WHY JESUS UNDERWENT IMMENSE SUFFERING

Jesus was the Son of God (Luke 1:35), (John 3:16), (1John 5:20). Jesus is also God Omniscient, Omnipresent and Omnipotent (John 1:1, 1:14, 8:24, 10:30, 20:28, 14:6-7), (Matthew 1:23), (Isaiah 9:6, 43:10-11). Jesus is Lord of lords and King of kings (Revelation 1:5, 17:14, 19:16, 19:17), (1Timothy 6:15). Yet He underwent immense suffering at the hands of the Roman soldiers and the Jewish clergy. Why was it so?

That Jesus had to undergo immense suffering, it was of God's making so to remit the world of sin. God detests sin. The wages of sin is death but the free gift of God is eternal life. Everything must have its own consequences unless otherwise. Having been already condemned, Jesus' act of offering Himself in place of the condemned world was pointing to giving us another chance (Romans 6:23).

And because it was God's own project, Jesus forgave everyone who had exhibited so much anger on Him (Luke 23:34). The Roman soldiers, the Jewish clergy and the clamoring crowd were only being used by Satan. Yet God gives everyone a lively opportunity to be set free, for all that God did was intended for each one of us.

By offering Himself in our place, Jesus provided a way for God to vent His anger against sin. That Jesus had placed Himself in our position (who are sinners); He had to take on all our sufferings and unspeakable humiliations. Everyone therefore should stand fairly warned if we don’t repent and allow Jesus into our lives.

Jesus also underwent immense suffering as part of the process to approve Him; the only man ever to live in flesh with no sin. All had fallen prey to the demands of nature and the wiles of the devil (John 10:8). It had been of the devil's making, that nobody in flesh can ever overcome his wiles.

The devil's ultimate goal was to try to fail any such project aimed at the salvation of man. It thus  required a holy and righteous man to do it. A person who would stand faced with the devil inexcusably (John 8:46). A person upon whom the devil had no claim. A person who would face the devil fearlessly. Satan feared only Jesus (Matthew 8:29), (Mark 5:7), (Luke 4:41, 8:28). And he (the devil) only fears a person who has Jesus (Mark 3:13-15, 6:7-13, 9:38-39), (Luke 9:49-50). That person is Jesus only.

By enduring to the end, it proved to us that Jesus is truly holy and righteous. Had He not been so (Holy and righteous), He too, would have been easy prey for Satan. But that He was so (holy and righteous), it made Him indisputably the right person to execute this noble act.

Jesus never pretended. He was exactly what He said and did. The devil assumes that no one (in the human flesh) can be and remain holy and righteous if he is faced with overwhelming life threatening challenges. So, he always makes accusations against us before the Father (Job 1:10-22). Yet Jesus (in human flesh) endured to the end. And if Jesus did endure to the end, everyone surely can. It is never a bed of roses, yet it is the assured way. We are equally approved when we endure to the end.

Apart from the above, the suffering of Jesus also proved to us more of the following:

• Unconditional love for us 

• Jesus is not a self-seeker

Unconditional Love for us

Had it not been for His amazing, unconditional love for us, Jesus would have given up. For the whole project involved immense suffering and unspeakable humiliation. Yet we ought to recall that He (Jesus) had nothing to gain from this (personally) other than to save man and exhibit His unconditional love.

Jesus expressed His love in unspeakable measures (John 15:13). Great love is said to be great and remain so if it doesn't wane even when in hard times. Jesus' love for anyone never wanes even when it is severely challenged. Had it not been so, He would have cursed His prosecutors and the executors. Yet the indisputable proof is that He blessed them.

So, if Jesus endured all such suffering, it is proof to God the Father and to us that He indeed was driven by love rather than anything else (if it be). And if Jesus proved His LOVE to us by enduring all the suffering; we equally have to prove ours to Him and to others.

Jesus is not a self-seeker

The suffering also proves to us that Jesus was not a self-seeker. This is evidenced in the fact that before He came on earth, He lacked nothing. Scripture tells us that nothing would have ever been if it wasn't for Him (John 1:3). The only thing He was to gain from this whole project was to set man free from the devil's claws. Had He been a self-seeker, you and I can't envisage any reason as to why He should have carried on despite all the humiliating sufferings He underwent.

What could have been the underlying reason then?. It is pretty proven that the underlying reason was all about setting man free from the claws of the devil's calamitous wiles. Jesus’ endurance makes His sacrifice worthy for our ultimate redemption. And we are made worthy because of the same. We, as well should never be self-seekers in all. We should be open and genuine in everything we do, just as Jesus is. Our LOVE should remain the same at all times!

This therefore teaches us many things, the most of which is LOVE (1Corinthians 13), (John 13:34-35). Jesus commands us to love one another, just as He loved us (John 13:34-35). Meaning, had it not been for LOVE, Jesus wouldn't have come to our rescue. Love should be the driving engine. The LOVE of Jesus makes us worthy. And if there is Love, then we can never fail. For Love is of God.

Secondly, we learn that our love for God should match both in confession and deed. Let us therefore confess to love Jesus and also exhibit the same. What was to be approved of Jesus? Was there any sin found in Him? If there was no sin ever traced in Jesus, yet He offered to undergo all this suffering, and He did not clamor at all, then there is a serious lesson for us.

The sufferings that we undergo then in our Christian journey may not necessarily relate to having sinned against God or having gone the wrong way. They (the sufferings) could also relate to a process of approval, just as it was of Jesus. Our endurance is proof of our commitment to God and His will (Matthew 16:24-26), (Luke 9:23), (Matthew 11:28-30).
 

For at the cross, all is done. The suffering was all summed up at the cross. We look to it for salvation and for endurance. The cross is therefore the icon of our forgiveness (by the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus on it).

Above all, what is most exciting about Jesus, is that He didn’t only direct and instruct us on what to do, he equally went ahead of us to engage in all which He directed and instructed us to do. WHAT A FRIEND?!