When I think of God I often think of the wondrous things he created. I think about how he was able to create all these things with just his voice. Until recently I never thought about how Lord Jesus felt when he was in the flesh of man. But when I read in Isaiah 53 that Christ would be a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief...I thought about what that meant.
Now the word sorrow means to have an uneasiness or pain of mind which is produced by the loss of good, real or supposed, or by disappointment in the expectation of good; grief at having suffered or occasioned evil; regret; unhappiness; sadness. Recall that in Isaiah it said he was a man of sorrows and he was acquainted with grief.
I then thought of myself and how I felt when I saw people suffer with illness and how heavy that burden could be upon you. I remember becoming upset that a cancer patient had been in pain for nearly two months and there was no good reason why.
I felt deeply ashamed because I knew he should have received better care at the hospital.
I did finally convince his physician to increase his medication to a proper level. I know I am not alone in the frustration and anguish you feel when you are taking care of the sick.
These intense emotions do not just occur with the sick. I feel them whelm up when I see blatant injustice on the news. Sometimes when I hear the heart breaking stories of those in war torn areas it becomes too unbearable and I have to turn of the radio.
These intense emotions do not just occur with the sick. I feel them whelm up when I see blatant injustice on the news. Sometimes when I hear the heart breaking stories of those in war torn areas it becomes too unbearable and I have to turn of the radio. Yes there have been times when I have literally shouted at the television, “They must all be destroyed!” This was due to an unspeakable evil done to helpless children.
I have written these thoughts down because Christ was in the flesh and he felt this anguish but on a deeper level. He saw the complete desperation of those afflicted; thousands would flock to him to be healed. We have read the passages of those who opened up roofs to let down those who were sick in the home Jesus was in.
Now think about the emotional toil that has on a person’s constitution. There is a reason why healthcare workers have a significant burnout rate; it is a profession that causes mental, emotional, and physical stress. To continue in the profession we must separate ourselves from our work; which is a task in itself at times.
Jesus also was angered at how his law was distorted by the rulers of the people. How they cared more about staying in power their obeying God. They made obedience to God far more difficult than it should have been.
He did not have the opportunity to take a vacation or a sick day to escape. I know I become angry when those in power have blatantly lied and seem to carry on without reprisal. Christ continually bore the infirmities of the weak. He did not even have the advantages of having a comfortable home to escape to or a supporting network of family to encourage him. Yet he never lost his focus, hope or became embittered towards those who lived on the earth. He did not burnout. I Peter 2: 21-25.
Just like Jesus, we do not have vacation days that we can use to escape carrying, nor can we clock out and say we are taking 15 minutes away from doing what God requires. Now this differs completely from what is preached in the pulpits across the world.
Here is another False Preacher
For every race there is a face of lies
I have listed these quotes for a multiple reasons: 1. It is true that there is nothing new under the sun. There have been people (during Moses time and before) that have lied to the masses for their own gain. 2. It proves that Jesus and his doctrine is hated by the people now as it was in the past. 3. As true disciples in Christ we have to be able to determine when someone is not speaking the truth and say so. 4. We must continue to hope in God just as Christ did and let our light shine; in spite of the pressures that we face because that is what Jesus did.
Fortunately there are even less frequent moments when you become scared. I am talking about true fear. Fear that you might lose everything. Now fear can be quite useful. It warns us and prevents us from doing things we shouldn’t. However there is fear that can creep up that can prevent us from doing something we must do.
There is nothing good about that fear. That fear is an obstacle to obeying God. Christ had fear as well. Luke 22:41-45. Think about the words...his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. That is true fear. He had reason to fear. The crucifixion was a grueling death that involved nails being hammered into his arms and legs. He would be stabbed in his side and would bleed to death. I remember crying before getting whipped for doing something bad. I cannot even imagine being crucified and you had not done anything wrong. He asked if the cup could be taken away from him but he also stated that the Father’s will be done above all. So in other words no matter how scared Christ was he was going to go through it because his Father required it. As Christians we have to remember to not let our fears or worries control us. We can face all things as long as we are obedient unto God.
Another example of overcoming terror is Queen Ester. She was faced with a formidable task; she had to go before the King of the Medes and Persians even though he had not called her. One of the king’s advisors had devised a plan to kill all of the Jews in the realm. Unfortunately if you had not been called by the king to be in his presence you could be killed at once. She decided to call on the Lord to get her through this predicament. She fasted for three days and prayed unto God the Father for strength and favor in the eyes of those that have power.
Later on Ester revealed her heritage to her husband and saved the Jews in the realm. Ester in the Apocrypha 14 and 15. These examples teach us that can go to God the Father for strength and comfort. We will also be able to stand firm for God even if fear is abounding within us because it happened to others and they were able to get through it as well.
Centuries later being called a ‘Judas’ was never a complement. What is so striking about the betrayal of Christ is that Jesus knew what Judas was going to do but he did not cast him out. He did not tell his disciples not to trust him; he gave Judas the ability to cast out devils and he even was given the money bag to give alms to the poor. Even when he knew that Judas had come with the pharisees to capture him he called him friend.
Jesus suffered a horrible death and Judas helped in that. However he showed that even when you have been wronged that you must still follow God’s will. It is simply not worth losing your integrity over that person who offended you or caused you great harm.
They also despised the dreams that God had given him. When an opportunity presented itself to get rid of him once and for all they took full advantage of it.
You then hear them change their mind and they plan to sale you to Ishmaelite's (hence the phrase sold out).
