Jesus Did Not Despise The Cross
Jesus did not despise suffering….
He embraced suffering in such Godly way.
Despising Means Disrequarding Suffering
“Despising” Means Disregarding Shame: The term indicates a conscious decision to look down on the shame and humiliation of the crucifixion as insignificant, refusing to let it define his missionJesus can relate to us. We should think on these things on this Good Friday.
Jesus came here to us
God
In The Flesh.
We Should Never Get Over This
He is a Savior that understands and can emphasize with everything we humans are growing through.
Jesus Knew Hunger. Mark 11:13
Jesus Knew Weariness. John 4:6
Jesus Knew Grief. Luke 19:41-44
Jesus Knew Abuse. Isaiah 53:5-7
Jesus Knew Ridicule. Mark 15:19
Jesus Knew Rejection. John 6:66
Jesus Knew Temptation. Mark 1:13
Jesus Knew Poverty. Matthew 8:20
Jesus Knew Sorrow. Matthew 26:38
Jesus Knew Betrayal. Luke 22: 31-34
Jesus Knew Frustration. John 2:15-16
Jesus Knew Loneliness. Matthew 27:46
Jesus Knew Disappointment. Luke 13:34
Jesus Knew The Pain Of Loss. John 11:32-36
Garden Of Gethsemane. Jesus Gave His Life Over To God Completely. His However, Whenever, Whatever were yielded to God’s Way And Method
Matthew 26:26-36 “Then He said to them, My soul is very sad and deeply grieved, so that I am almost dying of sorrow. Stay here and keep awake and keep watch with Me. And going a little farther, He threw Himself upon the ground on His face and prayed saying, My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass away from Me; nevertheless, not what I will [not what I desire], but as You will and desire. And He came to the disciples and found them sleeping, and He said to Peter, What! Are you so utterly unable to stay awake and keep watch with Me for one hour? All of you must keep awake (give strict attention, be cautious and active) and watch and pray, that you may not come into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. Again a second time He went away and prayed, My Father, if this cannot pass by unless I drink it, Your will be done.”
Written By: Ryan Daniello
“I have never had Palm Sunday sit this heavy on my chest before… and honestly, I’m incredibly thankful for it.
Today I find myself sitting with a question I can’t shake:
How can the same people who shouted
“Hosanna in the highest”
be shouting
“Crucify Him”
just a few days later?
A palm branch in one hand…
and a nail in the other.
What changed?
Jesus didn’t.
Their expectations did.
He didn’t come the way they thought He would.
He didn’t fix what they wanted fixed.
He didn’t fight the battle they thought mattered most.
That’ because he came to confront their HEARTS… not their enemies…And when He didn’t become who they expected Him to be, they rejected who He actually was.
And if I’m being honest… that hits closer to home than I’d really like to admit. Because I’m realizing something in a deeper way than ever before: Pain has a way of distorting our view of who God is…when our beliefs aren’t anchored in truth… in His Word.
At the point where life gets the hardest…when prayers feel unanswered…when the diagnosis worsens…when the breakthrough doesn’t come…when the loved one you begged God to save passes anyway…
That’s the moment.
That’s when the enemy shows up…
and quietly places something in your hand…
A nail.
And he starts whispering…
“Where is your God now?”
“He didn’t come through.”
“Is He really who you thought He was?”
And without even realizing it…
we can start drifting from “Hosanna”…
to questioning His heart.
I’ve endured a lot of pain in my life. And if I’m honest, there were seasons where I let that pain shape how I saw God.I didn’t shout “crucify Him” with my words…
but there were moments I questioned Him in my heart.
Moments where I traded my palm branch… for a nail.
And that realization… it really hurts…
But at the same time… I’m incredibly grateful for it.
Because Palm Sunday isn’t just a celebration…
It’s a mirror…
Do I follow Jesus for who He is…
or for what I hope He’ll do for me?
Will I still say “Hosanna”…
when He doesn’t save me the way I expected Him to?
And here’s the part that’s wrecking me the most this year…
HE KNEW!!! HE KNEW the same voices praising Him would turn on Him. HE KNEW the betrayal, the denial, the pain that was coming.
And He rode into Jerusalem anyway.
He chose the cross… anyway. Which means He didn’t go to the cross because we got it right…
He went knowing we wouldn’t get it right.
So this week, I’m sitting with this…Not in guilt… but in awareness. And my prayer is simple:
Jesus… I don’t want a faith that only praises You when life makes sense.
I want a faith that’s anchored in who You are.
Even when I don’t understand.
Even when it hurts.
Even when it doesn’t look how I thought it would…
I’m still shouting HOSANNAH TO THE HIGHEST!
How Did He Not Despise His Suffering
Mocked, He Did Not Take Up An Offense He Did Not Angrily Defend Himself, He Stayed Silent In The Face Of False Accusations.
Mark 15:32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled were crucified with him also reviled
He Forgave The Thief On The Cross And Gave Him An Invite For Heaven
Luke 23:39-43 AMPC “One of the criminals who was suspended kept up a railing at Him, saying, Are You not the Christ (the Messiah)? Rescue Yourself and us [from death]! But the other one reproved him, saying, Do you not even fear God, seeing you yourself are under the same sentence of condemnation and suffering the same penalty? And we indeed suffer it justly, receiving the due reward of our actions; but this Man has done nothing out of the way [nothing strange or eccentric or perverse or unreasonable]. Then he said to Jesus, Lord, remember me when You come in Your kingly glory! And He answered him, Truly I tell you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.”
