Did you ever wonder why Jesus was permitted to endure so much other agony besides dying on the cross and shed His blood for the remission of our sins? Of course we all understand the purpose of His death, but it seems that His crucifixion alone would have been enough. So why was He also required to live a lowly life…be forsaken and rejected by almost everyone He was close to? Why did He even have to endure being forsaken by God in His hour of greatest need?
I believe the above scripture indicates some of the reason so much was required of Him. Jesus was not only paying the penalty of death required by the law for our sins, but He was also being prepared for His eternal position as our High Priest. And in order to effectively serve in that capacity, He had to endure everything that we endure for our sakes; the pain, the sorrow, the suffering, the rejection. He had to actually feel every burden that you and I could ever feel in order to fulfill His appointed position as our High Priest. Hebrews 4:15 tells us “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.”
He is often called “a man of many sorrows”. The religious leaders of Jerusalem rejected him, and the Jews, God’s chosen ones, also rejected him. Even at the end of His life, His closest disciples, the ones He loved and spent the prior 3½ teaching, turned their backs on Him and fled in fear. And in the darkest hour, as He hung on the cross at the point of death, Matthew records in chapter 27:45-46 that for three hours, there was total darkness over all the land, and the 46th verse records, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The most horrific sacrifice of all…to be forsaken, separated from God. I believe there are three reasons that even God had to turn is back on Jesus and forsake His own beloved Son.
- First, God hates sin, and when He looked at Jesus, He saw the sins of the entire world, from creation until the end of time, heaped upon the person of His Son. Can you imagine what a terrible, horrible sight it must have been? Every murder ever committed, every adulterous act, every lie, every evil thought piled on that hill of Golgotha…the sins of the entire world! No wonder God could not bear to look.
- Second, I believe that Jesus had to be forsaken by God for our sakes, the believers. Remember, He had to be tempted in every way that we are tempted, and still remain sinless. Have you ever felt as though your prayers were not getting through? Have you ever wondered, “God, where are you?” only to hear silence? Has it ever seemed as though there were a brick wall between you and Heaven? Often, it is our sin that keeps us separated from God our Father, and as Jesus hung there on the cross, with all our sins…yours and mine…heaped upon Him…even His Father could not bear to look. In order to endure what we feel, He had to know the feeling of being separated from God by sin.
- And Third, I believe He had to endure that pain for the sake of unbelievers, those who dwell in utter darkness, completely cut off from God. For the three hours when darkness covered the land, Jesus knew how it felt to dwell in darkness, separated from the Father’s love. Then, after His death, the Bible tells us He even descended into hell, experiencing the horrors of that place, reserved for the devil and his angels, and every sort of evil imaginable.
Yes, we can surely believe that Jesus experience everything that mankind can possibly experience. But why? He was being prepared for the greatest ministry of all time. Hebrews 7:25 tells us, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost, that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.” That’s His mission today. Hallelujah!! He is seated at the right hand of the Father, and when we are led astray, loneliness or despair grips us, or we are tempted to have doubt and fear, Jesus pleads our case to God. “Father, forgive, for you see, I’ve been there. I know how much it hurts; I understand how difficult it is to bear, because I too felt forsaken and rejected, loneliness and despair. I was tempted in the same manner. They are but dust and weak. Forgive them Father.” No matter what the temptation, there is One Who truly understands, for He’s been through it all, for our sakes. His compassion is limitless.
Perhaps you are going through a difficult time right now, struggles so hard to bear. Perhaps you have called upon the Lord, but it still hurts so badly. Could it be that God is allowing you to bear that sorrow in order to equip you for greater ministry, greater service to the Kingdom of God? Are there others who are going through the same struggle, that perhaps you can give comfort to? You too can say, ”I’ve been there, and I understand.” Could you pray more effectively for another’s sorrows after you too have felt that sorrow? We can try to imagine what another feels when they are lonely, when a loved one is dying, or when they’ve been rejected by a friend or loved one. But until we have experienced it first hand, we cannot adequately comfort the in a time of crisis. II Corinthians 1:4, “Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted by God.”
Do not despise this training, but give yourself fully to the tender mercies of God. He has not forgotten one single promise which He has promised, and He will be faithful in them all. Endure this hardship, that when it is past, you will be equipped, full of compassion, to serve others in love. Remember that when you have patiently endured, the crown of righteousness will be yours, and God will lift you up…He will exalt you in due time.
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