“He was despised and rejected—
    a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.” – Isaiah 53:3a (NLT).

I’ve been reflecting on this verse for quite a while, trying to grasp what it really means. Isaiah wrote this in one of the most detailed prophecies about the coming of Jesus Christ the Messiah. It seems an unusual title for one who came to bring joy to the world (Luke 2:10, John 17:13). But that is exactly what Jesus is called. I guess the natural questions that may follow would be ‘what does it mean’, and ‘why?’

Other translations of Isaiah 53:3 give me some more insight into this verse. NASB says “A Man of great pain”, AMP says “A Man of sorrows and pain”, the CEV says “His life was filled with sorrow and terrible suffering”, GWT says “A man of sorrows, familiar with suffering”, MSG says “a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand”, and the ISV, “a Man of sorrows, intimately familiar with suffering. Our Lord and Saviour Jesus was one intimately familiar with suffering.

Why did the Son of Man, God’s only begotten Son, the King of kings, the Lord of lords, our great High Priest, have to live such a life? The answer in one word? Love. The longer answer? “But the fact is, it was our pains He carried— our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us. We thought He brought it on himself, that God was punishing Him for His own failures. But it was our sins that did that to Him, that ripped and tore and crushed Him—our sins! He took the punishment, and that made us whole. Through His bruises we get healed.” (Isaiah 53:4-5, MSG). Wow. The sorrows that He is known for? They are our sorrows. The pain He bore? It was our pain.

Jesus did not just stop at suffering and dying for us here on Earth though. Romans 8:34 (BSB) says “Who is there to condemn us? For Christ Jesus, who died, and more than that was raised to life, is at the right hand of God—and He is interceding for us.” Or as the CEV puts it, “Or can anyone condemn them? No indeed! Christ died and was raised to life, and now he is at God’s right side, speaking to Him for us.” This verse reminds us that right this very minute, Jesus is praying for you, and for me.

He prays for us just as He prayed for Simon Peter, in Luke 22:32-33 (BSB): “Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail. And when you have turned again, strengthen your brothers.” As Satan, the accuser, accuses us like a prosecutor, Jesus fires back and defends us like the most brilliant defence lawyer ever. I am so grateful to have Jesus interceding for me, even more so given He is the only one qualified to advocate for us in that way, for all time.

Hebrews 7:25 (BSB) tells us, “Therefore He is able to save completely those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to intercede for them.” Pause for a moment and reflect on this truth, that Jesus is praying for us, that He lives to intercede for us. The MSG translation says, “He’s there from now to eternity to save everyone who comes to God through Him, always on the job to speak up for them.” How wonderful is the assurance that Jesus lives for this!

He tells us to cast our cares on Him, because He cares about us (1 Peter 5:7). He literally burdens Himself with our burdens. A complete contrast from the religious leaders of the day who “tie up heavy burdens, hard to bear, and lay them on people’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to move them with their finger” (Matthew 23:4, ESV).

I remember listening to a friend of mine going through a difficult situation, as she unburdened to me. After the conversation, as I reflected on the incident, I felt so much sorrow and pain about it, it was as if I was the one being affected. It was such a heavy burden, the only way I felt I could ease it was to pray. Even when praying, I could still the burden in my heart, and it took a while before it eased. There have also been several other times I have felt that, like when I pray for the persecuted church worldwide. These little snippets give me a very tiny idea of what Jesus must have felt, taking on our burdens.

I also remember hearing the response of a pastor to someone asking him why he cries when praying intercessory prayers, and he talked about the burden he feels for the people he prays for. He said sometimes it is so heavy, he can’t help but cry.

Beloved, this is what Jesus does for us, continually. And Jesus did not just take our burdens, but our sin, our sorrows, our pains. Which is why He was called a man of sorrows, intimately familiar with grief. He swaps our burdens for His rest (Matthew 11:28-30). What an unfair swap – we get rest, He gets our burdens!

