6. The Suffering of Christ, the Son of God
Of all the accounts of suffering in the Bible, the suffering of Jesus is the most important. Not only was His suffering the worst in the spiritual sense, in being under the complete wrath of God, but we should know about His suffering because it was for us that He went through so much.
1 Peter 4:13 “But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.”
Hebrews 2:5-10 “Now it was not to angels that God subjected the world to come, of which we are speaking. It has been testified somewhere,
“What is man, that you are mindful of him,
Or the son of man, that you care for him?
You made him for a little while lower than the angels;
You have crowned him with glory and honour,
Putting everything in subjection under his feet.”
Now in putting everything in subjection to him, he left nothing outside his control. At present, we do not yet see everything in subjection to him. But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels, namely Jesus, crowned with glory and honour because of the suffering of death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone. 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.”
There are a few things to notice from this passage in relation to the suffering of Christ.
The first one being that He was made lower than the angels. This might not seem like much of a disgrace, but when faced with the idea of Who God is, and how far above the angels He is in greatness and glory, then we must realize that leaving that glory behind was like a separation from His true character.
Jesus was fully God, even while fully Man. Yet His glory and power were submerged under the skin of human frailty. He was born in humility. He was not born as God, but as a peasant, thought to be an illegitimate son. This was humiliation enough for the mighty Creator of the universe.
The second thing to notice is that it was fitting for Jesus to be made perfect through suffering. This is not to say that Jesus was sinful or somehow imperfect beforehand – rather, it means that He obeyed perfectly the will of the Father even through the cup of suffering which, by the will of the Father, was not passed from Him, though He prayed that it could be.
If there is any lesson to be taken from Jesus, with regard to His suffering, then it is this: that Jesus Christ, our Lord and Saviour, did not hesitate in the face of suffering. He did not mistrust God when considering the measure of suffering He would have to endure. He prayed to God, He worshipped God, and He obeyed God. Jesus’ will was completely conformed to the will of the Father, when He said “not my will, but yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
Jesus knew Who it was that ordained the suffering to come:
“So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its sheath; shall I not drink the cup that the Father has given me?” (John 18:11, emphasis mine)
Satan was not in control of Jesus’ suffering, and he is not in control of ours. He is a fiend who tempts our sinful nature, hoping that we in our sin and rebellion will curse God and die, but the outcome of our suffering is entirely in the hands of God. We should therefore lean upon Him, fully relying on His sovereignty.
In my opinion, this is the best part of Hebrews:
Hebrews 2:18 “For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.”
We don’t have a faraway god, one who does not involve himself in the affairs of his people. We don’t have a god who created us and then stood back, leaving us to our pointless and paltry lives. Jesus understands our suffering, having gone through suffering as well. So many come to Christ through suffering, realizing that He is the faithful one; He is the merciful and understanding one.
So we can put our complete trust in Him, and cling to Him as the Source of our help in times of trouble.
Hebrews 4:14-15 “Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 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.”
He is perfect, and He is sympathetic. There is no greater Saviour, and there is no greater Lord. Who else can we turn to in our suffering? No one else has both suffered as we have, and accomplished the work of atonement without the stain of sin. There is only Jesus, and He is enough. Praise God!
Hebrews 5:8 “Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered.”
Like Jesus, we also learn obedience through what we suffer. The Bible states that we are to be like Christ, so we ought to remember His words in the
"There are three characteristics of those who are crucified with Christ. First, they have no plans of their own. You can't make many plans when you're hanging on a cross. Second, they are looking in just one direction. And third, they're not coming down." – A. W. Tozer[1]
Just because we suffer, does not mean we should turn away from God. He has not left us; in fact, one could say that in one way He is closer to us in our suffering than at any other time. And if we relate to Him, we can learn obedience through what we suffer in following Christ. God is faithful.
Hebrews 12:1-3 “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”
Jesus is our greatest example in suffering. Have you trials? Look to Jesus! He suffered and is now glorified. Consider Him, and be encouraged. Your suffering will not last forever. There is an end to this race, and that end is glory in the presence of God.
As we endure suffering, we should remember this: God is our Father, and He disciplines us because He loves us. (Hebrews 12:5-11) Jesus is our great high priest, the same yesterday, today and forever. “So we can confidently say, The Lord is my helper; I will not fear; what can man do to me?” (Hebrews 13:6)
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