Title: The sufferings of Jesus (Matthew 08:20)
No one likes the content 'hardship'. People want to avoid suffering if they can. Even if my suffering is lessened, I think it is okay for others to suffer. The reason why heresies and cults abound in the world is because of the human heart to avoid suffering.
But the God of grace does not leave us alone on the path of suffering. God made Jesus go through all the hardships that life must walk. Jesus took on everything from the original problem of food, clothing and shelter to the problem of sin. So we just need to be under the easy and light yoke of Jesus. Just like a calf under a yoke pulled by a mother cow, as long as you are with the Lord, you can go through all kinds of hardships. When we are with Jesus, life comes through the death of the cross, and the abundance of God comes through the suffering of Jesus.
Then, let's take a look at what kind of original suffering Jesus bore out of the many sufferings He suffered to put us in riches and abundance.
First, Jesus, who has nowhere to lay his head. Jesus, who created the heavens and the earth, is the Lord of the universe and all things. It is Jesus who gave the fox a den and a nest for the birds. Jesus is the God who created the Garden of Eden, the best resting place. But Jesus, who came as the Savior, did not have a temporary place to rest, let alone a home. How bad the situation was, Jesus expressed that there was no 'place to lay his head'. Jesus said to them, Foxes have dens, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head (Matthew 8:20). Even the homeless on the streets have 'heads' at the subway station or park. But Jesus didn't even have a resting place or even a place to sleep. It was not only during his public life that Jesus had no place to lay his head. As soon as they were born, they had to lie down in a manger and escape to Egypt.
The reason Jesus, the Savior, suffered like this was to give us a real resting place. Jesus, who was rich, bore poverty on our behalf, and by His grace we became rich. The Bible says that you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, for your sake he became poor, that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). Even sparrows and swallows find a home when they come to Jesus (Psalm 84:3). And Jesus provides not only a resting place on earth, but also an eternal resting place (John 14:2-3). The house and material we enjoy now are the result of Jesus' suffering. For this reason I went naked from my mother's womb, and naked shall return there; the LORD gave and the LORD took away; blessed be the name of the LORD (Job 1:21). Don't be fooled into thinking that I have achieved what I have with my own strength and effort. In gratitude for this grace given because Jesus suffered for us without a place to lay his head, let us also spend Lent with joy in building the temple, the house of God.
Second, the thirsty Jesus The scene of Jesus thirsting appears twice in the Bible. One is at the meeting with the Sugaseong woman, and the other is at the cross. In both places, Jesus' thirst is associated with a spiritual thirst. Jesus thirsts on behalf of those who are thirsty because of sin. Sinful human beings do not know this, but human beings apart from God are thirsty like a broken cistern that cannot contain living water (Jeremiah 2:13). Through parables, Jesus said that the pain of hell is the pain of thirst (Luke 16:24). Jesus suffered not only the thirst of spirit and body, but also the thirst of hell. His thirst was so great that on the cross, the Savior Jesus cried out, “I am thirsty” (John 19:28).
Not only did he suffer this thirst on our behalf, but he invites all those who are thirsty to come out (John 7:37-38). Jesus not only gives living water, but also washes away all sins and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1). A greater grace is the fact that the living water that the Lord gives is given freely and without money. God says, you who thirst, come to the waters, and he who has no money, come, buy and eat; but come, buy wine and milk without money and without price (Isaiah 55:1). Greed, success, and pleasure make us thirsty the more we pay the price. However, the living water that Jesus gives is not only freely given, but also a spring of water that springs up so that we will never thirst and live forever. If we truly know this grace, we must live by preaching Jesus, the source of living water, to the souls who are dying because of the lack of the water of life.
No shelter, thirst, and hunger are the most primal human problems. Jesus took up even this original problem of suffering for us. Let's spend Lent together to remember and be thankful for that grace, and become disciples of Jesus who testify of the grace of suffering to the world by striking me and participating in Jesus' suffering.
Prayer Heavenly Father, thank you for reminding me of the sufferings Jesus carried through Lent.
But help us to spend the Lent, not just talking about Lent or the week of suffering, but also visiting those around us who are suffering and sharing suffering. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.
(2006-02-26 23:00)