The Healing Journey

March 31, 2026

Did Jesus suffer despair in his humanity? After enduring the events of his Passion, the betrayal, the abuse, the insults, the crowning with thorns, the mock trial before Pilate, being scorned by the mob who freed Barabbas, abandoned by his best friends, denied by one of his closest, carrying his cross through the streets to his crucifixion and the final torment of three hours hanging on the cross. In his humanity, he was surely tempted to despair. As a result, he certainly understands human suffering.

This means he certainly understands any suffering we endure in our humanity. But think of this. In his darkest hour when all seemed lost, he saw that which he loved the most — the sight of his mother as he carried his cross through the streets, one face of love and longing amidst crowds of indifference and taunting. Then, amid all the malevolence and jeering, there was another sign of love — standing nearby at the foot of the cross during his agony were his mother, Mary Magdalene, a woman he had saved, and his beloved disciple John, a boy whose life was transformed forever when he left the fishing boat and took the invitation to “Follow me.” And there was one more person … a thief, perhaps a murderer, whose life was changed forever during his last hours, when he realized who Jesus was and uttered words that will live forever, “Remember me when you come into your kingdom.”

Is it possible that these few people with love and compassion kept Jesus from despair? They had a purpose. And now think about how many times in our own dejection, when the world seems the darkest, someone appears, sometimes someone we don’t even know, to bring us light in the darkness.

For those who are grieving and think they can’t go on anymore and are tempted to despair, the compassion of one person can make all the difference. Jesus shared our humanity and shared our suffering. You can also share the suffering of another person.

The word “compassion,” you may know, is derived from the Latin root “passio,” which means to suffer, joined with the prefix “com,” which means together.
©J Pisani

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