Man of Sorrows: Jesus Understands Our Pain

Man of Sorrows

“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3 ESV

In Isaiah’s prophetic writing, he identified Jesus Christ as a Man of Sorrows who endured suffering and was no stranger to grief and rejection.

Although Jesus Christ is Himself God, He came down to earth as a man to reconcile us to God through His death on the cross.

Jesus Experienced Human Emotions

While on earth, Jesus was fully God and fully man (John 1:14; Philippians 2:6-7; Hebrews 2:14). As a man, Jesus felt and experienced the emotional range of human experience—sorrow, grief, joy, compassion, and anger—demonstrating His empathy and connection to humanity. Jesus was “tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).

He wept at Lazarus’ tomb, lamented over the city of Jerusalem, was angry and deeply distressed, and was moved with compassion in many situations. (See Mark 3:5; Luke 19: 41-42; John 11:35; Matthew 21:12-13; 9:36.)

During His earthly ministry, Jesus was rejected in His hometown—they even drove Him out of town and tried to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4:14-30). The teachers of the law despised Him and conspired to kill Him. On His final trip to Jerusalem, He was not welcomed into a Samaritan village (Luke 9:51-53). Jesus was ultimately betrayed and handed over to be crucified by His own disciple and friend, Judas Iscariot, who He loved and trained for three years.

Jesus was Deeply Sorrowful at Gethsemane

The night before He was crucified, Jesus took Peter, James, and John to Gethsemane. Knowing what lay ahead of Him, He became very sorrowful.

“He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”

Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” Matthew 26:37-39

Luke, a physician, recorded that while Jesus prayed, He was in such intense anguish and sorrow that “his sweat was like drops of blood falling to the ground” Luke 22:44.

The Agony of Jesus’ Trial and Crucifixion

After Jesus was arrested at Gethsemane, His disciples fled and deserted Him. Jesus was taken before the Sanhedrin for a mock trial, and Peter denied, not one, not two, but three times that he knew Him.

The following day, the chief priests and elders incited the crowds to request for Barabbas, a violent man, to be released instead of Jesus. Barabbas was set free, and Jesus, who was completely innocent, was handed over to be crucified.

From then on, Jesus was mocked, stripped of His clothes, crowned with thorns, spit on, slapped in the face, flogged, and made to carry His cross until He could no longer bear the weight.

Jesus was crucified by Roman soldiers on a simple wooden cross. One of the rebels crucified next to Him, ridiculed Him, and people walked past, hurling insults at Him.

As Isaiah prophesied, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” Isaiah 53:3 ESV

Jesus did not suffer for His own sins—He was sinless. He suffered for us. Jesus took our griefs, sorrows, pain, sufferings, and sin upon Himself. He bore all of them on the cross for us.

“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV

His most profound suffering occurred during the crucifixion when He bore the penalty for the sins of all people. In that moment, He experienced the full force of God’s wrath and the effect of sin in causing separation from God, and He cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).

Just before He died, He proclaimed, “It is finished,” signaling that He had completed His earthly mission of atoning for our sins (John 19:30).

Fixing Our Eyes on Jesus

If we live long enough on this earth, we will all experience grief. It may come as rejection, sickness, broken relationships, unfulfilled dreams, losing a loved one, etc.

While I was halfway through writing this article, my 90-year-old Dad went home to be with the Lord. Knowing that Jesus experienced great sorrow gives me hope and should provide a blueprint for us all on how to endure and persevere through sorrow.

Our first step is to completely surrender our lives to Him as our Lord and Savior, accepting His sacrifice on the cross as full payment for our sins.

Jesus knew He would experience suffering. He said it plainly to His disciples on multiple occasions, yet it did not deter Him from fulfilling His call. As Hebrews 12:2-3 says,

“Fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”

Jesus endured suffering with hope because He knew that joy was coming. In the same way, the Scriptures call us to face troubles with joyful expectation of the outcome that God will work out in and through us as we yield to Him.

^“Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:2-4

(See also Romans 5:3-4 and 1 Peter 1:6-7.)

Our Grief Will Last for a Season

Jesus did not stay in the tomb forever. He resurrected and is now seated in the seat of high honor at the right hand of God, from where He constantly intercedes for us (Romans 8:34; Hebrews 1:3)

In the same way, our grief will last for a season, but as we focus on Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to teach and guide us, we will rise from mourning to joy.

God does not expect us to go on with life, pretending our sorrow does not exist. Stuffing our emotions down is not a healthy practice—spiritually, mentally, or physically. He calls us to bring our worries and sorrows to Him and to have an eternal perspective, knowing that a glorious future awaits us in which there will be no more sorrow and tears.

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” 2 Corinthians 4:17

^“And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21:3-4

Conclusion

So, are you grieving today? If so, join me in bringing your sorrows and griefs to Jesus, who was Himself a Man of Sorrows and understands our pain. Give them all to Him, and may the Holy Spirit comfort, strengthen, and equip us with everything we need—spirit, soul, and body—to fulfill God’s call and purpose for our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen!

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Footnotes

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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®.

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