December 12, 2024

Hebrews 12.2 (NIV)

. . . who, for the joy set before him endured the cross.

We have a God who knows human suffering from the inside, just as we do. But suffering is not the final word.*

Do not ever think that Jesus didn’t suffer. His execution, in the words of another writer, “was a punishment reserved for those who were deemed . . . most unfit to live.”* Not only did he suffer it as it was happening, he “looked forward to it” his whole life.

Because he was God, Jesus knew that the suffering and the joy were not evenly matched.  Did that make his death any less painful? I can’t answer that. The closest I can come is to compare it to the pain of childbirth and how I’ve heard so many women declare, “It was worth it.” As a woman who has given birth to twins, I echo their sentiments. It was worth it - but I wouldn’t want to do it again. And I’m grateful I didn’t know what to expect when I went into it!

Notice that the writer of Hebrews refers to the joy ahead. He doesn’t say that Jesus found joy in his current situation. Jesus was looking forward to the joy before him. And what was the joy he was looking forward to? He already had the glory - he had experienced heaven. He knew what he was missing by being human. And he knew what he was going to endure. He had all the pieces he needed to make an informed decision. Was his joy for us, then - for what we would receive at his expense? Was he able to look at the cross, look at us, and say, “It’s worth it”?

In the midst of our suffering, we don’t find joy. But we can look forward to the joy that Jesus purchased for us by his suffering and death and resurrection.

Joy doesn’t come from the trial, but by focusing on God through the trial.*