Humility All The Way!!!

Now what about his emotional (soul) suffering before and during the Crucifixion? I would caution the readers’ not to be carried away by some “Christian” paintings which depict Christ praying in a dignified posture in the Garden of Gethsemane and being crucified with the loin cloth on? Even as the Cross with all its indescribable pain loomed before the spotless Son of God, so emotionally was he perturbed that he fell prostrate on his face (read the Gospels to know the truth – Mark 14:35) sweating blood. Then what about the insults that accompanied Him, all along this ordeal …the spitting and stripping (Matt 27:27-31)… the historians tell us that in order to instil uttermost fear of rebelling against their authority, the Romans ensured that the perpetrator was insulted publicly in toto, by crucifying him stark naked. So virtually Christ covered the shame brought about by sin (Genesis 3:7) by Himself enduring shame on the cross (Heb 12:2).

Coming to the spiritual suffering, let it be said that when ALL sin came upon His sinless self (2 Cor 5:21), He experienced HELL for us in order we do NOT end up there. Nothing more, nothing less and nothing else! Jesus’ only source of comfort in this fiery affliction till then (the Father’s Holy presence) also abandoned Him as the Holy God whose pure eyes cannot see evil (Hab 1:13) could not stay in the presence of despicable sin, hence that heart-rending cry from the cross …”My God, My God (Note: Not My Father, in the way Christ had along addressed His Father) why have you forsaken me” (Matt 27:46) in perfect fulfilment of the prophecy recorded about 1000 years back (Psalm 22:1).

Perpetual...

The enormity of Christ’s humility of coming down in a mere man’s body assumes different proportions altogether when we consider one more act of his inimitable humility...that is his conscious choice of remaining confined in it for eternity. His condescension meant, He would forever remain man albeit in a Glorified body after ascension (Rev 1:12-16).

Consider these Scripture portions (in present tense) penned after Christ’s ascension, which are a “clincher” as it were, in substantiating this “chilling” truth…

For in Christ there is all of God in a HUMAN body – Col 2:9 (TLB)

That God is on one side and all the people on the other side, and Christ Jesus, himself MAN, is between them to bring them together- I Tim 2:5 (TLB)

I looked and saw a Lamb standing there before the twenty-four Elders, in front of the throne and the Living Beings, and on the Lamb were wounds that once had caused his death. – Rev 5:6 (TLB)

Let me conclude now with a relevant, touching story which goes thus…

There was an orphaned boy living with his grandma when their house caught fire. The grandmother, trying to get upstairs to rescue the boy, perished in the flames. The boy’s cries for help were finally a nswered by a man who climbed an iron drainpipe and came back down with the boy hanging tightly to his neck. Several weeks later, a public hearing was held to determine who would receive custody of the child. A farmer, a teacher, and the town’s wealthiest citizen all gave the reasons they felt they should be chosen to give the boy a home. But as they talked, the lad’s eyes remained focused on the floor. Then a stranger walked to the front and slowly took his hands from his pockets, revealing severe scars on them. As the crowd gasped, the boy cried out in recognition. This was the man who had saved his life. His hands had been burned when he climbed the hot pipe. With a leap the boy threw his arms around the man’s neck and held on for dear life. The other men silently walked away, leaving the boy and his rescuer alone. Those marred hands had settled the issue.