Names of Jesus - Man of Sorrows

He was despised and rejected by others, and a man of sorrows, intimately familiar with suffering; and like one from whom people hide their faces; and we despised him and did not value him. Surely he has borne our sufferings and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him stricken, and struck down by God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53: 3-4

Have you ever been rejected by someone you thought was a friend? Have you ever felt betrayed by someone who should have held your confidence? I know I have. The pit in my stomach after a betrayal physically hurt me; I wasn’t able to breathe, the pain was so acute. Realizing someone I considered a good friend thought of me as little more than a casual acquaintance hurt deeply.

As much as I have been hurt by people I considered friends, Jesus had much deeper pain. He agonized over the pain of betrayal. He cried and begged his very own father not to turn away from him and reject him. I cannot imagine the hurt. 

Jesus was despised by humanity, including me, including you. Oh, that is an uncomfortable thought, isn’t it? But we did not (and maybe still don’t) value him fully. Can we even comprehend what he did for us by dying on the cross? Can we ever fully appreciate the depths he went to just so that we can live for him forever, should we choose to?

What blows me away the most: Jesus did all of that EVEN FOR THOSE WHO WILL ALWAYS REJECT HIM, and they don’t even realize it. I think this knowledge contributed to his sorrow in Gethsemane. 

Jesus is the Man of Sorrows - he felt more deeply than we can imagine, because he loves us more fully than we can comprehend. We have the hope of heaven only because of his sorrow and sacrifice.