Redemption and Suffering

Monday, March 2, 2026

Redemption and Suffering 

He [Jesus] was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
Isaiah 53:3 NLT

During Lent, we think a lot about the suffering of Christ in our place. We often think about how this means we don’t need to suffer for our sins because he redeemed us. But during the same experience of him living on earth, coming to die in our place, he also experienced a lot of the same things that we experience. 

Christ experienced grief. He was called a man of sorrows.

Like us, he was despised, and displeased people. He understands our emotional responses. In fact, God created emotional responses, and our bodies response to hard things, such as exhaustion and tears, Jesus is acquainted with the same type of suffering that we are acquainted with.

He did this for us; he was willing to come and live as a human to save us. This is a powerful thought. That’s a lot of love from Jesus for us. He was willing to suffer just from the grief of the day-to-day, as well as suffer during his crucifixion, for us.

Let us spend some time this season thinking of this: we have a God who empathizes with us and has experienced the same things.

Reflect: What does the willingness of Christ to suffer reveal about God’s character? How does it comfort you to know that Christ is the man of sorrows?

Pray: God we thank you that you are willing to come and suffer in our place on the cross, and also to experience grief and rejection and sorrow. We thank you that, even in hard things, you walk with us, and you care about our emotions in those moments. Let us feel you with us. Amen.

May you feel God's presence with you,
Sarah Visser-Kincaid