The obedient Son of God, who never sinned, suffered a horrifying crucifixion and slow death for our sake. He was actually stricken by God and abandoned by His Father to pay the penalty of our sin debt for us and to give us His righteousness in exchange (Isaiah 53:4; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
In the garden, Jesus’ perfect and divine nature shrunk from God’s charge for Him to take on the sin of the whole world – past, present, and future. During His lifetime, Jesus did not even have a place to lay his head. He knew how it felt to be homeless, poor, hungry, thirsty, rejected, blasphemed, falsely accused, ridiculed, and abandoned.
He lost His earthly father, Joseph, and His best friend Lazarus to the ravages of sickness and death. He met with the ingratitude of people whom He fed and healed (Luke 17:11-19). He had only good will as His intention, but He met with derision and false accusations for his efforts.
Jesus preached a hard message, not out of vindictiveness or meanness, but out of love and concern for the welfare and eternal state of the souls He tried to influence with righteous truth. He grieved for the hardness of men’s heart who would not believe in Him or His truth (Matthew 23:37-39).
His sorrow was not for Himself, but for the eternal damnation that these people chose for themselves (John 3:18). Our heart also breaks for those who suffer any malady or misfortune in this life. The effects of sin in the life of those we love grieve us unbearably, and we pray continually for them to turn over their life to God to escape the inherent results of their own evil thoughts, intents, and behavior (John 3:18).
Jesus ultimately surrendered His will to our Heavenly Father’s plans, and He went to the cross willingly on our behalf. Most of His disciples forsook Him, Judas betrayed Him, and Peter denied Him three times just as Jesus predicted that He would. Only John and Jesus’ mother Mary followed Him to Golgotha’s hill (John 19:26-29).
Prayer:
Father God, we are often desensitized by the commonality of sin in and all around us; yet Jesus never entertained the vices of the flesh in any way, shape, or form. The depth of the grief that He felt over sin was even worse than the physically excruciating pain He endured on Calvary’s cross for all mankind. As we mature spiritually, we identify with Jesus’ abhorrence to sin.
Due to Your sanctification of our soul, we want to live miles away from sin of any type. As David matured spiritually, he begged You not to cause his soul to have to fellowship with sinners, or to live his life with men of murder and bloodshed (Psalm 26:9). We feel the same way. Sin repulses us as it does You (Matthew 15:14; Isaiah 1:13).
Thoughts for the Day:
The mockery of Jesus’ trials, due to the false accusations blamed on Him, illegally happened in the darkness of night. The mighty crowds were stirred by the leadership of those who opposed Him, and the people chose to free Barabbas rather than Jesus. Jesus bore the price of our peace as well as the debt for our sin and laid down His life for us all.
- Isaiah 53:4-12; Luke 23:18; 1 John 3:16; John 10:7-18
