A Man of Sorrows

Is.53:3 - He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief…

The new and improved, post modern version of Jesus has Him upbeat and relevant with a great sense of humor. Laughing and bubbly, He is reinvented in the image of corruptible man with all the flippant eternity-less attributes. And if the Biblical descriptive parameters are now erased then anyone can create their own Creator. Like a non-Biblical Mr. Potato Head you can mix and match any parts your little heart thinks and desires, and the finished product is as powerful as Mr. Potato Head even if some call him “Jesus”. That is another Jesus and those who are systematically dismantling Him from any Biblically recognizable form are anathema. Ultimately it makes man the Word of God which, of course, is blasphemy.

Smiling men with no real burden and whose prayer closet is the kitchen table with coffee and a Danish, stand before God’s people and present an entertaining dialogue that is contoured to do anything but warn about the gathering storm. Jesus is an upper class cosmic yuppie whose lot in life is to make your life better. Jesus could be Dr. Phil and most would gladly accept Him as such as long as their situation improved. All the prophetic warnings and the Biblical alarms have become outdated if not already completed in the first century and any mention of hell or judgment is a real downer and you run the risk of losing members to the upbeat crowd down the street. And just as they came they leave feeling blessed and satisfied, ready to get some rest and prepare for Monday when they will again meet with their real god, money. And of course the so called preacher will take Monday off because the exhaustion of speaking on Sunday has taken its toll on him physically as well as spiritually. What a powerless narrative of the present day perfunctory drama we call “church”.

And yet the Word Himself reveals Himself as a man of sorrows.

If we are to accurately live the Christ life we will feel many times of sorrow over any number of things in this world. Not just the things that affect everyone like the loss of a family member, or the experience of a financial hit, or even health issues. We will feel the overwhelming sorrow that comes from seeing the whole world lying in the Wicked One and at war with their Creator. We will feel the pain that comes with knowing that millions continue to march into a Christless eternity with no hope of recovery. We will weep over the massive falling away of our brothers and sisters in the evangelical world and with the eternal consequences that the apostasy carries with it. But missing in this new and always upbeat and modern Christianity is the man of sorrows.

And yet the Word Himself reveals Himself as a man of sorrows.

The world is starving for food as well as God’s Word. It would be impossible to fully reveal the awful suffering that is now taking place in so many forms throughout the world. From the horror of AIDS, to the unwatchable suffering of children, to the living filth in India, to the physical and emotional subjection in the male tyranny of Islamic societies, to the sexual exploitation of women and children everywhere, to the breathtaking violence in many African countries, these and many more realities are “out of sight out of mind” to us but are seen to God. And Sunday after Sunday after disgusting Sunday well dressed as well as casually dressed professing followers of the Lord Jesus come and go without a single tear shed for anyone, anywhere. How is it possible? How can we say we have the Spirit of Christ in us and have no tear producing compassion for that which Jesus Himself wept over? Let our dog die and for him we shed tears, but for the suffering of pitiful humanity our eyes are dry. And we are not even concerned. Oh yes, we have the correct doctrine, but not the very heart and pathos of the man of sorrows.

And yet the Word Himself reveals Himself as a man of sorrows.

And when we look into the mirror of God’s Word we run a quick brush through our hair and run to the next appointment on our busy schedule. Can we not see that our Lord and Master requires so much more of us and in the face of our prideful and abject disobedience it is only by His mercies that we are not consumed? Not even a little sadness that our flesh is in such control that we must force ourselves to spend time in His precious Word and after a half hour we are through, full to the brim, the world of Martha demands attention. Does it not grieve us, maybe not yet change us, but at least bring some moisture to our eyes watered from our broken heart? Or is our heart so calloused and worldly that we have become practiced at avoiding the pain of allowing the Spirit free inspection and inventory in our spiritual walk, much less our inner man? Godly sorrow that leads to repentance has been lost to the church for decades and like Sampson we don’t even know it is gone. No conviction, no repentance, no sorrow.

