Going Through Suffering
Sunday, April 17, 2011
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As Jesus entered Jerusalem, He knew what was coming. Long before the week of his death, he told his followers what to expect. It started on a day recorded in Matthew 16:21-22. Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. "Never, Lord!" he said. "This shall never happen to you!"
The praise on Palm Sunday was the "last straw" for the religious leaders of Jerusalem who had come to hate this Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus realized, as He listened to the crowd's "Hosannas," that soon the sinister voices would drown out the voices of love - that those crying for Him to be King would soon be crying, "Crucify Him!" or simply standing aside, saying nothing at all.
We cannot begin to understand Jesus without understanding his suffering.
When Jesus was humiliated, tried, rejected by just about everyone, scourged and crucified, it did a job on his head. He felt desperately alone. There is a pain to loneliness and isolation that tortures the soul. Jesus just took it. He didn't say much to reveal his heart-until he was almost dead.
"And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34: No sentence in scripture is more clouded in horror and mystery than this cry of dereliction. Humankind's greatest crime is underway. In our language, the word that expresses the deepest measure of agony is excruciating. It comes from the Latin ex crusis, or "from the cross." The word derives from this moment. This is a cry of udder abandonment and utter desolation; it is the cry of a deserted child of God.
When we feel alone and rejected, we understand some of what Jesus suffered. Some days we may feel what he felt-forsaken by God. As real as those feelings may be, the truth is that God is there whether we feel his presence or not. The truth for us is that Jesus is with us even when we accuse him of forsaking us. He is there, and he fully understands.
Simply put, the suffering of Jesus on behalf of others demands a response. After all, it was for us that he suffered. He loved us. He died for us. He did his part and invites us to accept his suffering and sacrifice. Call it faith. Call it belief. Call it accepting Jesus as personal Savior. However we describe our response, it is telling God that we say good-bye to our sins and trust Jesus for our eternal destiny.
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The praise on Palm Sunday was the "last straw" for the religious leaders of Jerusalem who had come to hate this Jesus of Nazareth. Jesus realized, as He listened to the crowd's "Hosannas," that soon the sinister voices would drown out the voices of love - that those crying for Him to be King would soon be crying, "Crucify Him!" or simply standing aside, saying nothing at all.
We cannot begin to understand Jesus without understanding his suffering.
When Jesus was humiliated, tried, rejected by just about everyone, scourged and crucified, it did a job on his head. He felt desperately alone. There is a pain to loneliness and isolation that tortures the soul. Jesus just took it. He didn't say much to reveal his heart-until he was almost dead.
"And at three in the afternoon, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mark 15:34: No sentence in scripture is more clouded in horror and mystery than this cry of dereliction. Humankind's greatest crime is underway. In our language, the word that expresses the deepest measure of agony is excruciating. It comes from the Latin ex crusis, or "from the cross." The word derives from this moment. This is a cry of udder abandonment and utter desolation; it is the cry of a deserted child of God.
When we feel alone and rejected, we understand some of what Jesus suffered. Some days we may feel what he felt-forsaken by God. As real as those feelings may be, the truth is that God is there whether we feel his presence or not. The truth for us is that Jesus is with us even when we accuse him of forsaking us. He is there, and he fully understands.
Simply put, the suffering of Jesus on behalf of others demands a response. After all, it was for us that he suffered. He loved us. He died for us. He did his part and invites us to accept his suffering and sacrifice. Call it faith. Call it belief. Call it accepting Jesus as personal Savior. However we describe our response, it is telling God that we say good-bye to our sins and trust Jesus for our eternal destiny.