What The Suffering Of Jesus Means For Us
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering,
and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised,
and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted
Isaiah 53: 2-4
Every family, every person experiences things in their lives that make them feel alone. The temptation is to think that if I am a Christian, those feelings are because I don’t have enough faith. Or I am not doing what I need to get the attention I want. Or maybe God just doesn’t care.
He knows how it feels to be hated.
To be rejected.
The reality is that Jesus knows how it feels to not have physical beauty that attracts others to him.
He was familiar with pain.
He knows how you feel when you suffer your private and public pain.
He knows and he came to this earth because he more than cares for you!
Jesus had everything. He created everything. He is God’s Son.
And he gave up all the majesty that is him to live in the depravity of this dark, fallen world.
He came to live a life without sin in our place.
It blows my mind how he never gave in to a whim or thought of sin.
Every time I am unfairly treated….or even think I am….I can feel the darkness of anger and hate and fear welling up in me.
But Jesus did not give in to that. He came to live for you and for me perfectly so he could die in our place and suffer hell in our place.
He knows how you feel right now. He knows what no one else in your life understands.
And he wants us to know that he died and rose to be with us.
Now
And forever.
Our children feel the same loneliness we can feel. It might be for reasons we think are not that big of a deal. But it is a big deal to them.
God wants our children to know how much he loves them. NO matter what the world thinks of them, Jesus died to be with them.
As we wait for the celebration of Jesus resurrection make time to talk together as a family about how the suffering of Jesus gives you true peace in any circumstance.
Questions for Family Conversation from Isaiah 53:2-4
How do you think Jesus felt when he was despised and rejected by mankind?
What does it mean to be "familiar with pain"?
Why did Jesus come to earth?
What does it mean to you that Jesus knows how you feel when you suffer?
How can you find peace in any circumstance, knowing that Jesus suffered and died for you?
How can we help our children understand how much God loves them, even when they feel lonely or rejected?
What are some ways that we can talk to our children about the suffering of Jesus?
How can we help our children to find hope and peace in the resurrection of Jesus?
What are some ways that we can celebrate the resurrection of Jesus as a family?
How can we live our lives in a way that reflects the love and sacrifice of Jesus?