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The tribulations and sufferings of Christ

Isaiah called him “the man of sorrows”. Isaiah 53:3-4 "He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…"

• He was born on the road, in a stable, and into poverty (his dedication offering was the minimum required for the poor of the land).
• Raised in a backwater town. Trained as a man of labor in a hard-working profession. Did not attend rabbinic school or have a life of studied ease.
• At some point he did not have the benefit of an earthly father figure. (Joseph may have died during Jesus' youth.)
• He gave up a home to live on the road.
• He was tempted and opposed by the devil himself.
• He was single, not married. If he filled out a census, he would have been listed as single, homeless, and beneath the poverty line.
• As far as we know he walked everywhere, over the length and breadth of the land. Only one time it is mentioned that he rode an animal.
• He spent a lot of time ministering to those who were sick and possessed. Some days went from dawn until late at night helping sick and possessed people.
• Was questioned & doubted by those who said they loved him.
• Was laughed at. (Matthew 9:24)
• He answered lots of questions, and explained lots of things, many times.
• He bore with less than perfect followers, who said and did many frustrating things and for three years really didn’t get the message.
• He endured intellectuals who feigned courtesy in order to trap him in some inconsistency.
• He was opposed by the political and religious authorities of his day.
• He was betrayed by someone who had been a friend.
• Was mocked, and spat upon. (Luke 18:32)
• He was misunderstood, talked about, slandered, the object of conspiracies, betrayed, abandoned by his friends, violently treated, tortured, humiliated.
• He was the victim of injustice and a corrupt court.
• He was crucified on a Roman cross, one of the most brutal forms of execution of all time.

(And you think you've had a bad day?)

And he did all this for you and me. He lived the life we could never live, and died the death that we deserve, and rose to give us a life that we could never attain without him. He experienced separation from his Father, so that we might experience reconciliation with his Father.

He did not purchase our redemption in heaven on some kind of online transaction. His deliverance of us was not remote, business-like, at arm’s length. He came down and fought for it and won it against much opposition and in the midst of suffering.

Jesus was born perfect, but he was perfected by his obedience and testing and opposition, and so has become an object of our trust: Hebrews 2:10, 5:8-9 "For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering… 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..." He is a perfect and perfected Savior. Not just technically perfect, but actually perfect. He is proven, genuine, compassionate, and no stranger to pain and tribulation. We can trust him.

Comments

Anonymous said…
yes! I was hoping you would post this... such a good Word.

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