He had not seen his father, aunt, sister, brothers for over 13 years and it was not his father. Yet he forgave his brothers for the things that they had done to him. He knew it was the will of God. Can anyone of us say we have had the treachery committed against us like Judas did to Christ? Were we hated and sold out like Joseph? Even if we were we see how both governed themselves and did not disobey God the Father.
One of the most difficult things you can read is the crucifixion and the events right before it. As I have said before I used to cry before getting a whipping from my parents. I also hate being pricked by thorns in the garden.
I did not act on it but I was more than willing to drink from multiple strangers’ bottles without care or pride. (In normal life I am reluctant to drink out of the same glass of even my loved ones.) A splinter in my toe will make me walk funny and make life more miserable than necessary.
Even the stress that cause significant physical distress during cluster examinations (three days of testing that included an oral or written exam): heart rate in the 140s and I was still too sleepy to study, crying and rocking in the corner, blanking out during an exam and a complete GI revolt; was nothing to what our Savior went through.
A man who suddenly has crushing pain in his chest, feel it radiate up his arm and who fears for his family if he suddenly departs this life; even that does not match what Christ did for us. There is nothing in this life that compares to the suffering our Savior went through on behalf of us.
Lord Jesus suffered immensely at the hands of man on his last days in the flesh. He was betrayed by someone close to him and was captured by the Pharisees and scribes. During this time his own disciples denied him and he was by himself (God did not leave him but men did). During this time period he was the recipient of enhanced interrogation techniques. These methods included: an intense inquisition, being hit, spit upon, having a blindfold place upon him and being struck in the face, forced to go without sleep during the night and this occurred before he went before the gentiles.
Now we all know how insulting it would be to have someone spit on you. There is very little that is more denigrating than that. If you have stayed up all night due to a stressful situation you may become more cranky and sometimes you feel physical pain from not being able to get rest. I know that personally I begin to feel nauseated and the simplest task becomes difficult. Again, this happen to the Son of God.
The being that created everything that we see. He never spoke foolishly or sent mighty angles to destroy his tormentors. He suffered willingly because it was the will of his Father.
Imagine someone placing something painful on your head and placing a robe upon you. Then imagine them calling dibs on your clothes and you can do nothing to stop it. Lord Jesus suffered with this insolent behavior and maintained his composure. But this was just another phase in his affliction.
Most of us know what it is like to be insulted or a few of us may have had someone try to hit us. However it is highly unlikely that we have been scourged. This was a form of punishment that involved a whip that had bits of bone or metal at the tips. The person may lose an eye or have pieces of flesh ripped from them when they were beaten with it. Often a person died after being scourged in part to the loss of blood that occurred during the beating.
The Romans did not invent crucifixion; however unlike the Greeks and Persians before them, a victim could remain on a crucifix for days. This form of death was for the lower rungs of society: slaves, enemies of the state or even pirates. It was meant to be long and humiliating. Often victims did not have clothes and if they had to eliminate waste it would occur in public. This was to serve as a warning for others to not commit the crimes that were performed by the convicted. The punishment would begin with scourging and then the person to be crucified would carry part of their cross or all to the place of execution.
Death would be hasten by soldiers because they could not leave their post until the person or persons being crucified were dead.
Often a prisoners’ bones were broken or they were stabbed in the major organs. What we know is that the soldiers took Christ’s clothes from him. There was no mention of undergarments. We know that he was unable to carry his cross due to his injuries he had already obtained. We also know that he was thirsty and his tormenters tried to give him vinegar to drink.
They also said he was able to save others but he could not save himself. Lord Jesus was in so much pain he cried aloud, “My God, my God why has thou forsaken me!”
Lord Jesus died within six hours. This unusual short period was noted with a peculiar change in the sun and the veil of temple being rented in two. The Jews wanted the death to be hasten because the sabbath day was approaching. The soldiers then went to break the legs of the convicted. To ensure Christ was dead they pierced his side and blood and water came out. One of his followers begged Pilate for his body and he was buried in a new sepulcher.
In addition a way was made so that all men would not be automatically committed to death. This was not a guarantee that you would gain eternal life. In order to gain eternal life you would have to be perfect (just as Christ commanded).
When Jesus was resurrected and ascended to heaven his work and sacrifice was not finished. During the end of time Christ will go reach into his side and take his blood and wipe the records of his servants clean. These will be the people who have lived their lives as a living sacrifice to God.
The event of the crucifixion teaches us there is no sacrifice too great for God. The sacrifice will only be acceptable if we are willing to commit it. This does not mean we will enjoy it or not have any pain or suffering. Quite the contrary we will suffer (If Lord Jesus did so will we) but this suffering will teach us humility and obedience. Both of these traits are necessary to enter the kingdom of heaven. Hebrews 5: 6-10. Christ epitomized this in his life and death.
They humbled themselves before God and did not allow any obstacle, fear, care or joy stand in the way. One of these people was Job. He was perfect and upright. Just like Christ he suffered. He lost all of his possessions and his children in one day. Later he was smitten with a severe skin infection all over his body. An infection that would cause his skin to have itchy red, swollen bumps that were very painful. To add salt to his wound he lost the support of his life and even his own friends accused him of sinning. Many people would have had a nervous breakdown if they lost all of their wealth in one day and burying one child let alone all of them can cause intense distress.
This is what Job said, “Naked came I out of my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return thither: the Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.” That can be found in Job 1: 21.
Even though Job did not understand why he was being afflicted he knew God knows best. No matter what the situation we must yield to God as well. That is why even when Christ prayed he asked his Father to take away his cup only if it was his will. That is how we must be and if we are earnest and don’t waver we will be accepted by God the Father just as Lord Jesus was.
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