One night many years ago, an exhausted pregnant mother lay down in a dank and smelly stable to give birth to her very peculiar child. The children of God had waited for centuries in anticipation of this birth. Yet they did not fully understand the miracle that was about to take place, nor were they aware of its imminent event. The Jews looked for a political liberator to free them from the oppression of the Romans. Had they not read Isaiah 61:1c “He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted?”
The child was born. If one were to look into his face you would note that special quality that all newborns possess, a beautiful picture of innocence so unmarred by the pain of the world and a face full of promise. He looked no different than any other child born into the world that night. By the world’s standards, this child would spend the rest of His life in relative obscurity known only to the locals. Yet His brief but powerful life would affect not only those who died prior to his birth, but also all those who would walk the face of the earth thereafter. This child was the embodiment of the Son of Creator God who was not only perfect, but could not even stand the sight of sin. He came to earth to experience all of the pain that the curse of sin brought to the earth. He came to heal the broken hearted and to set free those in bondage (Isa. 61:1.)
Have you considered the pain that Jesus faced while on this earth? I am not referring to the physical pain we know He suffered through a torturous death; I’m referring to the emotional pain that He experienced. Consider how misunderstood a twelve-year-old feels when he follows his God given mandate and his parents reprimand him and infer that his actions were disrespecting of them. (Luke 2:41-50) Think about how disrespected He felt when the devil taunted Him with the very things that He had so lovingly created. (Luke 4:1-13, Jn 1:3) Consider the rejection He felt when He revealed who He was and what He came to do. He should have been celebrated. Instead, they attempted to stone Him. (Luke 4:14-30) He must have felt betrayed when Judas gave him up to the Chief Priests. How about the loneliness in the Garden of Gethsemane and how His disciples ignored Him while He struggled so deeply; how emotionally drained He felt as the sweat ran to the ground while pleading “Father, take this cup from me.” (Luke 22:39-46) How despised, uncared for, and unwanted He must have felt as the thorns were pressed into His head and as the whip came down on His back again and again and again…. (Luke 22:53) Consider how disowned he felt when Peter denied that he knew Him and as the Jews cried, “Crucify Him!” (Luke 22:54-62, 23:20) How humiliated, used, and violated He must have felt being stripped of his clothing, hung on the cross, and put out for all humanity to see. (Luke 23:34-38) Then tragedy of all tragedies, His father turned His back on Him for sins that He did not commit. Total abandonment, rejection, and humiliation. Jesus experienced immense emotional pain; yet, He did not sin.
Why did He experience all of this pain? The writer of Hebrews writes, “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.” (Heb 4:15 ESV) He did this so that He could identify and sympathize with the pain in our hearts when we come to Him for healing; He understands what it feels like to be brokenhearted and imprisoned. When we bring our broken and bleeding hearts to Him, we feel safe, cared for, and understood. That is why He chose to do the “unthinkable”.
Garrett Martin
Originally published December 2011 in the Grace Haven Newsletter
The Brew 