And yet the Word Himself reveals Himself as a man of sorrows.

And finally have we no sorrow for the church herself? The money changers lead openly the applauding flock, feeding them from the hedonistic compost heap and very little of the sincere milk and meat of the Word. For every message about the coming judgment of the Lord Jesus, if any, there are 50 on all different ways to improve your marriage. And still the church divorces at the same rate as the world while the so called shepherds cover their eyes and cash their checks. It’s a beautiful system if you’re the anti-christ. And even that isn’t enough to satisfy the fleshly desires of the mixed multitude, they must also have an exhilarating new journey that has a cerebral guide that relies on maps etched by serotonin not the Word of God. On the front of these new maps they say “The Word of God” but turn it over and it reads “made in the cerebellum”. And when we see such deception that cannot be overestimated does it move us to beg and cry out to God to anoint us with the power necessary to rescue the fallen brethren?

And yet the Word Himself reveals Himself as a man of sorrows.

Heb.5:5-9 - So also Christ glorified not Himself to be made an high priest; but He that said unto Him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten Thee. As He saith in another place, Thou art a priest forever after the order of Melchesidec. Who in the days of His flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto Him that was able to save Him from death, and was heard in that He feared; though He were a Son yet learned He obedience by the things which He suffered.

This Scripture speaks of God, God the Son. The Creator of everything in human form and the Second Person of the Godhead prayed. God prayed to God. Look out now, you are already in over your head. Jesus prayed to the Father and with that knowledge we must confess ignorance of such a glorious mystery. Just to realize that Jesus prayed is an astounding revelation that widens the confounding essence of the interaction between the Trinity. It has often been said that if the Son of God prayed how much we who are mere mortals?

But look closer at the phrase that says that Jesus “offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears”. Who today offers up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears? And why the divine tears, for whom were they shed? God was sobbing and are we not even curious? Do those tears that roll down the beard that would soon be plucked out move our own spirit? And those supplications, can you imagine for whom they were asked? And there He is, at the doorstep of His eternal purpose, and lo He weeps uncontrollably.

The Lamb of God that is about to take away the sin of the world is now immersed in such sorrow that leads to strong and unashamed crying before the Father of Glory. When was the last time you were immersed in your own tears before the Heavenly Father? Is there nothing to weep over and is your heart so dry that tears are rare? Do the souls of your children ever open the floodgates of your heart and bring forth tears of love and supplication on their behalf? Do you ever cry over the spectacle of your own sin before the Father? Does the wretched line of lost sinners marching toward an eternity of tormented justice, do they ever move you to tears?

So what moves us to tears? A sad movie? A lost dog? Physical pain? A demeaning insult? So we have tears for those things but where are the tears that fall before the throne of God and actually touch His heart? Some of the Jews thought Jesus was the prophet Jeremiah returned because He wept so often. Oh how our hearts are captured by the things of this present world while all around us the invisible battle rages for the souls of men. And before the Captain of our salvation goes to the final battle, He weeps. A strange preparation for a battle, is it not?

The battle is won on the battlefield of God’s grace, assaulted with the Sword of the Spirit, securing the territory by faith, and clothed with humility. And like our Lord we should allow the Spirit to break our hearts and come before our Father begging and beseeching Him to glorify Himself in our very lives. And on a boat, in the Sea of Galilee, the disciples asked their Lord, “Don’t you care that we perish?”. How could they ask the Author of all care that question?
And could God ask us today, “Don’t you care?”. And we would reply with a flippant and indignant, “Of course we care!”.

Well, if you care, where is the evidence? If you care, where are the prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears? I know, it is not sophisticated and it shows weakness and especially us men, we are strong, let the women and children cry. Jesus stood looking over the city of Jerusalem and He wept at what He saw.

Brothers and sisters in the Lord Jesus,
Look at this world. Look at the church. Look at people. Look at Calvary.
and
Pray, weep, and lift your broken heart up to God, He only receives broken and contrite hearts that can be filled with Him.