A week ago Thursday I was sitting at my desk thinking about what had been presented at House of Prayer the night before. Part of the presentation was a re-reading of Isaiah 53. Have you read it recently? It’s only 12 verses long, but before you read any more of this blog you might want to read that. 

In John 5:39 Jesus admonishes the religious leaders of that time that all their study of the scriptures which they did, thinking they were getting into the kingdom that way, didn’t do them any good—because the scriptures testify of him, but they refused to believe in him so, In other words, the entire Bible, which is all about Jesus whom they wouldn’t believe in, didn’t do them any good. Isaiah 53 is, of course, part of the scriptures and tells part of the story of Jesus. 

Which part? The sad part. The painful part. If you want to read sadness, like the Sabbath School quarterly suggests, John 11 is probably the saddest section of any of the Gospels: Jesus even sheds tears. Have you ever lost someone you loved? This far into a world of sin there are very few people who haven’t. Even though Jesus came, knowing what he was going to do, didn’t mitigate the pain he felt for Martha and Mary. 

Is. 53.3 says that Jesus was “a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.” V. 4: “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.” As sensitive as Jesus was, the pain of every single person he interacted with must have touched a resonant chord in his soul. It doesn’t say that he wept tears like with the widow of Nain, yet I don’t think there is any question as to whether or not Jesus knew how people felt—the pain they carried for whatever reason. The leader of the synagogue, Jairus, lost his heart when the servants came and told him not to bother the healer any longer because his daughter had just passed. I see Jesus putting his arm around Jairus as he told him, “Don’t fear; just believe.” Imagine the joy he felt as Jairus and his wife took their daughter in their arms. If Jesus had tears, they would have been tears of joy at bringing happiness to that family. 

Jesus still knows exactly how we feel about things. When our hearts are as broken as possible, he knows. Bring your broken heart to him. He can take care of it. 

There were two times when Jesus endured pain beyond measure. One was on the Mount of Olives when he was riding the colt, looking over the valley at the temple. He saw into the future and knew what was coming to the people he loved because they would not believe in him. Desire of Ages says that he sobbed huge, racking sobs. His people broke his heart. The other time when the pain could not have been any worse, was when he gasped out, “Eloi, Eloi; lama sabachthani.” (My God, my God, why have you forsaken me.) V. 10: “It was the will of the Lord to crush him and cause him to suffer.” V. 11: “After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…”

Pain? Bring whatever pain you have to him, and trust him to give healing to your heart. And as far as your relationship with him is concerned, don’t cause him any more pain than he’s already experienced, by rejecting him and refusing to believe in him. Put your faith in him and keep looking in confidence to him: he can and will heal whatever pain you are experiencing.