Title: The Three Sufferings of Jesus
Contents
Matthew 26:36-46 The three great sufferings of Jesus
The sufferings that Jesus suffered were not the sufferings that Jesus suffered because he sinned. It was a substitutionary suffering suffered by volunteers to rescue fallen mankind, including me and you, from curses and death. Because of the suffering of Jesus, curses turned into blessings, death into life, and unhappiness into happiness for you and me. Today, we want to share the grace of Jesus by examining the three great sufferings He suffered.
1. Spiritual Suffering
Among the sufferings that Jesus suffered, the deepest suffering is spiritual suffering. Jesus never had his soul divided from God. Jesus was with God before all ages, and his passionate love and fellowship with God never ceased. However, when Jesus took on our sins instead, he was completely forsaken by God.
Sin inevitably follows punishment and judgment. Jesus took on the original sins of Adam and Eve, my sins, your sins, and all the sins of mankind. And He took the punishment and judgment for that sin. The greatest of these punishments was the pain of being cut off from the God we love. It was the sorrow of being abandoned by God.
When Jesus was most difficult, and when he needed God's help the most, his heart was so desperate that he was abandoned by the one he loved the most, the one he trusted the most, and the Father. No matter how much he calls his beloved father's name, he does not answer. This is what Psalm 22:1-2 says about it. "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you far from my help, and do you not hear my groaning? My God, I cry by day, and by night I am not silent, but you do not answer me. "
And on the cross, Jesus cried out: “Eli Eli lama sabachthani, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) A person can often be abandoned by his friends. You may be abandoned by your lover. You may be abandoned by your master and disciple. They may be abandoned by husbands and wives or by children and parents. This causes some to even commit suicide. Because it is difficult to overcome that great pain.
However, if you believe in God, you can overcome this great sorrow and this great pain more generously because God does not forsake you even if the whole world forsakes you. In the early church, many believers faced great hardship because they believed in Jesus, and they sang hymns even when they became food for lions because they felt that God was with them.
However, when Jesus suffered on the cross for our sins and transgressions, even God the Father abandoned Him. So thoroughly that Jesus was rejected by the Father. He was a caring father who loved him so much and loved him so much, but now he is so cold and heartless that he pretends not to know Jesus. Jesus suffered the great sorrow, the great embarrassment, and the great pain caused by this alone.
Why did Jesus have to suffer like this alone? This is to prevent you and I from being separated from God forever and going to hell because of our sins. To get you out of the abyss of misery. It is for us to fully receive God's love. Therefore, during this Holy Week, we are deeply grateful with tears as we think of the sufferings of Jesus' atonement.
2. mental hardship
In life, we are often betrayed by our enemies. But Jesus was betrayed by his disciple, Judas Iscariot. I was betrayed by a disciple whom Jesus called himself as a disciple and trusted him to put the money box, a disciple who ate bread with him, and a man who had been eating rice for 3 years in Korean. For that betrayal, he had to die on the cross. For that betrayal, he was stripped naked and ridiculed by the people.
Also, all the disciples who swore that they would go to jail with Jesus and go together even if they were to die also abandoned Jesus and said, 'Go ahead, live.' And they all ran away. When the Lord was arrested and taken away, none of the disciples were beside Him. Peter, who swore that he would follow him even to death, disappeared. On the contrary, Peter denied even knowing Jesus by cursing him. It's amazing.
Also, the crowd who received the comfort and love of Jesus were shouting, 'Crucify Jesus to death.' No, what did Jesus do to them? Jesus' heart was confused as he watched the crowds repaying their favors with their enemies. People who praised the Lord a little while ago, saying, 'Praise be to Hosanna.'
Why did Jesus suffer and suffer like this? This is to give you and me peace of mind and joy. In a world full of despair and lamentation, it is to taste hope and enjoy happiness. It is to enable us to enjoy victory with boldness in the midst of many tribulations in the world. It is the suffering of the ransom for living in a foreign land, enjoying God's grace and living brightly.
3. Physical Suffering
Jesus prayed that his sweat would become drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane on Thursday night. After praying, he was arrested and taken to the court of the high priest Caiaphas, where he was interrogated and beaten. The servants of the high priest spit on Jesus, punched him, pulled out his beard, kicked him, and insulted him. And after being tormented all night, he was taken to Pilate's office early in the morning, where he was interrogated by Pilate, and finally sentenced to death.
And he was taken by Pilate's soldiers, and a long crown of starving thorns was placed on his head, and blood flowed from his head and face. He was also hit with a whip studded with pieces of iron and bones, and his entire body was torn to shreds. The torn skin was bursting with sepals. The Bible says, "He was whipped, and you were healed." That is, through this suffering of Jesus, we can be set free from the pain of disease and find freedom.
After being scourged, Jesus took the cross and went up the hill of Golgotha. But after being tried all night and being beaten and whipped, Jesus was so exhausted that he could not bear the cross. So they stumble and fall and fall on their way. Jesus, who had climbed the hill of Golgotha, was stripped of red, laid on the cross, and suffered from the pain of being nailed to both hands and feet, and was dying in a burning thirst. Jesus suffered on the cross for six hours, from his crucifixion at 9 am on Friday to the departure of his soul at 3 pm.
When he suffered so much, the crowd shouted at him. “If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” “He saved others, but he cannot save himself.” That's right. Even though Jesus saved everyone else, he could not save himself on the cross. Why? If Jesus came down from the cross to save Himself, all mankind must die for their sins. Therefore, Jesus could not save himself even if he saved others. Because he must die to save me and you.
Therefore, 600 years before Jesus came to this earth, the prophet Isaiah already looked at this and said: "He was pierced for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. went by the way, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:5-6).
Gentlemen, Jesus took my sins, your sins, our sins, and ripped His body and shed His blood on the cross. He rescued us from eternal destruction because we were spiritually abandoned, faced with severe loneliness and despair mentally, and suffered extreme physical suffering. Even though we deserve to be rejected because of this atoning grace, if we believe in Him, we will be saved. Because Jesus died on our behalf and paid the price for that terrible sin.
Folks, there are many religions and many philosophies in this world. There is a lot of education and a lot of lessons. But there is nowhere to be found the love that endured this great suffering to redeem our lives. I hope that it will be a week spent thinking of and giving thanks to Jesus who suffered this great suffering on our behalf. "How sick are you?"