He truly is a High Priest like no other. Hebrews 4:15 is another reminder of the fact that we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathise with our weaknesses. “Now that we know what we have—Jesus, this great High Priest with ready access to God—let’s not let it slip through our fingers. We don’t have a priest who is out of touch with our reality. He’s been through weakness and testing, experienced it all—all but the sin. So let’s walk right up to Him and get what He is so ready to give. Take the mercy, accept the help” (MSG, Hebrews 4:14-16).

As such, if you are in a place where you are wondering if Jesus sees you, if He hears you, if He understands, if He gets you, rest assured that He indeed does. Psalm 56:8 (NLT) says, “You keep track of all my sorrows. You have collected all my tears in your bottle. You have recorded each one in your book.” Jesus is the only one who can sincerely say ‘I know what you are going through’ and mean it.

And so because He is intimately familiar with grief and sorrow, His comfort is not mere platitudes but is a comfort that is able to reach into the very core of our being. I read a quote online that said “It’s a different kind of feeling when you talk to someone who understands your soul.” Jesus’ comfort hits differently because not only does He understand our soul, He has been there. In fact, He had it far worse. From grief to pain, death, sorrow, loss, betrayal, abandonment, rejection, you name it (John 11:33-35, Luke 22, Mark 14:50, John 1:11). Even sorrow over a country where things weren’t as they should (Matthew 23:37). He experienced it all.

In Matthew 26:38, He told His disciples that His soul was “consumed with sorrow” (BSB), or as the NLT puts it, “crushed with grief”, and they should keep watch with Him. Alas they were tired and slept off (v. 40). Just before He died, Luke 22:44 (AMP) records that “And being in agony [deeply distressed and anguished; almost to the point of death], He prayed more intently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down on the ground.” Have you ever been in such agony? Jesus is intimately familiar with it.

In addition to that, He is also a specialist comforter. It is like having a professional, highly-qualified, world-class therapist who knows you well, has experienced what you are experiencing, and has the qualifications to support you through it. Our Heavenly Father is the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort. 2 Corinthians 1:3-4 (BSB) says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God.” When you say someone is the father of something, it means that person is the one who began something or first made it important. So when the Bible tells us that God is the father of compassion and the God of all comfort, we can understand that He is the source, the one who first recognised compassion and comfort as important. And He still continues to recognise it as important and specialise in it till this day.

This our God, our Father of compassion, can bring us comfort in many ways – His Word, His presence, His Spirit, people and even seemingly little events. I remember just over six years ago when I was due to have surgery and my surgery day coincided with the Candlemas service my son’s class was leading. I had been helping him rehearse his line for days and was gutted that I was not going to be able to see him (I did toy with the idea of rearranging my surgery, but I’m not entirely sure my surgeon would have appreciated that). Anyway, he was a bit nervous so we went over it lots of times. And you know what, post-surgery, while I was in recovery, in pain but unable to sleep, read or watch anything, I had lots of time to think, and that line I had helped him rehearse kept coming back to me. It was “If we are going through a difficult time, Jesus can provide us with comfort and reassurance in the same way as a night light does.” Six plus years on, I still haven’t forgotten it, and the comfort it brought.

Beloved, if you are going through a time of sorrow, go to the Man of sorrows, the one deeply familiar with your grief and mine. Hand Him your sorrows and let Him wrap His comforting arms around you. “The eternal God is our hiding place; He carries us in His arms” (Deuteronomy 33:27a,CEV).

And one day, “He will swallow up death forever. The Lord GOD will wipe away the tears from every face and remove the disgrace of His people from the whole earth. For the LORD has spoken”(Isaiah 25:8, BSB). “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever” (Revelation 21:4, NLT).

Until that glorious day, Jesus, the one who is known as the Man of Sorrows promises us His presence, His comfort, His prayers. He promises to swap our sorrows for His joy, our burdens for His rest, our pain for His healing. I pray that we will hold on to this and take Jesus up on His offer, no matter what comes our way. Amen.

Image Source Here.