Man Of Sorrows

"He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not...

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth...

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes and offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; and the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand."

Isaiah 53:3-10

Jesus was a man of sorrows. Jesus is familiar with loving people only to have slander and evil speech thrown back in His face. Jesus is well aware of what it's like to be spoken evil of and how much it hurts to be rejected by those we love. Jesus knows intimately what the sorrow of such utter rejection feels like because He lived it. But I want you to see five things about Jesus' suffering that can give us hope when we are rejected, slandered and hurt by other people.

1. Jesus was rejected, slandered, falsely tried, scourged and murdered in the face of his sinless life. Jesus did not suffer nor was he rejected because of some wrong that He had committed because Jesus never sinned.

"And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth." Isaiah 53:9

2. Jesus was rejected, slandered and hurt by the very people he actively loved and cared for without any thought of having that love returned to Him. This is profoundly evident in the story of Jesus washing the disciples' feet (John 13). Judas was among those disciples that evening and Jesus was well aware that Judas had betrayed Him for thirty pieces of silver and (this is perhaps even more shocking) that Judas would not turn or repent at any point. Jesus humbly washed the feet of a man who hated Him and betrayed Him to His death - a man Jesus had loved, cared for and instructed for three years.

3. Jesus did not, at any time, try to defend Himself or clear His name. The Son of God, the Prince of Peace, the Sovereign Lord of all the universe did not consider equality with God something to be grasped (Philippians 2:6). He humbly endured the rejection, the scoffing, the scourging and the murder without so much as a single word or action to stop it.

"He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth." Isaiah 53:7

4. Jesus actively loved those who were slandering Him, beating Him, rejecting Him and murdering Him.

"Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments." Luke 23:34

5. Jesus' response to the sins committed against Him led to salvation for His people. His humble obedience to the Father by not returning reviling for reviling and His willingness to lay down His life quietly in the face of rejection and abuse blotted out my sin and made propitiation for the sins of the whole world.

"Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends." John 15:13

"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." Romans 5:6

What a glorious savior and God we have. My eyes well up with tears when I remember that such love actually exists and that Jesus loves me that much.

As His treasured possession, those of us who call Him "Lord" should follow in His example.

• When we are slandered, rejected and hurt it should not be because of sin
• When men speak all kinds of evil about us and betray us we should be slow to speak
• When people slander us and lie about us we should not rise to our own defense but we should love them practically, pray for them and rest in God's sovereignty
• When we are rejected by the very people we love and have loved we should love them all the more and both forgive them and desire forgiveness for them

When we love like this the outcome may be greater than you realize:

"Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8

Jesus' love for us is the root of "Glorious Joy." It is from Him; it is through Him; and it is to Him for His glory.

Blessings!