Refusing The Pain Killer-The Easy Way Out
Matthew 27:33 – 34 They came to a place called Golgotha, which means, ‘The Place of the Skull.’ There they offered Jesus wine mixed with a bitter substance (most translations have “gall”); but after tasting it, he would not drink it.
A mixture of wine and gall was commonly given to criminals before their execution in order to ease some of their suffering, as all poisons are bitter but acids are sour. Christ likely refused this drink knowing that its bitter taste meant it was more of a poison than a painkiller. Jesus did not want to die from poisoning or have his senses numbed while on the cross. He knew that He had to shed his blood in order for Him to become the supreme sacrifice for the sins of all man, and He refused to take the easy way out of it.
Forgiving Those Who Had Falsely Accused Him And Unjustly Crucified Him. He Died For Us Like We Had Never Even Hurt Him.
Luke 23:34, 46 AMPC “And Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they divided His garments and distributed them by casting lots for them. [Ps. 22:18.] And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit! And with these words, He expired. [Ps. 31:5.]”
Why Did Jesus Not Despise The Suffering? God’s Endgame Was Glorious
“Very early that Sunday morning, the women made their way to the tomb, carrying the spices they had prepared. (10) Among them were Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and Jesus’ mother Mary. Arriving at the tomb they discovered that the huge stone covering the entrance had been rolled aside, so they went in to look. But the tomb was empty. The body of Jesus was gone! They stood there, stunned and perplexed. Suddenly, two men appeared above them in dazzling white robes shining like lightning. Terrified, the women fell to the ground on their faces. The men in white said to them, “Why would you look for the Living One in a tomb? He is not here, for he has risen! Have you forgotten what he said to you while he was still in Galilee: ‘The destiny of the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinful men, to be nailed to a cross, and on the third day to rise again’?” All at once they remembered his words. Leaving the tomb, they went to break the news to the Eleven and to all the others of what they had seen and heard.”
Luke 24:1-9 TPT
Jesus Understands – Because He Lived Like We Do, In The Human Condition God Incarnate!
Jesus Knew Hunger
Mark 11:11-13 “Jesus rode through the gates of Jerusalem and up to the temple. After looking around at everything, he left for Bethany with the Twelve to spend the night, for it was already late in the day. The next day, as he left Bethany, Jesus was feeling hungry. He noticed a leafy fig tree in the distance, so he walked over to see if there was any fruit on it, but there was none—only leaves (for it wasn’t yet the season for bearing figs).”
Jesus Knew Weariness
John 4:6 “Jesus, tired as he was from the journey, sat down by the well”
Jesus Knew Soul Grief
Luke 19:41-44 ESV “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.””
Jesus Knew Abuse
Isaiah 53:5-7 ESV “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”
Jesus Knew Ridicule
Mark 15:19 “Again and again they struck him…and spit on him. Falling on their knees, they paid [mocking] homage to him”
Jesus Knew Rejection.
John 6:66 From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him
Jesus Knew Temptation.
Mark 1:13 He was in the desert forty days, being tempted by Satan
Jesus Knew Poverty.
Matthew 8:20 Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head
Jesus Knew Sorrow.
Matthew 26:38 My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death
Jesus Knew Betrayal.
Luke 22: 31-34 Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift all of you like wheat. 32 But I have prayed for you, Simon, that your faith will not fail. And when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.” 33 “Lord,” said Peter, “I am ready to go with You even to prison and to death.” 34 But Jesus replied, I tell you, Peter, the rooster will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me.
Jesus Knew Frustration.
John 2:15-16 So He made a whip out of cords and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle. He poured out the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables. 16 To those selling doves He said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn My Father’s house into a marketplace!
Jesus Knew Loneliness.
Matthew 27:46 “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus Knew Disappointment.
Luke 13:34 Jesus knew disappointment: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem…how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks,…but you were not willing”
Jesus Knew The Pain Of Loss
John 11:32-36 “Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he loved him!””
Jesus Knew Frustration
John 2:15-16 “He scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.… ‘Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!’”
Frustration
Matthew 17:14-18 CEV “Jesus and his disciples returned to the crowd. A man knelt in front of him and said, “Lord, have pity on my son! He has a bad case of epilepsy and often falls into a fire or into water. I brought him to your disciples, but none of them could heal him.” Jesus said, “You people are too stubborn to have any faith! How much longer must I be with you? Why do I have to put up with you? Bring the boy here.” Then Jesus spoke sternly to the demon. It went out of the boy, and right then he was healed.”
Betrayal
Luke 22:31-34 CEV “Jesus said, “Simon, listen to me! Satan has demanded the right to test each one of you, as a farmer does when he separates wheat from the husks. But Simon, I have prayed that your faith will be strong. And when you have come back to me, help the others.” Peter said, “Lord, I am ready to go with you to jail and even to die with you.” Jesus replied, “Peter, I tell you that before a rooster crows tomorrow morning, you will say three times that you don’t know me.”