“Thanks for this good posting.
When I read that Jesus sighed, I relate it to Him weeping at the grave of Lazarus, and Him saying “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem…” He so deeply felt the effects of the ravages of sin.
That’s just an additional thought.
Blessings”

This is feedback from my best friend and accountability partner. I want you to focus on one important aspect of his comment, “I relate..”. Relative meaning abounds in the Word. It was relative to him through the scriptures in a different place than mine. How we relate to any aspect of scripture like those two words, “He Sighed”, is a personal relevance based on experience. Neither relative meanings are truth in what Jesus was thinking or feeling in that moment. It is how we relate to the Word in that moment.

The scripture that I related to yesterday was Matthew 8:8-9 “The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed. For I am a man under authority, having soldiers under me: and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it.”

When I try to put myself in Jesus’ shoes I relate to that moment in terms of who I am and how I feel. That is what makes it relative meaning. I related to the moment through scriptures. This is the same thing my brother did and he put it so clearly and kindly that there was no hint of accusation. It is when we take those relative moments that are personal and insist that this is what scripture means that we risk offending others. We should never insist that ambiguous words hold special meaning beyond that which is personal to any individual.