“He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed.” (Isa 53:3-5)
Walking slowly through the events of John 19, the Crucifixion of Jesus, hurts my heart. I want to read quickly - run to the empty tomb. Cling, like Mary to my Risen Savior.
But I believe there is always a purpose to suffering. A lesson woven through the trials of this life. A molding of our hearts to be like His. No matter how much it hurts. And, friend, it will never hurt us as much as it hurt Him.
Flogging, scourged, mocked, spit upon. The written word can seem benign until we dig deeper into its meaning.
The truth is when the soldiers placed the purple cloak around Jesus the flesh on His back had been stripped to the bone. Already close to death, the soldiers would have had to hold Him upright to receive the mocking they were about to give Him. He barely felt the thorns digging into His scalp amidst the fire flaming from His back.
And yet, I wonder if the emotional pain He felt from the mockery, the betrayal of those He loved wasn't worse.
The hatred in the eyes of the crowd, His people, the people He had healed, the people He came to save. The hatred in the eyes of the soldiers, the people He came to save. This is what crushed our Lord.
The agony of the cross is love. The lesson of the cross is love. The command of the cross is love.
In the garden when Judas betrayed Him, Jesus called him Friend. (Matt 26:50) Does it surprise you that, even then, Jesus reaches out to Judas with love? It shouldn't.
“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” (2Pe 3:9)
Even His question to Judas in Luke 22:48 is a plea of grace. “But Jesus said to him, “Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?””
The fact that Jesus continued to love and have compassion for those who hated, rejected, mocked, and reviled Him doesn't change the depth of His suffering. The rejection didn't hurt any less.
In truth, I believe His capacity for love made His suffering worse. Just as His purity made the slightest thought of being consumed by the sins of the world total agony for Him.
Yet, He bore it all. Willingly.
For me. For you.
Because of His great love for us.
The cross is the action behind the words of Jesus that we so easily stumble over and attempt to rationalize away.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. [Jn 13:34] I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matt 5:44)
The power of the cross is the power of Christ in us. It enables us to obey, even where obedience may seem impossible.
Such as the impossibility of loving your enemy. Loving the one who has betrayed you, mocked you, rejected and abused you.
As I sit at the foot of the cross and listen to my Lord and Savior, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34) I realize the amazing gift of forgiveness isn't one I can keep just for myself. Just as the message of the cross is meant to be shared, I must also share the grace I have been given, while I was yet His enemy, to those who are my enemies.
For it is by grace, His grace, that they may be saved.
Blessing on your Easter, friends.
Such a powerful account, June. Such love He has to have suffered so! Love and blessings of a Blessed Easter!
Beautifully said