The celebration of Easter is over. Praise God, Jesus is victorious over death! We can live with the power of the resurrection in our lives. The other morning as I was sitting with Jesus, I was still reflecting on what He experienced. I was thinking of Him on the cross and was wondering what emotions and thoughts He experienced as He faced the end of his earthly life.
I am not trying to minimize the severe suffering that Jesus experienced on the cross, but I felt a connection to Jesus in some of the things I imagine that He thought. Have you ever wondered if Jesus really knows how you feel? Jesus was fully man and fully God. (Philippians 2:7, Colossians 2:9, 1 John 4:2). Of course, Jesus as God is omniscient and knows what you are thinking and feeling. But did you ever wonder if human Jesus really got us? I remember as a young mom thinking Jesus never had four kids, an aging father, a sink of dirty dishes, and five places to be at once. Does He get us in our deepest emotional pain over heartbreaking circumstances in our lives with family or friends? Does He know what it is to be misunderstood? Or perhaps it’s in the moments of the fast-paced world in which we live, we wonder what Jesus would have done or thought. Does He really understand?
As Jesus’ earthly life was coming to a close, I wonder what He was pondering. Here are a few of my reflections about some of the things Jesus might have thought while on the cross:
Jesus knew loss and abandonment. Most of His followers had left Him. He had spent the last three and a half years pouring into 12 men and then when the “gravel” met the road, they left Him. The heartache of this must have been agonizing. He had saved these men from a mundane existence and given them God’s peace and purpose. He had lived and walked with them day after day, and then most of them left Him when He needed them most. Don’t we all hope to be surrounded by friends and family in our last hour?
Even though they left him, Jesus was concerned for his disciples. It was probably an intense version of what a parent feels when dropping a kid off at college. He wondered if He had prepared them for what they faced ahead. Jesus loved these men. He spent so much time with them and watched them grow from spiritual infancy to spiritual adulthood in a short time. I think His heart was breaking to leave them. In John 17:11-12 Jesus says in his prayer: “Holy Father, protect them by the power of your name, the name you gave me, so that they may be one as we are one. While I was with them, I protected them and kept them safe by that name you gave me.” He prayed that they would remember what they had been taught and that they would remain faithful. Isn’t this what we all want for our children?
Jesus’ thoughts were on those He loved, not on Himself. While Jesus hung on the cross, in complete pain and agony, He was not focused on Himself but on those He loved. He was able to see his mother and place her in the care of John. This exhibits such selflessness. To be able to think of others when in enormous suffering shows the loving character of Jesus. (John 19:26-27)
Jesus knew what it felt like to have never-ending work. I wonder if He struggled with feelings of frustration that time had run out on Him and He hadn’t done all He wanted. Perhaps the time constraints of working within a human body and finite time had left Him wanting to do more to seek and save the lost. From sun-up to sundown there were demands made on Him. Crowds of people followed Jesus, all wanting something from Him. (Mark 10:1, Luke 5:1,19) There is a scene in the show The Chosen that reminded me of this. The disciples were sitting around a fire eating when it was well after dark. They were waiting for Jesus to finish his “work” of healing, teaching and ministering. Finally, an exhausted Jesus, one who was so fatigued He could barely make it back to His bed, came back to camp. The demands on Him were incredibly great. There was so much need and the multitudes wanted Him. Jesus knew the demands of the relentless job of caring for others.
On the cross, I believe His concerns for His followers and disciples was heavy on His heart. And then, after all He thought about and all He went through, finally He surrendered it all to God and His plan. “It is finished.” God’s redemptive work was finished on the cross. Our debt for our sins was paid in full by the sacrificial death of Jesus. There is nothing more He could have done.
Again, I am not trying to diminish the most crucial and impactful event in history. I don’t think we can begin to understand or relate to what Jesus felt in the spiritual, emotional, and physical pain of the cross. However, I DO think that Jesus can understand and relate to US. Many of these thoughts and feelings are things with which we struggle.
“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” (Hebrews 4:15-16)
He understands us.
Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay
ABOUT OUR BLOGGER
Bonnie Kotler and her husband Mitch have two daughters, three sons, seven grandchildren and three grand-puppies. She was a stay-at-home mom for many years before re-entering the workforce after receiving her M.S. in Counseling and Human Relations from Villanova University. She is a licensed professional counselor at The Peacemaker Center and her own private practice, True North Counseling. Bonnie has been on the Willowdale women’s ministry teaching team since 2012. Bible studies have played a key role in her walk as a believer, and in turn, she loves to help other women find their peace with God and grow in their faith. She enjoys writing Bible study materials, reading fiction, spending time with family and doing anything in the sunshine. Bonnie loves to laugh and considers laughter as the best medicine. Psalm 126:2
Women's Spring & Summer Study
Join Willowdale Women for this in-person summer study that will take place the 2nd Thursday each month (Dates: May 9, June 13, July 11 and August 8) from 6:30 - 8:30 p.m. at our Kennett Campus. This study will be focused on the book "Untangle Your Emotions: Naming What You Feel and Knowing What to Do About It" by Jennie Allen.