Meet Jesus, a Man of Sorrows

When you think of Jesus, what is the first thing that comes to mind?

Maybe Savior, Messiah, Shepherd, or Teacher. But do we often think of Him as a man of sorrows?

The Path of Jesus

The path Jesus walked was not an easy one. The cross was not the only hardship He endured. He was scorned by the people who should have accepted Him. He spent Himself on the needy and the downtrodden. He was often at odds with the “religious” folks. He was available to the sick, the lame, the blind, and the broken. He didn’t charge for His services, and He made time for others when He wanted time to be refreshed.

Life is hard

Life is hard. Sad things happen. The brokenness of this world can seem like too much to bear. Lately the Lord has allowed us to meet a variety of friends who are suffering immensely: emotional grief, physical pain, broken marriages, sickness, and more. I can hardly think of a season when I have been so surrounded by hurting people.

Middle Class America is a Mission Field

We didn’t leave the country. We’re right here in middle class America and people are suffering. Sometimes it’s by our own choices, sometimes by the choices of others, and sometimes for no explainable reason we find ourselves in the midst of sorrow.

What Did Jesus Really Do?

It has made me think deeply about Jesus and the paths He walked as He noticed hurting people and took time for them. Jesus didn’t just invite the people He met to His Church (ironic, isn’t it? Yes, He did call them to be the Church eventually.)

A Man of Sorrows

The prophet Isaiah calls Jesus a man of sorrows.

The older I get, the more I admire Jesus. He didn’t run from hurting people, He ministered to them. He wasn’t repulsed by broken humans, He cared about them. He looked at them. He wasn’t too busy for them. Jesus said, “Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.”

Jesus cares. Maybe, just maybe, when we take a moment to care about someone who doesn’t know Jesus personally, they can experience His nature and compassion working through us.

Knowing Jesus as our Savior is one aspect of knowing Him. Knowing and imitating the Shepherd who saw the crowds and had compassion on them is another. Jesus on the cross, taking our sins upon Himself as our atoning sacrifice, is indeed life changing. But even before the cross, He moved among the crowds with compassion. He knew those very crowds would turn on Him and demand His life, yet He took time to minister to them.

Caring in the Crowds

Think about a time you were in a crowd. Maybe at an event, a concert, or a crowded city. Think about the people you saw. What was your heart posture? How did your heart and mind react?

To be honest, never do I feel less like Jesus. I love people, but I really don’t enjoy large crowds. I admire those of you who live in big cities and keep your love for people. Coming from very much a not-city girl, a week in a city makes me want to come home to the country as fast as an airplane can take me. I marvel that anyone who lives in a city manages to show the love of Jesus. Maybe the hustle and bustle leaves no time or space to actually get to know people. Maybe the high speed of everything gets in the way of the pace at which Jesus moved, most often walking. I wish it weren’t true, but wow, do I realize how far the Lord still has to bring me. I often contemplate Jesus ability to care for crowds. To feed them, to heal them, to teach them. May we each grow to be more like Him.

Sitting at His Feet With Others

Sitting and getting to know people is another story. I love it. Everyone has a story, and some are very tough. Many explain why we are the way we are. People need each other, and we all need Jesus. Not just a tiny bit, we desperately, desperately need Him. We need to encounter His love, accept His forgiveness, and embrace His call to pick up our cross and follow Him, and we need to learn to bring our friends along to sit at His feet with us.

For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:2–6 ESV