We’ve all read, seen, and/or heard depictions of Jesus’ death on the cross and the toll that was taken on His body in His suffering. It was brutal. However, so many of us probably never truly considered the emotional toll that His Spirit took, as well. (Related post: Would Any of Us Have Been Able to Carry the Cost of the Cross, Like Jesus Did?)
In Jesus’ journey to the cross, we must remember that it started so much earlier. It had been foretold hundreds to thousands of years before in the books of the Old Testament but even before that time, there were numerous incidents that was intended to be a prelude or foretelling of His suffering, death and resurrection. Do you ever wonder why God didn’t send Jesus as a full-grown man? I do. There is so much that we don’t know of the greatness and wonder of our God, so I am constantly wanting to know more. Yet, it is within our quest to want to know more that He is revealed.
In my own journey of carrying my cross for Him, I have come to see some things differently. I know that our God revealed that He wanted me to share not just about the physical toll on His body but also the spiritual toll that Jesus endured as well on His journey to the cross.
Jesus was a King who was born in a stable. He was raised among the common everyday folks of His time. He learned how to work hard and forage for food. He grew up poor and in an unprivileged life. He lived in a community that worked together for the good of each other. He made friends and had a family whom He looked out for and learned a trade. He worshipped and went to Hebrew school. In every way possible, He was just like one of us… common everyday folk. (Related post: Being a Faithful Steward of God)
The price that Jesus paid was when he began His ministry. You see, because He was seen as an ordinary, everyday person who struggled, there were those who couldn’t see Him as coming from God and being of God here on Earth. Long before the cross, Jesus suffered with grief from knowing that He would lose His community and His friends and from the loss of those in death whom He loved while He was within that journey. Long before the cross, Jesus suffered with betrayal from those who wanted Him to be more than what He appeared to be on the surface and wanted Him, instead, to come with an army to slay their enemies. He suffered from the betrayal of those who would deny Him, betray Him with a kiss or run and hide from Him in the midst of His physical sufferings. Long before the cross, Jesus knew that He would suffer from false accusations from His own people and from the religious leaders at that time.
You see, it wasn’t just that Jesus was flogged and scourged and mocked and spat on. It was also the very human feelings that Jesus experienced that occurred as well that our Jesus went through. If you ever want to know if Jesus can understand your own personal feelings or sufferings, just know that He can. He came down from Heaven and became human and was in this world not just to give us hope for a future to be with Him in Heaven but to set us free from everything in this world that likes to hold us down. In His suffering, Jesus showed us that we can survive and thrive despite it. That’s the price that Jesus paid and I certainly thank Him for that every day of my life. (Related post: Jehovah Rohi-Name of God)
What did I learn from this? It’s very humbling to know that our God loved us then and loves us now so much that He willingly did what He was called to do. In His suffering, He has freed me. In his sorrows and grief, He has shown me that He understands my own pain. In picking up my own cross, I know that I am never alone in this journey. I don’t always understand where God is leading me but I do know that He holds me in the palm of His hand and that is a price that cannot be calculated.
So, what can you gain from this? Know that you are never alone. I know that it will feel like it sometimes but God walks with you and looks after you in your own journey. It doesn’t mean that you will never suffer loss or grief or pain. No, but realize instead that it is a part of your own cross that you carry on your road toward Him. It will feel heavy at times and too hard to carry but you are never alone. Jesus goes before you, stays beside you and helps you to carry it when it gets too hard. The price that you pay? It’s a lighter load.
