“Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
Hebrews 12:3
If failure is hard, public failure is brutal, especially if you spent years laboring toward an accomplishment that meant so much. In my own case, I had taken for granted the years of peaceful success which all ended quickly with a public failure in front of a hundred other Navy sailors. And I couldn’t immediately know that this gut-wrenching disaster would change the next several years of my life … for the better.
Christ understands what it means to suffer humiliation. However, His humiliation was not warranted. Jesus did not try to avoid the impending shame of the cross. Every step He took on this earth drew Him closer to the cross, a destination He went to willingly.
Christ’s humiliation wasn’t merely an “unfortunate chapter” in His life. It was the very reason He came! “You may rise on wings of joy, you may dive into depths of self-denial; but in neither case will you reach the experience of your divine Lord, who thus, for you, came from heaven to earth, that he might take you up from earth to heaven” (Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892).
Christ understands what it means to suffer humiliation. However, His humiliation was not warranted. Jesus did not try to avoid the impending shame of the cross. Every step He took on this earth drew Him closer to the cross, a destination He went to willingly.
Christ’s humiliation wasn’t merely an “unfortunate chapter” in His life. It was the very reason He came! “You may rise on wings of joy, you may dive into depths of self-denial; but in neither case will you reach the experience of your divine Lord, who thus, for you, came from heaven to earth, that he might take you up from earth to heaven” (Charles Spurgeon, 1834-1892).
Scripture Focus
Hebrews 12
Insight
Jesus’ humiliation wasn’t the result of His failure or sin, but ours. When we endure humiliation for sin, we have an advocate who calls us “friend.”
Bible In A Year
- Isaiah 51-52
- Psalm 96
- Acts 19
