Thursday, March 13

Why Did Jesus Suffer?

The gospel message is that Jesus shed his blood and died for our sins according to the Scriptures – 1 Corinthians 15:3 and Isaiah 53:4-6

We read that without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins – Hebrews 9:22; Ephesians 1:7

Do you ever wonder why couldn’t Jesus have simply died a quick death? We know that animal sacrifices were immediate with a quick slice of the knife. There was no suffering on the part of the bull or goat or lamb. Why did Jesus have to suffer and endure the scourging, mocking, and finally the crucifixion? There is really no arguing the fact that Jesus did suffer. The list is long:

As a fully human man, for thirty-three years He suffered temptation, the daily struggles against sin we endure – Hebrews 4:15; 2:18

He was rejected by those that knew Him best in His own hometown – Luke 4:16, 28-30

He was profanely accused of doing wrong when He was doing good – Luke 11:14-15

He was treated with contempt and disdain by the Pharisees – Luke 16:14

He was deceitfully questioned in an attempt to ensnare Him – Luke 20:20

His own disciples defected – John 6:60-61, 66

His family ridiculed him – John 7:3-5

He endured the disgrace and the indignity of all this while knowing who He was, yet He humbly “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant” – Philippians 2:7

None of the above takes into account Gethsemane or the trial before Caiaphas, the Council, Herod, or Pilate. We have not mentioned the soldiers, the crowd, Barabbas, or the thieves.

Why did Jesus suffer? Why did it please the Lord to bruise Him, to put Jesus to grief (see Isaiah 53:10)? Couldn’t His death for our sins have not been less horrifying and more merciful?

Peter explained in his epistle – 1 Peter 3:18 – the reason for the extreme suffering of Jesus was that God wanted to reconcile us back to Himself – Isaiah 53:6; 2 Corinthians 5:18-21. God, with love as His complete motivation, sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins – 1 John 4:9-10

When we see the unbelievably appalling suffering of our Lord, we also see the terribleness of sin. Everyone has sinned. Everyone is a sinner. Sin is universal – Romans 3:23. And there is a terrible outcome to our sin – nothing less than death – Romans 6:23.

In the greatness of the suffering of Jesus we also see the magnitude of God’s love. Just as sin is worldwide, the love of the Father is also worldwide – John 3:16; Romans 5:8. The love of the Son is no less – John 15:13; 1 John 3:16.

Isaiah said it; He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities.

Scripture also shows that He also suffered to be our example. He confirmed the value of suffering for the sake of righteousness – 1 Peter 2:20-24. He proved to us that when we are mistreated for doing good, we can and should trust in God to judge appropriately. He showed us how to persevere in our battle against sin according to 1 Peter 4:1-4. When we seek to live for the will of God, instead of the lusts of the flesh and when we endure the ridicule of the people of this world, and when we love one another, and love our enemies – John 13:34-35; Ephesians 5:1-2; Matthew 5:44-45 – we are truly following His perfect example.

We emulate Christ when we love one another as He loved us. And also when we bless those who curse us, do good to those who hate us, and pray for those who persecute us. This is true imitation Christ. Jesus’ perfect suffering exemplifies how far we must go for the sake of perfect love and perfect righteousness.

For to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps – 1 Peter 2:21.

Therefore let those who suffer according to the will of God commit their souls to Him in doing good, as to a faithful Creator – 1 Peter 4:19.