JOHN SHIRK – In the Year of Trust, today’s Focus on God examines Jesus as a man of sorrows.

According to Isaiah 53, verse 3, Jesus “was despised and rejected-a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our back on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.”

Jesus was taking the pain and suffering that we deserved. It was our sin that prompted Jesus to carry the cross. It was His love for sinners that held Jesus to the cross, not the nails. That is extraordinary love—that Jesus would be willing to face the agony of the cross in front of those who rejected and despised Him. This shows the extent that Jesus is willing to go to help us overcome the wages of sin and restore us to God.

His willingness to enter our world of sin and suffering reveals His ability to identify with our sorrows. He is not distant from our pain. He has been there. He cares for us. He proved it at the cross.

Knowing Jesus as a man of sorrows is a reason to trust in God for today and forever.

John Shirk

john@wjtl.com