Seven Reasons Jesus Came: Part 5

We are continuing our series Seven Reasons Jesus Came, and today we come to our fifth reason: To Participate in the Pain of Man. 

When we are going through something hard, one of the first things we want to do is find someone who has been through it before. Even if they cannot offer any particular solution or help, just having their understanding ear is valuable and comforting. A doctor is said to be a good physician if they have a bedside manner, a manner that communicates that they have at least some idea the level of suffering you are going through and respond in gentle understanding. Even if the treatment they prescribe for your condition may cause additional, though temporary suffering, you are more willing to go through with it because you know the doctor has your best in mind (illustration borrowed and adapted from Dr. Gerald Bray). 

This is what we have in Jesus and what is so unique about Him from every other god. Jesus is God in the flesh. God with His divine nature, immune to pain, deprivation, weakness, sickness, and fatigue, took on human nature which was subject to all of those things. Jesus experienced fatigue so powerful, He slept through a storm on boat that was so bad, experienced fisherman thought they were going to die (Matthew 8:23-27)! Jesus experienced starvation, having not eaten in forty days and then be tempted in mighty ways to sin by the devil himself (Matthew 4:2ff). He experienced physical weakness (John 19:17 shows Jesus carrying His cross, but in all the other gospel accounts, like Luke 23:26, they found someone else to carry it. This means that he started out carrying it, but couldn’t make it the whole way due to the weakness from the beating). He experienced grief (John 11:35) and distress of soul (Matthew 26:38). He experienced betrayal by His friend (John 13:21-27), and even His own family thought He was crazy, at first (Mark 3:21). 

Of course, what we remember today is the pinnacle of Jesus’ suffering: His crucifixion on the cross. He had nails driven through His hands and feet and was hung on the cross to die. As if that wasn’t bad enough, Jesus was also bearing all the punishment for our sin on the cross! He was absorbing all of God’s righteous wrath aimed at us so that we would never have to go through that ourselves. 

Then, Jesus died. There is no pain that God has not experienced. Jesus wasn’t the only one suffering that day. The Father lost His Son in that moment, too. 

This brings up another reason why Jesus came to Earth. He came to experience what it is like to be human with all of its pain, coming at a time when it was likely the hardest to be a human being. He didn’t come in our time with air conditioning and modern medicine. He came at a time when creature comforts were vanishingly few. The Bible says Jesus can sympathize with us (Hebrews 4:14-15), but more than that, He can help us (Hebrews 4:16)! In Him we can find grace and mercy in our times of need! He truly is our Great Physician with a bedside manner forged in the fires of pain personally experienced. 

Yes, Jesus understands us. You could say that He gets us. But more than that, He transforms us as well. He does not leave us in temptation, sin, and grief, but begins moving us away from those things in our life. We won’t see the conclusion of this process until we die, but even in death, He is with us and will shepherd us through that valley to joy. He can do this because He has already walked that path for us, and now He is the way through death to life. 

So if you are going through something hard today, reach out to Jesus in prayer. Tell Him about it. Cry in front of Him if you need to. Jesus understands. And one day, Jesus will deliver you from that distress. It doesn’t happen instantly, but one day, you will be delivered comprehensively! 

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