"He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief..." (Isaiah 53:3)
Contrary to the health, wealth and prosperity image of
Jesus Christ that Charismatics put forth, He was despised and rejected of men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Jesus said He had no pillow to
place His head upon at night... "The foxes have holes, and the birds of
the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head"
(Matthew 8:20). Jesus was homeless.
Everywhere Jesus went, He was scorned and ridiculed because
of His youth... "Then said the Jews unto him, Thou art not yet fifty years
old, and hast thou seen Abraham?" (John 8:57). Yet, Jesus spake as no man
had ever spoken... "The officers answered, Never man spake like this
man" (John 7:46). Jesus was a remarkable young man who spoke with
Authority, i.e., the Truth of God's Word; and He was hated for it... "But
now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard
of God: this did not Abraham" (John 8:40). "And because I tell you
the truth, ye believe me not" (John 8:45). Jesus was sorrowful that the
Jews didn't believe His Word.
When Jesus went to His own town of Nazareth, they rejected
Him... "And he said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his
own country" (Luke 4:24). Jesus was angry and grieved because of the
hardness of the Jew's hearts... "And when he had looked round about on
them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto
the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was
restored whole as the other."
There were many places Jesus went, where the Bible says He
COULDN'T perform any mighty works because of their unbelief... "And he
could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick
folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went
round about the villages, teaching" (Mark 6:5,6). No wonder Jesus was so
grieved and sad; He wanted to heal the sick and help others, but oftentimes
couldn't because of their unbelief.
In Luke 8:52, 53 we read that the crowd laughed Jesus to
scorn when He said He could raise the dead... "And all wept, and bewailed
her: but he said, Weep not; she is not dead, but sleepeth. And they laughed him
to scorn, knowing that she was dead."
When Lazarus died, the Jews had no faith and it grieved
Jesus' heart. Instead of having faith that He could raise the dead, they
criticized Jesus for allowing Lazarus to die in the first place...
"When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews
also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled,
And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus
wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him! And some of them said, Could
not this man, which opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this
man should not have died? Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to
the grave..." (John 11:33-38).
This troubled the Lord, understandably. No matter how many
miracles Jesus performed, and how many people He healed, and how many good
things He did to help others; the crowd always criticized Him, demanding more
miracles and questioning His Word and deity...
"But though he had done so many miracles before them,
yet they believed not on him" (John 12:37).
Even Jesus' own disciples didn't believe Mary when she said
Jesus had raised up from the dead as He had promised...
"And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and
had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto
two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told
it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the
eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness
of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was
risen" (Mark 16:11-14).
Oh, how the human heart is prone to unbelief... "The
heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know
it?" (Jeremiah 17:9). Jesus loved people and wept over Jerusalem because
of the unbelief of the Jews...
"And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and
wept over it" (Luke 19:41).
No matter what Jesus did to open the eyes of the Jews, they
always came back wanting more proof...
"Now when John had heard in the prison the works of
Christ, he sent two of his disciples, And said unto him, Art thou he that
should come, or do we look for another? (Matthew 11:2,3).
"If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father
also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto
him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have
I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?..."
(John 14:7-9).
"Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the
cross, that we may see and believe" (Mark 15:32).
"Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the
scribes and elders, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the
King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe
him" (Matthew 27:41,42).
"And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and
offering him vinegar, And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save
thyself" (Luke 23:36,37).
"And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make
us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. Jesus answered them, I
told you, and ye believed not..." (John 10:23-25)
"And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed
on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us." (Luke 23:39).
"And others, tempting him, sought of him a sign from
heaven" (Luke 11:16).
It is clear from the Scriptures why the Lord was a man of
sorrows, because everywhere Jesus went the Jews mocked Him, rejected Him and
refused to believe. They always demanded more evidence. Thankfully, many of the
Jews who witnessed Jesus raise Lazarus from the grave DID believe (John 11:45).
Even some of the Pharisees believed (John 12:42). However, the majority of the
Jews hated Jesus and, in their anger, demanded His crucifixion, saying to
Pilate who sought to release Jesus... "His blood be on us, and on our
children" (Matthew 27:25). Literally, the Jews said to Pilate, "Kill
Jesus and we'll gladly take responsibility for it." And so, it was.
In John 16:33 Jesus said, "These things I have spoken
unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have
tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world." Jesus said
in John 16:22, "And ye now therefore have sorrow: but I will see you
again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."
We are living in a cruel, selfish and hateful world where
people oftentimes rob us of our joy. People are as rotten as can be in today's
American society (see 2nd Timothy 3:1-7). But Jesus said the day will come when
He comes back to get us, that we may live with Him in Heaven, and we shall
rejoice in the peace and rest that He will give to us. No one will ever make us
sad again! What a day that will be!!! Although the world is a miserable place
to live, God promises a bright and peaceful future in Heaven for the Christian
believer, i.e., those who have been born-again in Christ Jesus.
"Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep
and lament, but the world shall rejoice: and ye shall be sorrowful, but your
sorrow shall be turned into joy." —John 16:20
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