Jesus suffered

Sometimes I wish I could skip over the parts of life that are difficult, painful, or dull. Perhaps you've felt, or feel, the same way. If so, I pray that the following Scriptures will encourage you.

(If you don't believe that Jesus is the Lord, the Christ, and the Son of God, please read this post instead to learn about Him.)

Hebrews 5:7-10

In the days of His flesh,
Jesus offered up prayers and supplications,
with loud cries and tears,
to Him who was able to save Him from death,
and He was heard because of His reverence.

Although He was a Son,
He learned obedience through what He suffered.

And being made perfect,
He became the source of eternal salvation
to all who obey Him,
being designated by God a High Priest
after the order of Melchizedek.

If there was anyone who deserved to skip over the difficult parts of living on this earth, it was the perfect Son of God, Jesus Christ. He, as the Scripture above points out, "was a Son" (verse 8) - in fact, He was God's Son (verse 5). But, He had to learn "obedience through what He suffered" - and so must we. Jesus suffered for us, not just on the cross, but in each aspect of His earthly life leading up to that ultimate act of sacrifice and humiliation.

Here is one example:

Luke 22:39-46

And He came out and went, as was His custom,
to the Mount of Olives, and the disciples followed Him.

And when He came to the place,
He said to them,
"Pray that you may not enter into temptation."

And He withdrew from them
about a stone's throw,
and knelt down and prayed, saying,

"Father, if You are willing,
remove this cup from Me.
Nevertheless, not My will,
but Yours, be done."

And there appeared to Him an angel from heaven,
strengthening Him.

And being in an agony
He prayed more earnestly;
and His sweat became
like great drops of blood
falling down to the ground.

And when He rose from prayer,
He came to the disciples
and found them sleeping for sorrow,
and He said to them,
"Why are you sleeping?
Rise and pray
that you may not enter into temptation."

Living in this highly scientific and skeptical age, one is tempted to discount the idea that Jesus' "sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground" (verse 44). However, I do not take these words lightly, since the author of this book, Luke, was a well-educated physician and would not have included this detail in his account of Jesus' life if he had not considered it plausible. (An article more fully describing this phenomenon can be found here.)

But to get back to the main point, this passage demonstrates Jesus' intense suffering even before the cross. He knew what was going to happen to Him: On the cross, He would bear the sins of the world. My sins and yours would be put upon His back, and He would drink the last drop from the "cup" of God's wrath against sinners.

When considering what Jesus endured for me, I cannot help but ask two questions:

• Why did He do it?
• What should I do in response, or return?

The answer to the first question is difficult for me to understand, since I know that I did not deserve it. I believe that the answer has to do with Jesus' love for us and His obedience to His Father. At this point, I don't know how to explain that.

But, my response to that is to thank Him. Not only with words, but with a changed lifestyle. I cannot continue to live in the sins that Jesus died for. Instead, I choose to honor Him as best I can.

The Apostle Paul writes to believers:

But whatever gain I had,
I counted as loss for the sake of Christ.
Indeed, I count everything as loss
because of the surpassing worth
of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord.

For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things
and count them as rubbish,
in order that I may gain Christ and be found in Him,

not having a righteousness of my own
that comes from the law,
but that which comes through faith in Christ,
the righteousness from God
that depends on faith—

that I may know Him
and the power of His resurrection,
and may share His sufferings,
becoming like Him in his death,
that by any means possible
I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect,
but I press on to make it my own,
because Christ Jesus has made me His own.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own.
But one thing I do:

forgetting what lies behind
and straining forward to what lies ahead,
I press on toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Let those of us who are mature think this way,
and if in anything you think otherwise,
God will reveal that also to you.
Only let us hold true to what we have attained.

Brothers, join in imitating me,
and keep your eyes on those
who walk according to the example you have in us.

For many, of whom I have often told you
and now tell you even with tears,
walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.

Their end is destruction, their god is their belly,
and they glory in their shame,
with minds set on earthly things.

But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body
to be like His glorious body,
by the power that enables Him
even to subject all things to Himself.

Therefore, my brothers,
whom I love and long for,
my joy and crown,
stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved.

I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord.
Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women,
who have labored side by side with me in the gospel
together with Clement and the rest of my fellow workers,
whose names are in the book of life.

Rejoice in the Lord always;
again I will say, Rejoice.
Let your reasonableness
be known to everyone.

The Lord is at hand;
do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God,
which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts
and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers,
whatever is true, whatever is honorable,
whatever is just, whatever is pure,
whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable,
if there is any excellence,
if there is anything worthy of praise,
think about these things.

What you have learned and received
and heard and seen in me—
practice these things,
and the God of peace will be with you.

I rejoiced in the Lord greatly that now at length
you have revived your concern for me.
You were indeed concerned for me,
but you had no opportunity.

Not that I am speaking of being in need,
for I have learned in whatever situation I am
to be content.

I know how to be brought low,
and I know how to abound.
In any and every circumstance,
I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger,
abundance and need.
I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.

(Philippians 3:7-4:13)

There are a number of applications here for us. Consider which portions of the Apostle's exhortation apply to you.

I personally resonate with the command, "whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things." As we struggle through life's difficulties, we must keep our minds "on things above" (Colossians 3).

The Apostle Paul writes, "Brothers, join in imitating me, and keep your eyes on those who walk according to the example you have in us."

And as we strive to be more like Jesus Christ by imitating those, like the Apostle Paul, who are more spiritually mature than we are, we must remember where we are going: We will be with Jesus, with glorified bodies like His, one day!

"But our citizenship is in heaven,
and from it we await a Savior,
the Lord Jesus Christ,
who will transform our lowly body
to be like His glorious body,
by the power that enables Him
even to subject all things to Himself.

Therefore, my brothers,
whom I love and long for, my joy and crown,
stand firm thus in the Lord, my beloved."

With these things in mind, we can return to Hebrews:

So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God,
for whoever has entered God's rest
has also rested from his works as God did from His.

Let us therefore strive to enter that rest,
so that no one may fall
by the same sort of disobedience.

For the Word of God is living and active,
sharper than any two-edged sword,
piercing to the division of soul and of spirit,
of joints and of marrow,
and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

And no creature is hidden from His sight,
but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him
to Whom we must give account.

Since then we have a great High Priest
who has passed through the heavens,
Jesus, the Son of God,
let us hold fast our confession.

For we do not have a high priest
who is unable to sympathize
with our weaknesses,
but One who in every respect
has been tempted as we are,
yet without sin.

Let us then with confidence
draw near to the throne of grace,
that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help in time of need.

(Hebrews 4:9-16)

When we fail to live up to a lifestyle that perfectly honors God and His Son, we must remember that Jesus, our High Priest, endured the wrath of God against our sins for us. Let's endure our daily struggles by relying on Him and looking to Him.

-----

Scripture references from English Standard Version
Pronouns for God and the Lord Jesus Christ capitalized