Dear Family,
Today is Sunday, May 19, 2024. It is Day 22 and Day 1 of Week 4 in our Count to Pentecost.
When we think about the perfect Passover Lamb of God, prepared by God Himself, we often think about our “sins” and the breaking of God‛s commandments. And, we also connect the sacrifice Jesus paid through the stripes He received that broke His body with the promise He gave us of healing. What we often do not connect to His sacrifice is the emotional aches, the sadness, the disappointments, and the grief He suffered for us as part of His human existence and as part of His ultimate sacrifice.
The prophet Isaiah describes our Savior as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
Isaiah 53:3(A) He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief….
We learn in the New Testament that Jesus felt the pains of life deeply. He groaned in emotional agony and sadness. Consider the story of Lazarus. The Bible says Jesus wept. Perhaps the sadness was for His friend Lazarus, and perhaps it was for the doubts and unbelief, or even for the grief and emotional pains others were experiencing.
John 11:33-38 (33) When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, He groaned in the spirit, and was troubled. (34) And said; Where have ye laid him? They said unto Him, Lord, come and see. (35) Jesus wept. (36) Then said the Jews; Behold how He loved him! (37) And some of them said; Could not this Man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this man should not have died? (38) Jesus therefore again groaning in Himself cometh to the grave.
It is clear from Scripture that part of Jesus‛ work of salvation was His carrying our “griefs and sorrows.”
Isaiah 53:4 Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Jesus was often moved with compassion…so much so that He “healed them all” (Luke 6:19; Matthew 14:14), and; raised the dead (Luke 7:12-15).
Luke 6:19 And the whole multitude sought to touch Him: for there went virtue out of Him, and healed them all.
Matthew 14:14 And Jesus went forth, and saw a great multitude, and was moved with compassion toward them, and he healed their sick.
Luke 7:12-15 (12) Now when He came nigh to the gate of the city, behold, there was a dead man carried out, the only son of his mother, and she was a widow: and much people of the city was with her. (13) And when the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her, and said unto her; Weep not (14) And He came and touched the bier: and they that bare him stood still. And He said; Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. (15) And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He delivered him to his mother.
Brethren, God wants us to be comforted. Jesus‛ sacrifice paid for this, also. Yes, He carried our griefs and sorrows. He will shoulder those for us now. And, He has sent us another Comforter, the Holy Spirit for us, as well.
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you forever.
In the end, there will be no more sorrows. In fact, we have God‛s promise that there will never be more tears, crying, death, or even any more pain (physical and emotional).
Revelation 21:4 And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
It‛s all part of the price He paid! Praise God!
Ben Faulkner, Pastor
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