The Life and Sufferings of Christ
The Life and Sufferings of Christ
Being the passion- week, it is appropriate to meditate on the sufferings of Christ. Usually we only concentrate on the sufferings of Christ on the cross and does not think about His life suffering. The gospel writers do not say much about what happened to Christ in the thirty years of his life until his baptism at river Jordan at the age of 30 by John the Baptist. The synoptic gospels, Mathew and Luke have some information on Christ’s birth. In the statement of Simeon at the time of Mary coming to the temple with the baby Jesus to dedicate him, he told her that a sword will pierce through her soul. She was also told that the baby will be for the rise and fall of many in Israel. Every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When he was 12 years old, they went up to the Feast, according to the custom. After the Feast was over, while his parents were returning home, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but they were unaware of it. Thinking he was in their company, they traveled for a day. Then they began looking for him among their relatives and friends. When they did not find him, they went back to Jerusalem to look for him. After three days they found him in the temple courts, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking questions. When his parents saw him, they were astonished. His mother said to him “Son why have you treated us like this?” Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you”. Jesus answer was not an apology. “Why were you searching for me?” he asked. “Didn’t you know I had to be in my Father’s house?” But they did not understand what he was saying to them.
The subsequent life in Nazareth is summarized as, “he was obedient to the parents”.
Psalm 69 is an indirectly Messianic Psalm. The Psalm is firstly applied to the Psalmist and then indirectly applied to the Messiah. David faced humiliation in his family from his seven brothers. Jesse did not consider David as a possible candidate for God’s special favor. While the seven sons were brought for the feast at Samuel’s request, David was tending the sheep in the desert. When David was send by his father to his three elder brothers serving in Saul’s army, to give food and to enquire of their well being, he was mistreated by his brother Eliab. He did not like David talking to the soldiers. “He was burned with anger at him and asked “Why did you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the desert? I know how conceited you are how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” (I Samuel 17:28). So, it is very much his own experience in the family that he states in Psalm 69.
Jesus faced even severer kind of insult from his brothers. Mark states that his brothers joined the company of the unbelieving Jews of Nazareth and accused him of being mad (out of his mind) (Mark 3:21). Jesus was purposely staying away from Judea because of the Jews there were waiting to take his life (John 7:2). His brothers must have known the danger of Christ going to Jerusalem. In this context Johns says “But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near, Jesus’ brothers said to him “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that you disciples may see the miracles you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world. For even his own brothers did not believe in him” (John 7:3-5). Brothers of Jesus were trying to get rid of him for good. They even got the mother to their side. Therefore, Jesus made a public statement, “ Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” pointing to the disciples he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in Heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”( Matt. 12:48-50). It is obvious that his own brothers and mother were not doing the will of the Father in Heaven.
In this context Psalm 69 is to be studied. The New Testament writers quoted or alluded to most of the verses of this Psalm as fulfilled in the life of Christ.
The first direct quotation is by Jesus on the night of his arrest and trial. The Jewish nation hated him without a cause (v.4). The work he had done among Jews should have brought praise and thanksgiving. Instead they hated him without a cause. I have become a stranger to my mother’s sons (V.8) is alluded to in John 7:5 with regard to his brother’s treatment of him. First they joined with the Jews to accuse him of madness and then tried to send him back to Jerusalem knowing that the Jews were waiting to kill him. The incident where Jesus stayed back at the temple must have caused his brothers to taunt him about his “zeal for the house of God” (John 2:17). His religious zeal might have been a point of insult. They could have made fun of his fasting and prayer times. Paul applies this in Romans 15:2-3 to Jesus. “And the insults of those who insult You have fallen on me. Paul says that Jesus suffered because of His righteousness. The mistreatment reached its pinnacle in giving him gall mixed with sour wine to drink when he was thirsty (Matt. 27:33-34). This is cruelty beyond description.
In the next section of call for judgment on his enemies (v.22-28), Paul applied to Israel’s unbelief (Romans 11:7-10). “What then? Israel did not find what it was looking for, but the elect did find it. The rest were hardened, as it is written: God gave them a spirit of stupor, eyes that cannot see and ears that cannot hear, to this day. And David says: Let their table become a snare and trap, a pitfall and a retribution to them. Let their eyes be darkened so they cannot see, and their backs bent continually.” Peter quoted v. 25 (Acts 1:20) to apply to Judas that he would leave his position, and another would need to be appointed.
The Psalm ends with David praising God and giving thanks for His salvation. The final verses are looking forward to the Messianic age. Hebrews 12:22-24 says, “Instead you have come to Mount Zion, to the city of the living God (the heavenly Jerusalem), to myriads of angels in festive gathering, to the assembly of the firstborn whose names have been written in heaven, to God who is the judge of all, to the spirits of righteous people made perfect, to Jesus (mediator of a new covenant), and to the sprinkled blood, which says better things than the blood Abel”.
In spite of the trials and suffering, we have finally come to Zion, the city of God, and will continue to worship and praise our God.
Conclusion
Jesus brother James trusted Christ during Jesus’ post resurrection appearance. We see Mary, the mother of Jesus standing with other women at the crucifixion. John was standing next to Mary. Jesus told John to receive her into his home. We also see Mary and the brothers of Jesus among the 120 who gathered at the temple portico, waiting for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Thus we see that the brothers turned around and trusted Christ at the end. When James and Jude wrote the epistles in the New Testament they referred to Christ as their master. They introduced themselves as slaves of Christ. James also became a pillar of the Jerusalem church. He attained great status in the early church that he represented the apostles in writing the first letter to the gentiles (Acts 15). Though Christ suffered, in the end, he received acceptance from his brothers because of his long suffering.