The Suffering Savior
Scripture — Isaiah 53:3 (NRSV)
He was despised and rejected by others;
a man of suffering_ _and acquainted with infirmity;
and as one from whom others hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him of no account.
Focus
The Servant of God in Isaiah is a “man of suffering.” Jesus was this man in the flesh. By his suffering he saved us. And because he suffered, Jesus understands our sorrows.
Devotion
The Servant of God in Isaiah is a “man of suffering” (53:3). The Hebrew phrase (’ish makh’ovot) means, literally, “man of pains,” and refers to both physical and emotional suffering. God’s Servant would not be immune from difficulties. In fact, he would be “acquainted with infirmity” (53:3).
Jesus is this man of suffering. In his full humanity, he suffered the pains of this life. Some of these pains were ordinary. I expect that, like most carpenters, Jesus sometimes hit his thumb with a hammer. Moreover, it’s most likely that he experienced the death of his earthly father, Joseph, since Joseph is absent from the gospels after the stories of Jesus as a child. Jesus also knew the emotional pain of rejection, since the very people he came to save denied him (John 1:11). Most painful of all, Jesus experienced the suffering of the cross, feeling unbearable physical pain as well as the emotional and spiritual pain of being forsaken by his Heavenly Father.
When we hurt, we find comfort in the fact that Jesus is a man of suffering. He knows what it’s like to feel as we do. The empathy of Jesus isn’t theoretical. God the Son knows and shares in our suffering. Jesus is with us, even when we are overcome by grief and despair. In time, he will deliver us from the pains of this world. In the meanwhile, our hearts are encouraged by the knowledge that Jesus is with us, that he understands, that he feels with us.
Jesus understands the struggles and challenges of our work. Unfortunately, we know very little about Jesus’s actual life as a craftsman (traditionally, a carpenter). But we can surmise that he experienced many of the things small business owners do today: unfair client expectations, miscommunication with suppliers, late shipments, the possibility of not enough work, the challenge of too much work all at once, and so forth. Therefore, when you’re experiencing the pains of working in a fallen world, remember that Jesus understands and that he came to restore the world that is often filled with frustration and suffering.
Reflect
When you have suffered in your life, how have you sensed the presence of God?
What helps you to know that God is with you even in hard times?
What does it mean for you that Jesus is the Servant of God, a man of suffering?
When you are going through hard times in your work, would it make a difference to you to think that Jesus might have experienced something similar in his work?
Act
Speaking of the pains of working reminds me that my De Pree Center colleague, Dr. Meryl Herr, is coming out with a book called When Work Hurts: Building Resilience When You’re Beat Up or Burnt Out. If you’d like to read this book you’ll have to be patient. It comes out in March 2025. But if you want to be sure and get it as soon as it’s out, you can pre-order it here. And if you’d like an early look at some of the content, check out Meryl’s Substack, When Work Hurts.
Pray
Lord Jesus, how we thank you for being a man of suffering. Thank you for becoming human, for experiencing life as we experience it (though you were without sin). Thank you for knowing what physical pain feels like, what loss feels like, and what rejection feels like. We find it easy to turn to you in our pain because we know that you understand.
Thank you, our Savior, for choosing the way of the cross, the way of great sorrows. You took the sin that was ours, experiencing the separation from the Father that belonged to us. How we praise you, dear Lord, for being not just a man of sorrows in general, but the man of our sorrows.
Today, we pray for those in our lives who are in the midst of suffering. Relieve their pain and sorrow, Lord. May they know your presence and find hope and comfort in you. Amen.
Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the High Calling archive, hosted by the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: Did Jesus Forget About Peace on Earth and Turning the Other Cheek?
Mark D. Roberts
Senior Strategist
Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a Senior Strategist for Fuller’s Max De Pree Center for Leadership, where he focuses on the spiritual development and thriving of leaders. He is the principal writer of the daily devotional, Life for Leaders,...