Jesus: The Man of Sorrows
He is despised and rejected by men,
a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Jesus is the Man of Sorrows. When the soldiers crushed a crown of thorns on His head, the crown left gashes on His forehead, and blood obscured His vision. When they scourged Jesus with a whip—39 times—the beating left Him in agony. They mocked Him, stripped Him of all dignity and made Him carry His cross to Calvary. Besides the physical torture, Jesus suffered His disciples’ abandonment, Peter’s denial and Judas’s betrayal of Him. But Jesus suffered this all for you.
Lord Jesus, You have endured suffering for me; help me be faithful when mocking and persecution come.
When soldiers nailed Jesus to the cross, Jesus knew it was only a matter of time before He would die. He cried, “I thirst!” (John 19:28). When Jesus took on the sins of the world, He suffered all the spiritual agonies of Hell and cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34). The greatest suffering of all was for the Son of God to be separated from the heavenly Father. There was nothing beautiful in the Man of Sorrows on the cross—except the beauty of salvation it secured. There was nothing lovely—except the salvation of countless souls. There was nothing wonderful—except the praise of the ages to the Lamb who was slain for the sin of the world.
Lord Jesus, I worship You for being the Lamb who was slain for the sin of the world. I praise You for being my Sin Bearer. Amen.
I must live for Jesus because of all He suffered for me.
