From the cross Jesus uttered the opening verse of Psalm 22 which went on to describe the suffering of the Saviour. Roman crucifixion was the way God chose to fulfill Psalm 22:16: "For dogs
have surrounded Me; the congregation of the wicked has
enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My
feet." As unbelieving, unclean men mocked and scorned Jesus Christ He hung by nails which pierced hands and feet. The Jewish religious rulers arrested and delivered Jesus to Pilate for judgment, saying Jesus ought to die for claiming He was the begotten Son of God (John 19:7). Jesus went to God's chosen people with the Good News, but they rejected and delivered Him to the Romans to be crucified.
Isn't it ironic how a majority of the persecution and wounds Jesus carried were caused by His own countrymen? We do not read of the Greeks plotting to destroy Him, nor of the Romans arresting Jesus for alleged insurrection: it was the Jews to whom Jesus was sent who caused much of His pains. I do not say this to point the finger or lay blame upon the Jewish nation as being awful or worthy of punishment, for all happened as God ordained. Jesus came to the lost sheep of Israel and having been rejected the Gospel would be brought to Gentiles so they too might be brought into God's fold. The Gentiles have not absorbed or replaced the Jews because as Paul explained in the book of Romans the Jews can be grafted back into the Vine who is Christ.
The suffering and piercing of Jesus on Calvary reminds me of a relatively obscure reference in Zechariah 13:6: "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." Many have been wounded by enemies, but the Person addressed in Zechariah 13:6 was wounded in His hands in the house of His friends. Mr. Fred Rogers was close to the truth when he sang, "It's the people you like the most who manage to make you feel baddest." If Jesus experienced pains and attacks by His own countrymen we should not be surprised in Christian ministry when a majority of our pains and sorrows are caused by fellow believers in the church. It is one thing for enemies to shout threats outside the door but a different sort of pain to be betrayed from the inside by a friend or countryman, to be given the silent treatment or the cold shoulder by people who profess to love God.
When we suffer in the service of Jesus Christ we discover a depth of fellowship with God not achieved in other ways. I regret many of the painful situations I have encountered in Christian ministry and my worst experiences only begin to hint at the reality of Christ's sufferings. The apostle Paul suffered greatly for the cause of Christ but there was an edifying purpose leveraged with every physical beating by the Jews or when pierced by slanderous accusations of brethren in the church. Through faith in Christ Paul pressed on rejoicing with this aim in Philippians 3:10: "...that I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto His death..." It was not his depth of suffering which made Paul worthy of the resurrection of the dead to eternal life but righteousness of Jesus imputed to Paul by faith. The lumps Jesus and Paul took and the opposition they faced primarily came from their own people. If we expect this we will not be caught off guard when it happens.
Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:12-14, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified." What we have suffered is nothing compared to Who suffered for us. The source of our suffering is also not the main point, be it from outside or inside the church, from the work of the devil or the hand of God. All suffering has redemptive and edifying properties when we continue to press on in faith looking unto Jesus because He will exchange it all for His eternal glory. He is glorified in a servant who has been pierced in the house of his friends and keeps on loving, keeps on giving, and keeps on rejoicing in the LORD, for our Master has set us an example.
Isn't it ironic how a majority of the persecution and wounds Jesus carried were caused by His own countrymen? We do not read of the Greeks plotting to destroy Him, nor of the Romans arresting Jesus for alleged insurrection: it was the Jews to whom Jesus was sent who caused much of His pains. I do not say this to point the finger or lay blame upon the Jewish nation as being awful or worthy of punishment, for all happened as God ordained. Jesus came to the lost sheep of Israel and having been rejected the Gospel would be brought to Gentiles so they too might be brought into God's fold. The Gentiles have not absorbed or replaced the Jews because as Paul explained in the book of Romans the Jews can be grafted back into the Vine who is Christ.
The suffering and piercing of Jesus on Calvary reminds me of a relatively obscure reference in Zechariah 13:6: "And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends." Many have been wounded by enemies, but the Person addressed in Zechariah 13:6 was wounded in His hands in the house of His friends. Mr. Fred Rogers was close to the truth when he sang, "It's the people you like the most who manage to make you feel baddest." If Jesus experienced pains and attacks by His own countrymen we should not be surprised in Christian ministry when a majority of our pains and sorrows are caused by fellow believers in the church. It is one thing for enemies to shout threats outside the door but a different sort of pain to be betrayed from the inside by a friend or countryman, to be given the silent treatment or the cold shoulder by people who profess to love God.
When we suffer in the service of Jesus Christ we discover a depth of fellowship with God not achieved in other ways. I regret many of the painful situations I have encountered in Christian ministry and my worst experiences only begin to hint at the reality of Christ's sufferings. The apostle Paul suffered greatly for the cause of Christ but there was an edifying purpose leveraged with every physical beating by the Jews or when pierced by slanderous accusations of brethren in the church. Through faith in Christ Paul pressed on rejoicing with this aim in Philippians 3:10: "...that I may know Him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto His death..." It was not his depth of suffering which made Paul worthy of the resurrection of the dead to eternal life but righteousness of Jesus imputed to Paul by faith. The lumps Jesus and Paul took and the opposition they faced primarily came from their own people. If we expect this we will not be caught off guard when it happens.
Peter wrote in 1 Peter 4:12-14, "Beloved, do not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened to you; 13 but rejoice to the extent that you partake of Christ's sufferings, that when His glory is revealed, you may also be glad with exceeding joy. 14 If you are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are you, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. On their part He is blasphemed, but on your part He is glorified." What we have suffered is nothing compared to Who suffered for us. The source of our suffering is also not the main point, be it from outside or inside the church, from the work of the devil or the hand of God. All suffering has redemptive and edifying properties when we continue to press on in faith looking unto Jesus because He will exchange it all for His eternal glory. He is glorified in a servant who has been pierced in the house of his friends and keeps on loving, keeps on giving, and keeps on rejoicing in the LORD, for our Master has set us an example.
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