“He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.” Isaiah 53:3
If ever there was a person who had the complete mastery of Himself, and His emotions, it was Christ. No one has ever been under such pressure, both with regard to facing the needs of men around them, nor of overcoming all the power of the enemy by a victorious death, in order to save them. Even in times, or moments of great emotional pleas to the hearts of men in their need, to the crying out on the Cross, declaring before the Father and the entire invisible world, that His work was finished, completely fulfilled His mission. There was no defeat, no ceding to sin or Satan, only the triumphal, quiet committal of His spirit to the Father, when all was done. We know from Scripture that it was for the joy that was set before Him that Christ endured and overcame the cross. But do we grasp the depths of His sorrow, when in the Garden of Gethesemene, just prior to His crucifixion, the weight of that sorrow and grief almost killed Him, being too much to bear. It was there that Jesus told Peter, John, and James, “…My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death.” (Matt. 26:38)
The Lord Jesus Christ was the perfect “identifier” with men in their suffering and sorrow. Scripture tells that, not only did He taste death for every man, but that He was touched with the feeling of our infirmities (weaknesses, limitations, and needs), and was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” (Heb. 4:15) Isaiah tells us that the Lord Jesus was “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.” Why was this so? How is it that Christ knew such sorrow in the face of such suffering and loss? It was because of His indentification with us in our lostness, and sin. Though without sin, He did feel the depths of its effects, not only as one individual would experience it, but as the whole world would feel the devasting brunt of it. We see Jesus looking over Jerusalem, and weeping over the city, declaring: “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! But now they are hid from Thine eyes.” (Luke 19:42) Jesus went on to speak of Jerusalem’s enemies which would encompass her, destroy the city, and those within her, even her children. The whole reason for this, and the sorrow that the Lord Jesus knew for Jerusalem, was the fact that she did not know the time of her visitation by God, and this, because of her rejection of the Lord Jesus. The sorrow and sadness of Jerusalem’s coming destruction, moved Christ to weep over the city. Jerusalem’s coming sorrow would be nothing as compared to that of Christ who had come to save her.
In John’s gospel, after Lazarus had died, Jesus tarried for four days before coming to Lazarus’ aid. The result of such great loss and suffering, was great sadness on the part of Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha. How would Jesus console them, since no one was looking for Lazarus’s resurrection from the dead? Jesus would first deal with the issue of the resurrection, and the truth that He was the power of the resurrection. He was the God of the resurrection. This truth helped, but it would be by His weeping, that all would see that He, this Christ, loved this family, and felt keenly their suffering and loss. The consolation in the midst of sadness came by Jesus’ words, “Lazarus, come forth.” (11:43) It would be by the revelation of the power and authority of Christ over death that hope would replace sorrow.
Jesus, by the Spirit, presently communicates His joy, love, and peace to us. By the same Spirit, He communicates His sadness and sorrow to us in the face of conscious loss.
Dear Father, Give us grace to know Thee. In Jesus’ name, Amen.