As I was sitting in church yesterday, Palm Sunday, and read the words of songs on the screen that were being sung by the choir, I was reminded of who I am and how I am living because of what God and Jesus have done. I made a decision to blog on this daily during this Holy Week before Easter.
Jesus was obedient to God in that He allowed others to crucify Him on a cross on Calvary. In the day or two preceding His death, Jesus was emotionally distraught. On the Mount of Olives, Jesus knelt and prayed to God, “Please take this cup of suffering away from me. Yet, I want your will not mine.” (Luke 22:42) Jesus knew the suffering He would endure as he carried His own cross to the hilltop on which He would be crucified. He knew the agony and pain His body would experience. He knew that for a moment as He would take all of our sins upon Himself that He would be separated from His Father and that this would be horribly painful in a spiritual sense.
The Bible tells us that soldiers mocked Him and beat Him on the head with a stick before He made the trip to Calvary to be killed. (Matthew 27:30) Most of us have seen the accounts of how He must have been beaten and whipped by the Roman soldiers in keeping with the tradition of that time. Clearly, Jesus suffered in an excruciating way. More about His crucifixion.
He suffered because He was obedient to the will of God, His father. God’s plan was that Jesus would be crucified so that we could have a full and eternal life. (John 3:16, John 10:10)
You and I can experience true and long-lasting joy because of Jesus’ suffering and death. Jesus tells us the type of joy and blessings we can experience in His Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5:3-12
One of Jesus’ disciples, Paul, writes about the life circumstances and joy he was able to experience in the book of Philippians. He writes about his joy in times of suffering, serving, believing and in giving. Paul encourages all believers to be joyful amongst the various experiences of our lives.
I know that I have experienced and continue to experience deep inner joy in my life because of the suffering and sorrow that Jesus experienced.
Do you experience joy because you know Jesus personally? I hope so.
If you have not accepted God’s deep love by believing in His son Jesus but are ready to have His peace and joy you can do that now. Follow this link.
Have a terrific day!
Great post again. This post reminds me of 1 Peter 4:12-13
12Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. 13But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed.
As I went away yesterday to seek God I ended up sharing is Christ suffering. I am quickly learning the importance is learning how to have joy in our trials, Not something that is easy at all but I believe it is of the utmost importance.