A Man of Sorrows

Every Good Friday, I like to post Isaiah 53 on social media.  I like prophecy, and this is one of the clearest Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament.  but I think a big thing I tend to gloss over is right in the first 3 verses.

Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

If you believe, as I do, that this chapter of Isaiah depicts Christ, then this gives us a picture that we don't always like to think of:  Christ as a man of sorrows...

This isn't the only passage that describes the sorrow of Christ.  The New Testament describes Christ weeping at the tomb of Lazarus even knowing He was going to raise him, Christ secluding Himself after hearing of the death of John the Baptist, and Christ expressing His grief in the Garden of Gethsemane.

The example of Lazarus is often cited only because it is the shortest verse in the bible.  I think looking at the account in context will show us more than just reading "Jesus Wept."  Here's the account from the Gospel of John:

Now Jesus had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha met Him. Then the Jews who were with her in the house, and consoling her, when they saw that Mary got up quickly and went out, they followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Therefore, when Mary came where Jesus was, she saw Him, and fell at His feet, saying to Him, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit and was troubled, and said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to Him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews were saying, “See how He loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not this man, who opened the eyes of the blind man, have kept this man also from dying?”
So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it. Jesus said, “Remove the stone.” Martha, the sister of the deceased, said to Him, “Lord, by this time there will be a stench, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not say to you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they removed the stone. Then Jesus raised His eyes, and said, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me; but because of the people standing around I said it, so that they may believe that You sent Me.” When He had said these things, He cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come forth.” The man who had died came forth, bound hand and foot with wrappings, and his face was wrapped around with a cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”  -- John 11:30-44

It's important to note here that Lazarus, Mary, and Martha were not strangers to Jesus.  In John 11:5, it is stated "Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus."  In this context, the weeping makes more sense than it might on the surface.  Jesus clearly understands what is going to happen with Lazarus, so it is doubtful He is mourning the loss of Lazarus, but it's obviously an emotionally charged moment for everyone. He appears to be weeping out of empathy for Mary and Martha.  He has an angry and confused Mary likely shouting at Him in this moment, but He is moved by compassion for her, understanding her pain.  Still this scene comes off fairly stoic in most depictions I've ever seen of it.  I think the stoicism does it a disservice.  Christ was not emotionless.

That second example  I gave is easy to miss as it is only mentioned in passing leading into the feeding of the 5000:

Now when Jesus heard about John, He withdrew from there in a boat to a secluded place by Himself; and when the people heard of this, they followed Him on foot from the cities. When He went ashore, He saw a large crowd, and felt compassion for them and healed their sick.  -- Matthew 14:13-14

I try not to read too much into passages that isn't explicitly stated, but knowing the relationship between Jesus and John the Baptist, this was probably very emotional for Him.  John was born about 6 months before Jesus and was a close relative, so it is possible they were rather close.  Again, this is not explicit in scripture, so I am reading a little bit in.  It is very possible and often discussed that John may not have ever met Jesus in person until the day of His baptism, but again, we really don't know.  It does say in this passage, though, that Jesus withdrew to be by Himself after hearing of John's death, so I think it is safe to read grief into this passage.

The third example was leading up to the Crucifixion.  Jesus explicitly tells His disciples that He is overwhelmed with grief.  Let's look at that account as well:

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane, and said to His disciples, "Sit here while I go over there and pray.” And He took with Him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be grieved and distressed. Then He said to them, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with Me.”
And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.” And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and said to Peter, “So, you men could not keep watch with Me for one hour? Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away again a second time and prayed, saying, “My Father, if this cannot pass away unless I drink it, Your will be done.” Again He came and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy. And He left them again, and went away and prayed a third time, saying the same thing once more. Then He came to the disciples and said to them, “Are you still sleeping and resting? Behold, the hour is at hand and the Son of Man is being betrayed into the hands of sinners. Get up, let us be going; behold, the one who betrays Me is at hand!”
While He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, came up accompanied by a large crowd with swords and clubs, who came from the chief priests and elders of the people. Now he who was betraying Him gave them a sign, saying, “Whomever I kiss, He is the one; seize Him.” Immediately Judas went to Jesus and said, “Hail, Rabbi!” and kissed Him. And Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you have come for.” Then they came and laid hands on Jesus and seized Him.   -- Matthew 26:36-50

Here we have Jesus experiencing tremendous fear knowing what's coming.  He knows the pain He is going to endure.  In the book of Luke, when it gives this account, it describes Jesus as sweating blood because of His anxiety.  (A real phenomenon called Hematidrosis.) In the same passage we also see Jesus experience betrayal a the hands of one of His closest friends.  This leads us into Christ's ultimate sorrow, His crucifixion which we remember this Good Friday:

Then they brought Him to the place Golgotha, which is translated, Place of a Skull. They tried to give Him wine mixed with myrrh; but He did not take it. And they crucified Him, and divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take. It was the third hour when they crucified Him. The inscription of the charge against Him read, “THE KING OF THE JEWS.”
They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”] Those passing by were [m]hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads, and saying, “Ha! You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself, and come down from the cross!” In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes, were mocking Him among themselves and saying, “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. Let this Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, so that we may see and believe!” Those who were crucified with Him were also insulting Him.
When the sixth hour came, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” When some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, “Behold, He is calling for Elijah.” Someone ran and filled a sponge with sour wine, put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink, saying, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to take Him down.” And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed His last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”  -- Mark 15:22-39

Aside from the crucifixion, we often imagine a stoic Jesus; not a man with human emotions.  We discuss His suffering at the cross, but we miss the very real human struggles He dealt with aside from that. Grief. Loss. Betrayal. Temptation. He was also subjected to gossip and slander. Sometimes we lose sight of the fact that Christ was human in every aspect we are human while still being 100% divine.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,  who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,  but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.  -- Philippians 2:5-8

When I hear prosperity preachers like Joel Osteen, I find their message depressing...  They preach that with enough faith, God will grant you material success and comfort.  I've said it before, but if that were the true gospel, then many of us in the church must be doing something wrong. Yes, I believe that Biblical principals can help some with finances and relationships, but those principals only help us steward the blessings we have already been given.  They don't offer us an easy or carefree life. Seeing that Christ's life was not easy or carefree tells me two things.  First, that the Joel Osteens of this world are wolves, and second, that we serve a God who intimately understands our pain and struggles.

I think it is important to look at these struggles of Christ because although most of us cannot relate to the crucifixion, we can relate to His temptation, betrayal, and grief.  We don't serve a God who is distant, who cannot relate to us or understand our struggles. We serve a God who took the form of a man, Jesus Christ, so that He could pay the ultimate penalty for our sins.  A God who took the form of a man and experienced humanity in the same way as you and me.  The book of Hebrews speaks about this:

For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.  -- Hebrews 4:15

Christ can sympathize with us because He knows what it means to be human.  He knows our anxieties.  He knows our temptations.  He knows pain and shame beyond what we can even relate to. He isn't a distant God judging us from afar.  He is a deeply personal God who transcended time and space in order to make a way for us to commune with Him.

In closing, here's the full text of Isaiah 53:

Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.