Important Truths You Need To Know About The Suffering Savior

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Faith tells us to celebrate Easter every day, but we don’t like to think about Good Friday, even on Good Friday. We love proclaiming the empty tomb, but want to look away from our suffering Savior.

I’ll admit, I had a hard time watching the crucifixion scenes in The Passion of the Christ. It was more gruesome than our Sunday School Lessons or Pastor’s pulpit had ever explained.

John drew a word picture of the scene around Jesus: the thieves on either side, the sign over His head, soldiers gambling for His clothes, and the women (including His mother, Mary) grieving in the crowd. However, John said little about the crucifixion itself…

So they took Jesus away. Carrying the cross by Himself, He went to the place called Place of the Skull (in Hebrew, Golgotha). There they nailed Him to the cross.

Jesus knew that His mission was now finished, and to fulfill Scripture he said, “I am thirsty.” A jar of sour wine was sitting there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put it on a hyssop branch, and held it up to His lips. When Jesus had tasted it, He said, “It is finished!” Then He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.

John 19:16–18, 28–30

The Holy Spirit inspired the Gospel writers to share the facts, but it took digging into historical documents to learn the horrific details of those facts. Although we have details of our Savior’s physical suffering, I want to focus on the mental, emotional, and spiritual suffering our Lord endured for us.

Jesus Suffered Mentally

Have you ever felt terrible guilt and shame for something you’ve done? Do you have something in your past causing self-condemnation that’s hard to release?

Compound that by every person who has or will ever live. The sinless Son of God, our Lord and Savior, carried the weight of every sin committed in His heart. He suffered our guilt and shame so we could be forgiven and set free.

Jesus Suffered Emotionally

Have you ever suffered overwhelming fear? Anticipated excruciating pain? Devastating betrayal? Hearbreaking abandonment?

Jesus suffered it all. He knew what was coming. He knew He would suffer torture, betrayal, and abandonment. He looked at His suffering and death, and knew He would have to do it alone.

Jesus Suffered Spiritually

I can’t even ask you “have you ever” questions for this. You and I have never had to suffer alone spiritually. We may have felt like God was absent, or had a time when we denied Him, but He is always with us.

David wrote…

I can never escape from Your Spirit! I can never get away from Your presence!

Psalm 139:7

And…

Even when I walk
    through the darkest valley
I will not be afraid,
    for You are close beside me.

Psalm 23:4

Jesus suffered alone! He is the only One who has ever experienced a moment without God’s presence. Even through our very worst times, no matter how we feel, God is with us, knowing and giving us what we need to walk through.

Honestly, the thought of this overwhelms me. It’s impossible to imagine the unimaginable. As awful as evil is, we have never had to face it alone. I believe the Lord’s absence will be the worst part of hell.

Imagine … no peace, no strength, no promises, no hope, and no love.

Jesus gave everything to give us forgiveness. When we humbly repent and turn to Him in faith, we will never experience the realities of hell. We will never spend a moment outside of God’s presence.

Jesus suffered the unimaginable cross alone to save us from living an unimaginable eternity alone.

By grace, through faith, because of Jesus. May we remember the price our Suffering Savior paid to make it possible for us to celebrate the blessing of His resurrection power.

Let’s pray…

A Prayer Thanking God for Jesus,
the Suffering Savior for All

Father God, I can’t fully comprehend the magnitude of Your love that Your Son would endure unimaginable suffering to redeem Your creation from sin, death, and the power of evil. I can’t fully grasp the greatness of Jesus’ love that He would willingly leave the majesty of heaven to be born in a human body and live in this sinful world.

That alone was extravagant love, but to come here knowing that it would culminate in horrific physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual pain is love beyond comprehension. It’s suffering so great we’re inclined to look away, denying its reality.

But You invite us to trust You … to believe You are who You say You are and faithfully do what You promise. And You promise that when we repent and faithfully offer our lives to You through faith in Jesus, our Suffering Savior, You forgive us and give us life now and always.

Thank you! Thank you! I no longer want to look away. I want to fully realize the grandeur of Your love and respond with complete surrender. I love You! I praise You! I trust You! Please help me follow wherever You lead, trusting Your promise to walk with me and give me the strength I need. In the name of Jesus, our Suffering Savior, I pray. Amen.

Jerry Bridges wrote…

“If we want proof of God’s love for us, then we must look first at the Cross, where God offered up His Son as a sacrifice for our sins. Calvary is the one objective, absolute, irrefutable proof of God’s love for us.”

The truth is, we would ignore Jesus’ crucifixion were it not for HIs resurrection!

Jesus gave His all for us to give God’s all to us.

May you be blessed as you focus on the goodness of God and the greatness of His love given to us through our Suffering Savior, Jesus.

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