Jesus Suffered and Died for You and Me 

The weeks leading up to Jesus’ death were some of the richest of his teaching. From the beginning, Jesus knew his greatest mission was to go willingly to death so that we could have life. Jesus chose this. He submitted to the father’s will. 

How did he choose to die? The Father and the Son chose the cross: to show us their solidarity with our most horrific, indescribable pain and shame. The horrible scourging, the bloody whipping, the gruesome torture, and the suffocation by hanging is almost impossible to imagine. 

There is no physical pain we can feel that is worse than his. No pain from disease or disaster, war or criminal attack or accident. The worst that can happen to us is no worse than what happened to him.

There is no shame we can feel that is worse than his. We know the shame of our individual sins, but he took the shame of the entire human race on himself. Then he demonstrated that fact by dying in the most shameful manner possible—paraded through the streets, stripped to all but a loincloth, and executed before his mother, his best friend, and his enemies.

The Son felt the worst we can feel. His Father watched his Son suffer in such pain and shame, proving that he understands all we feel for those we love.

The bottom line: Jesus chose the cross to show us that he will help us bear our cross, whatever it is.

Name your suffering or shame. Bring it to Calvary. Know that Jesus died to pay your debt, to forgive your sin, to bear your cross. Trust your need to his grace, your pain to his love. Know that he came to the Holy City to die for you. And that he would do it all again, just for you.

His death pays for our sins if we accept it; this is good news! 

Have you accepted his death as payment for your sins? 

If not, I invite you to pray and accept it. If you have, take a moment to reflect on what Jesus experienced: the torture, shame, death, and even the anticipation of knowing that it was coming. 

Once you’ve reflected on that, let this truth settle into your soul: Jesus did that for you. 

Rejoice in knowing that, because of his death, we don’t have to be afraid of death or hold on to shame!