerless and the powerful 🤷
And isn't the Rembrandt wonderful?
Thank you for sharing.
Empathy in my view is feeling what sufferers feel and being hurt by evil emanations from evil people.