When Pain Gets Tough
Isaiah 53:3-5
July 10, 2011
Morning Service
Introduction
There are a number of different names or titles that Jesus is known by. Many of these relate some nature of His character or some type of strength. Here are a few examples:
Lion of Judah, King of Kings, Lord of Lords, Son of God, Son of man, Messiah, Christ, Savior,
These names are often some of the first that we think of when we consider Jesus. One of the many different titles or names for Jesus is radically different from the rest. There is one name that we often forget when we think about Jesus: man of sorrows. The title gives mental images of weakness. It sends the message of being powerless. Man of sorrows is definitely not one that we automatically recollect when we think of Jesus.
Man of sorrows gives us images of pain and torment. Man of sorrows gives the picture of suffering and defeat. The reality is that consideration of man of sorrows should give us great hope. Jesus took the worst of the human condition and the worst human life could throw at Him and He overcame. The mental picture is one of pain. Jesus was all too familiar with the reality of human pain.
Jesus openly predicted that He would go through an incredible amount of suffering. Jesus told the disciples that He would have to suffer many things. On four places the gospels record the words of Jesus about the coming pain and suffering.
And he said, "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life." Luke 9:22
Make no mistake Jesus was familiar with pain. There is nothing more common to the human condition than pain. From before His birth, Jesus came to become the man of sorrows. Jesus came to be the one who suffered. Jesus came to bear the depth of our pain and punishment.
The reality is that every person deals with three types of pain: physical, emotional and spiritual. Jesus gives us the best example of dealing with pain. The day of the crucifixion Jesus will deal with incredible emotional pain, excruciating physical pain and pain of separation from God. Understanding the depth of Christ’s pain can allow us to have a better grasp of our own. Learning how Jesus handled pain can give us some help in handling our own pains.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:3-5
Jesus was hated so we could find hope. He was hurt so we could experience healing. Those who knew Him best fled from Him and hid themselves or denied knowing Him. Those Jesus came to save refused to accept Him and their rejection was heart breaking. Jesus was described as the kind of person who was loathed and despised. People hated Him so much that they could not stand to look at Him.
The people watched Jesus and believed that he was being punished for a crime. He was dying the death of a common criminal.
Jesus endured incredible emotional, physical and spiritual pain for us.
Common bond of pain
The reality of pain is something that we share with Christ. Peter writes these words in his first letter: 10 Concerning this salvation, the prophets, who spoke of the grace that was to come to you, searched intently and with the greatest care, 11 trying to find out the time and circumstances to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when he predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. 1 Peter 1:10-11
Pain weaves it way through the pages of scripture and reveals itself in the fabric of life. There can be no doubt that pain is part of life. Pain has a timeless nature to it and knows no bounds of culture or ethnicity. Pain is a human reality that everyone must come to terms with. There is no escaping the overarching fact that pain happens to good people, every day.
God whispers in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience but shouts in our pain: it is His megaphone for rousing a deaf world. – C.S. Lewis
Three different kinds of pain
Emotional
Spiritual
Physical
Emotional pain Physical Pain Spiritual Pain
Job Paul Peter
Jeremiah Woman with bleeding Thomas - doubt
Noah – rejection Israelites - serpents Jacob – wrestled with God
Joseph – sold by his brothers Israelites – slave labor Moses – breaking the 10
10 lepers Adam – removal from the Garden
The pain of Jesus – The Final 24 Hours
Emotional
The failure of His disciples to pray with Him
The betrayal of Judas – betrayed with a kiss of peace
The abandonment of the disciples
The denial of Peter
The rejection of the crowds
The ridicule of the Roman soldiers
Spiritual
The agony in the Garden of Gethsemane
Rejection of Jesus as the Messiah
My God my God why have you forsaken me – Psalm 22
Physical
Beaten - Jewish guards
Beaten – Roman soldiers
Flogged – scourged
Crown of thorns
Forced to carry the cross
Crucified
Our problem with pain is profound. Pain has a way of paralyzing and puzzling us like nothing else on earth. Pain happens so often that we often get used to it or grow accustomed to its presence. What do we do when we suffer from the grip of pain? Our first course of action should be to turn to Jesus.
What do we learn about handling pain from Jesus?
Jesus surrendered to God’s plan
At Gethsemane, Jesus surrendered His will to the will of God. There was nothing but the will of the Father. Many times we refuse to surrender our pain to God and never find His blessing in the midst of it. God never wastes pain and suffering because He uses it for His purpose and plan. God furthers our spiritual growth and relationship with Him through those difficult days and sleepless nights. Jesus allowed His pain to draw Him closer to the Father. Our days of pain should do the same for us but never will until we surrender the pain to God’s plan for us.
Jesus allowed His pain to glorify God
Jesus lived out the understanding that all things work for the good of those who love God. He gave Himself completely to the plan of God and allowed His life to glorify God. There are times that God is more glorified by our pain than by our peace. There are times when God can speak to others through the pain like nothing else. When we live our lives in a manner that gives God the glory, even when it hurts, it allows Him to use us in ways we could never imagine.
Jesus forgave those who hurt Him
In a moment that gives us chills, Jesus reaches out to those who crucified Him. Our human nature lashes out at those who hurt us but Jesus offers forgiveness. Jesus proves the reality of His divinity in giving grace to those who inflicted such pain to Him. We are never more like Jesus than when we choose to forgive those who hurt us. Jesus made the choice to offer forgiveness to those who deserved it the least. When we choose to forgive, it sets us free from the bondage of continual emotional and spiritual pain.
Jesus focused on His purpose until the end
Jesus never gave up on His purpose or mission. The religious leaders of the day hurled insults at Him like darts. Jesus never gave up and continued to reach out to those around Him from the cross. Jesus committed everything, including His spirit to the Father.
Conclusion
Can we ever see a world without pain? It might surprise you but there is just such a place on earth today. Dr. Paul Brand describes just such a place where there is no pain. The place is a leaper colony, where the patients literally have lost the sensation of pain.
Pain is a gift from God to help us navigate the trials and difficulties of life. If life here were so easy, would we ever long for heaven? If life here were free from pain, would we ever think of eternity?
The truth is that pain allows us to understand the difficulty of life and look forward to eternity in heaven.
Blessings by Laura Story
Cause what if Your blessings come through raindrops What if Your healing comes through tears?
And what if a thousand sleepless nights Are what it takes to know You’re near?
What if my greatest disappointments Or the aching of this life
Is the revealing of a greater thirst This world can’t satisfy?
And what if trials of this life The rain, the storms, the hardest nights
Are Your mercies in disguise?
