Christ’s Sufferings

April 2021 — Grace & Truth Magazine


Christ‘s Sufferings

The sufferings of Christ can be distinguished as:

1. Suffering for the will of God. In line with Scripture, we must start from God’s side. All that took place during the Lord Jesus’ life on earth was working toward the completion of the will of God.

2. Suffering in His life on earth. This aspect includes the sufferings He endured during His life, and the moral beauties and glories that shone out in every test and trial.

3. Suffering during the closing stages of that life. Here we see His suffering in the garden of Gethsemane as well as during other events around that time, as recorded in the Gospels.

4. Suffering as God’s perfect Servant. The climax of His perfect life of dependent service was being delivered up to the death of the cross, and God’s answer to it.

5. Suffering for sin. How intense were the sufferings of Christ as the one sacrifice for sin! Glories shone out in them, and there is fruit for God from that mighty work. Through it, there is wonderful blessing in association with Him for the Church, Israel and the Gentile nations.

God has given an outline of the perfection of His suffering Servant, His well-beloved Son! How should this impact us? Among other things, mankind is sinful by nature and practice. This is true of every individual who has ever lived, apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Man is a tripartite being: he has spirit, soul and body. And he has sinned in every part, which is seen in painful detail in Romans 1.

Now consider the Lord Jesus. He became fully man, with spirit, soul and body. In His life of manhood on earth He was demonstrably, or obviously, perfect in spirit, soul and body. He suffered sympathetically in every part of His holy being with all who came to Him for help. In death He suffered vicariously, as a substitute for you and me in spirit, soul and body. Now God has fully vindicated Him – this too in spirit, soul and body.

What a wonderful Messiah! He will eventually be owned as such by a godly remnant of the nation of Israel. In the meantime, what a wonderful Savior for all of us, Jew or Gentile, who, as individuals, trust Him as our Savior and confess Him as our Lord. Praise His holy name!

Adapted by David Anderson with Ernie Brown’s permission from his talk “His Visage Was So Marred,” T1089, www.truthfortoday.org.uk.