Jesus, Man of Sorrows

"Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice. You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy."   - John 16:20

About 2000 years ago there lived a man with a heart so pure that no sinful thought ever entered it. He never spoke one word of deceit or unkindness, nor did his eyes ever burn with unrighteous anger. His hands continually did only good.

Every virtue of humanity was manifest in all He did, His relationships with others were fulfilled completely, and only when He matured into manhood did He leave home to lead an independent life.

Wisdom was His, a wisdom that puzzled and amazed everyone. Power was His, power to comfort the miserable. But, more than anything else, love was His, a love that surpassed that of any human. His love being so intense that His only concern was demonstrating it wherever he traveled.

Along with all of this, there was a humble and confident trust in God, a devotion to His service that no temptation could ever cause Him to deviate from it, and a total surrender to His will, unbroken by any selfish complaint. In short, He loved God with all of His heart, mind, body, and soul.

Together with these qualities of mind and character was an personality of magnificent sweetness; it was everything that you could possibly admire of tenderness, sensibility, honor, courage, humility, unselfishness, and affection toward others.

He maintained the delicate exquisiteness of those finer qualities that we suppress by our self-gratification and contact with sin, both, in ourselves and in others. And never once was He weakened by common practices, or incensed to use any violence.

This man, however, was called to a life of suffering, suffering all the more because of the purity of His character, and the perfect balance of His whole nature. No polished, outer appearance, manner, or style could make sin pleasurable to His truthful eye.

He could neither be deceived or enticed, and no wrongdoing went unnoticed. All sins of pride, sensuality, and unbelief, that we have sadly become all to familiar with, must have stirred a horror and disgust beyond expression in His holy mind.

Taking all of this into consideration, how painful and unceasing the sufferings of Jesus must have been. Every possible burden of our lives became His. His lot in life was one of homeless hardship. His friends were often unkind, strangers were often insulting and disrespectful.

When He needed sympathy the most, it was withdrawn. The great, indescribable sorrow of the cross, a burden inconceivable to body, soul, and spirit, was constantly on His mind for years before it came.

And when it did finally arrive it squeezed out sweat-like drops of blood from His body, causing that anguished cry from deep in His soul, "My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me..." (Matthew 26:39)

I didn't attempt to adequately describe the sufferings of Jesus, nor arouse any mere feelings of sadness about them here today, nor could I possibly do so. However, there is one thing that we can be sure of, He was a Man of Sorrows.

And whatever we know about grief, whether considerable or small, we have not exceeded His experience, and that it does us well, therefore, to accept His teaching about sorrow, and to strive for what He learned from it.

The sufferings of Jesus, the Son of God, have shed a light of hope over the sorrows of the world, and have forever secured the presence of God, who is love, in the darkest hours of distress. Let us carry this reassuring message in our hearts always.

Scripture: Revelation 21:4; John 16:33; Romans 8:18; 1 Peter 5:7; Psalm 34:18

Prayer: Dear Lord, it can be difficult understanding today's stressful world events. Even so, I know that You are in complete control and that You will see us through these troubling times. Amen.

May God always bless you,

Judith