Sufferings

     Jesus was just like you and me when He was on earth.  He was human.  He hungered, he knew pain, denial, temptation, and all the infirmities we know today.  Yet, He was God's Son.  The point is that though Jesus went to prepare a place for us, He also knows our sufferings because He felt them.

His humanness as follows:  

     Matthew 1:25 "And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and He called His name Jesus."   Here we find that Jesus was born a human baby, and I am sure He caused Mary as much pain in birth as any other baby being born.  

     Luke 2:40  tells us that "...the child grew..." and again as a boy in verse 52, "Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man."

     When Jesus, as a small boy, stayed behind in Jerusalem, without His parents knowledge, He caused His parents to become anxious.  You see, they thought He had gone missing and had to go looking for Him and, when found, His mother asked, "...why hast thou thus dealt with us? Behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing."  (Luke 2:48b) Just like children today, Jesus did not stay close to His parents that day.  It wasn't intentional, but often children do things which cause their parents to become anxious unintentionally. 

     When we recognize Jesus as our Savior and receive the Holy Spirit, we are asked to acknowledge Him through baptism.  Jesus, Himself, acknowledged His Father through baptism.  Luke 3:21, "Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased."   

     After this Jesus went into the wilderness.  During His time here, He was tempted just as we are tempted by the devil every day.  Matthew 4:1 "Then was Jesus led up of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil."

     Next we find in Matthew 4:2 that Jesus "was afterward an hungered."  Again in Matthew 21:18 "...He hungered."  This occurred after the cleansing of the temple which we also read about in Matthew 21:12-13.  "And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves.  And said unto them, It is written, My house shall be called the house of prayer; but ye have made it a den of thieves."  This tells me that Jesus had righteous indignation over what was going on in His Father's house just as we  have indignation over what we find going on around us.   

     Again we find the human side of Jesus in Mark 44:38, "And He was in the hinder part of the ship, asleep on a pillow..."  Jesus needed sleep and rest just as we do.  Mark 6:31, And He said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while..."

     Before we even come to the part about the pain and suffering Jesus went through on the cross where He died to redeem us from our sin we are told in Mark 9:12 that Jesus will suffer. "...and how it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at nought."

     Just before Jesus' arrest He went through a time of agony in Gethsemane.  He "...began to be very heavy; and saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch."  (Mark 14) Jesus knew his fate.  He was deeply troubled and He needed His disciples with Him to watch and pray with Him.  In Luke 22 we find the depth of Jesus' agony.  "And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly: and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground."  There are so many times we become depressed and sorrowful unto death.  We need others to console us.  Jesus knows our need for He had this same need.  Our consolation is that we know Jesus is there to walk us through the pain of suffering.  We often beg God to take our cup of suffering away just as Jesus did, "saying, Father, if thou be willing remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." 

     Let's not forget that Jesus was abandoned.  Peter is the only one I found mentioned who  "followed afar off."  But, in the end, Peter denied Jesus three times.  Luke 22:61, "And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter.  And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice." 

     Now, we get to the crucifixion.  Jesus knew pain and humiliation.   The Message describes a vivid account in Mark 15.  They "...put a crown plaited from a thorn bush on His head.  Then they began their mockery: 'Bravo, King of the Jews!'  They banged on His head with a club, spit on Him, and knelt down in mock worship.  After they had had their fun, they took off the purple cape and put His own clothes back on Him.  Then they marched out to nail Him to the cross."

    To add to Jesus' injury, just before His death, God briefly looked away as all of our sin was heaped onto Jesus for God knows no sin.  Jesus knew loneliness as He cried out "My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?" 

     Finally, we know that to have nails literally driven through our human hands, there has to be a remaining scar.  Thomas said in John 21, "...except I shall me in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe."   Jesus answered Thomas's unbelief.  "After eight days again His disciples were within, and Thomas with them: then came Jesus, the doors being shut, and stood in the midst, and said, Peace be unto you.  Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither they hand, and thrust it into my side: and be not faithless, but believing."

     Through the reading of His Word we come to realize that Jesus knew and knows all that we go through in life.  Romans 4:15 "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need."

     So where is God in our suffering?  Read the 23rd Psalm. He leads be beside still waters, walks through the valley of the shadow of death with me,  and protects me from evil.  He restores my soul.