IT HURTS

“Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses?  behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.  What think ye?  They answered and said, He is guilty of death.  Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?” 

Matthew 26:65-68 KJV

My left hand is hurting a lot because I burned it on a hot pan a couple of days ago.  I went to Jesus and told Him how much it hurts.  He said to me “I understand because I was hurt many times physically and also emotionally”.  Yes, our precious Saviour really understands how we feel when we are hurting.

Have we grasped in our heart how much suffering, rejection and pain that Jesus endured for us?  I cry every time I read about them spitting in the face of my Saviour.  We think how terrible it is that Jesus was beaten, spat on, cursed, mocked and humiliated but it was for us He endured all that pain and agony.

Dave Bolling wrote the beautiful heart touching hymn “It Was For Me”.  “It was for me He cried, for me He died, for me He shed His blood upon the tree.  It was for me He came, for me His shame; For me, oh praise His name, it was for me.”  Yes Jesus died for you and He died for me.

Not only was our precious Saviour hurt physically, He was also hurt emotionally when Peter denied he knew Jesus.  How that must have hurt Jesus and broke His heart when Peter denied knowing Jesus.  Before we judge Peter, we need to search our own heart and be sure we aren’t denying Jesus by our actions.   

Joanne Lowe

November 7, 2015