Man of Sorrows

 MAN OF SORROWS

 

He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

ISAIAH 53:3 (ESV)

 

In a society that avoids pain at all costs, Jesus’ actions are hard to grasp. We’re surrounded by medications to relieve pain. Many turn to drugs, abortion, or euthanasia in an effort to eliminate discomfort and inconveniences from life.

But rather than run away from pain, Jesus ran headlong into it.

In the garden of Gethsemane, we glimpse the mental anguish Jesus experienced before His betrayal. He told His disciples, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death” (Mt 26.38), and Luke describes Jesus’ distress as so intense that His sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground (22.44).

Knowing full well the suffering that awaited Him, Jesus pleaded with the Father to consider an alternative plan. The physical suffering He would have to endure alone would be enough to cause any one of us to turn away, and we now know enough about the Romans’ cruelty during crucifixions to be shaken by their brutality. But Jesus also suffered the emotional agony of being forsaken by His Father, and the spiritual anguish of bearing all the ugly, inhumane, horrific sins of the world on His shoulders. It was enough to make anyone want to flee in the opposite direction.

But Jesus knew that there was no “plan B” to satisfy God’s righteous wrath. Only He could secure salvation for His beloved creation, so He willingly accepted the hard road before Him even though He did not deserve any of it, the betrayal, the mock trial, the beating, the scorn, the humility, and the torturous death through suffocation on a cross.

Amazingly, Jesus had the power to stop it all with just one word, but His love for us compelled Him to step forward. He willingly walked into His suffering, humbly allowing Himself to be ridiculed by the very ones He came to save. Every agonising moment He hung on that cross was another whispered “yes” to this painful course.

He who commands the universe and enjoys the worship of angels stepped down from heaven to be despised and rejected by humans. And He did it all for love.

 

Prayer 

 

O Lord, what can I say in the face of such love? The punishment that brought me peace fell upon You, and You willingly leaned into the suffering meant for me. Every sorrow and suffering I face, You faced first, and bore the wrath of God for me. Thank You, precious Jesus. Thank You.

In Jesus’s name, Amen 

 

If you want to read more 

 

Psa 69.29, Isa 53,  Jn 10.17–18