When we consider our Savior and King, Jesus of Nazareth, we most often think about Him as God. The scriptures clearly state His Divinity and Godhood, and when we read about the many miracles that He performed we are captivated by His Power and Love. “Only God could do that”, we think, and miss out on an important fact: Jesus did not come to the earth in order to prove to us He was God. He decided to put on a body of flesh and became like us so that we could be like Him.
In the Gospels, Jesus most often referred to Himself as the ‘Son of Man”. He asked His disciples ” Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt 16:13) His identification with us was so complete that He experienced every human emotion and challenge of the flesh. He suffered hunger, cold, heat, and the most painful death that could be devised by man. Isa 53:3 tells us “He is despised and rejected of men; A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” The result of His choosing to become like us is this: Jesus always knows how we feel, for He has felt that way himself.
FATHER FORGIVE THEM
When we are tired, hurt and discouraged, Jesus knows how we feel. When we are lonely and rejected, He knows and understands what we are going through. At the most challenging point in His life a friend betrayed him, and all but one of His other friends abandoned Him. He could have become bitter and unforgiving, but His declaration to the Father was “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
When we experience hurt and rejection, and other people fail us, it is tempting to become angry at them and respond in ways that do not evidence the love of God. Most of those people do not care about what they have done, or are even unaware of how their words and actions have affected us. We can either allow hurt and discouragement to linger in our lives, or join Jesus in saying “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” When we do, we can fall into the arms of Jesus and receive peace and renewed joy from the Only One who REALLY knows how we feel!
