MATTHEW 26:37–38 – And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”

THEME OF THE DAY. THE GOD WHO KNOWS SORROW. The Christian faith has many distinguishing characteristics from all the other religions of the world. Space does not allow us to explore them, but the one that is above all others is the momentous truth found in the truth given to Joseph by an angel in a dream – “But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ‘Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel’ which means, God with us” (Matthew 1:20-23).

The most profound truth of our faith is Immanuel; God came to us in human form. Jesus walked among us as the Godman – 100% God and 100% human. We believe this. We cling to this. We proclaim this. But the question I would ask us is, “Do we live this?” And I am not referring to living the Christian life. What I mean is do we find ourselves pondering the humanity of Jesus when it comes to those tough times in life when many sorrows seem to roll over us like sea billows.

During the Christian life, we will encounter seasons of sorrows. It is simply life under the sun; life lived in a sin-cursed world and the reality of our own remaining sin and weak flesh. Tears we will shed. Pain we will experience. Sadness we will know. And sorrows through loss, disappointment, and discouragement will come knocking on every human heart and entrance cannot be denied. It is during those times that we may find Jesus ever so precious. As God, He is capable to soothe our pain and give comfort. As the Godman, He knows the gut-wrenching experience of real human sorrow. He identifies with us. When Jesus says, “I know how you feel”, He really does. Just ponder the scene in today’s scripture. Our Lord is entering the most difficult phase of His earthly life – the Garden of Gethsemane. Here He will encounter the forces of evil like never before. Here will be a level of sorrow in the soul never experienced and never to be experienced at such a level by any human being. Isaiah would foretell this experience by giving Jesus a title that He wore, not only in Gethsemane, but all through His earthly life – Man of Sorrows (Isaiah 53:3).

So, how does Jesus knowing our sorrows and being the Man of Sorrows help us in times of our sorrow? Let me encourage us with two truths along those lines. First, Jesus’ compassion is so much more experienced by us during sorrowing times. He sees the travail of our souls; the hurt, the disillusionment, the grief and He comes to us with pity and mercy knowing by personal experience the human trauma of sorrow. Rest in this. He comes with special “identifying” grace to those in deep sorrows. He knows what we are going through. Get alone with Him and allow Him to do so to you in times of sorrow.

Another way Jesus as the Man of Sorrows helps us is by showing us the path of true discipleship. As the Master walked so will His disciples. There is no discipleship without suffering and sorrow. There is no purging of self-sufficiency and pride without suffering and sorrow. God in His always good, but mysterious ways, primarily uses suffering to mold His children into the image of His Suffering Son. Remember, Jesus isn’t the only one who must carry a cross. We, too, are called to a life of cross-bearing; a willingness to embrace the suffering and sorrow of daily crucifixion to self and the world. In doing so, we live out the life of the Man of Sorrows showing the world His love and grace as a Suffering Savior.

PRAYER: “Lord, I cannot praise You enough for not only bearing my sorrows, but identifying in my sorrows.”

QUOTE: “God not only knows our sorrows as our Creator, but experienced our sorrows as the Godman”