Man of Sorrows

“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.” (Isaiah 53:3)

There is so much joy found in the gospel of Jesus Christ- it would be remiss of me to neglect the life-sustaining delight laced throughout the Good News. There is no truer life than that built upon the gospel. With this being said, this great joy so freely given to us was bought at a lofty price- a price we couldn’t afford. This was a debt I would never have the means to repay and am simply not strong enough to bear.

There was a man, though, who took on this debt of sin past, present, and future. He and he alone could reconcile and bring back to life all of the wrongdoings of the world. But how, you may ask? Jesus Christ, Son of the living God, who knew no sin, would one day carry the burden of debt so that rotten sinners like you and me could walk free and experience eternity in the arms of a loving Father.

Why is Jesus referred to as a “Man of Sorrows?” Because Jesus knew sorrow better than anyone. From glory, Jesus came down to a broken and bitter world. Jesus, being the loving and compassionate Savior he is, felt deeply for the struggles and pains of the world around him.

In John 11:35, we are given the shortest verse in all of Scripture: “Jesus wept.” In the moment after Lazarus’s death, of course Jesus was mourning the loss of his friend, but that wasn’t the whole cause for Jesus’s tears (he knew Lazarus wouldn’t stay dead for long). No- Jesus wept for his dear friends Mary and Martha, too. Jesus is a man of true empathy. He is not apathetic to the pains of the world; to see these sisters mourn broke Jesus’s heart. Jesus saw, experienced, and felt the weight of the sorrows of the world firsthand.

Before the crucifixion, we see Jesus sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. Soon, every gut-wrenching, soul-condemning, life-taking sin would be placed upon the shoulders of the One who deserved nothing but life.

“The sorrows of the lofty he knew, for he was the King of Israel; the sorrows of the poor he knew, for he ‘had nowhere to lay his head.’ Sorrows relative, and sorrows personal; sorrows mental, and sorrows spiritual; sorrows of all kinds and degrees assailed him. Affliction emptied his quiver upon him, making his heart the target for all conceivable woes.” (Charles Spurgeon)

Oh yes, Jesus was acquainted with grief, indeed. A man of deeper sorrows cannot be found.

But take heart, dear friend. It is because of this Savior who knows all sorrow that we can humbly approach the throne of God with a broken spirit. Though we may have despised and rejected him, Jesus Christ does not repay evil for evil. He desires to redeem each and every one of us, no matter how broken. There is no sin too great, no heart too shattered, no pit too deep for Jesus to redeem because He himself has known all struggle upon the cross.

So, who is Jesus? Jesus Christ came to earth as a perfect man who took on the deepest sorrow so we may experience abundant life. He truly is our Savior. Praise be to God.