He Felt Our Sorrows

Is the Gospel relevant? It is as relevant to our lives as the newspaper or its online equivalents. Lately, we've been hit with the shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, MO, and the recurring Israel-Gaza conflict, with over 2,000 dead and no proper end in sight -- just to name two out of thousands of conflicts right now. How does the Gospel apply to all these? Here are a few
preliminary thoughts.

Reading through Matthew's gospel again, I'm struck once more by the number of times Jesus reached out -- literally -- and healed someone.  In chapter 8 he touches a leper (a big no-no), heals the servant of a Roman soldier (didn't he know the Romans were evil people who were oppressing and killing his fellow Jews?) then heals many and casts out demons at Peter's home. Matthew says this is to fulfill Isa. 53:4, who wrote "Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down." Was this only a formal 'fulfillment' to prove Jesus was the Messiah?  I don't think so. It says something much deeper, that touches today's news too. 

Jesus empathized -- that is, he opened himself up to feeling our sorrows with us. He took in what it felt like to be a leper, an outcast (which he was himself, rejected by the religious people in his own land). He understood what it felt like to be under constant suspicion and hatred like the Roman soldier. He knew weakness -- and would know it far more on the Cross -- like Peter's mother and those oppressed by demonic influence. He knows what it's like to be us, because he was 'us' in his human life, and he carried that with him to the Father's throne, in his flesh (Acts 7:56, Heb. 4:15).

Let's take that further.

Jesus knows what it's like to be Michael Brown - he also knows what it feels like to be the policeman who shot and killed Michael. Jesus knows how it feels to be a Palestinian in Gaza - and he also knows what the soldiers in Israel's defense force are feeling. He knows how all of us feel, because he's felt it.

For today, as we pray about these situations, let's do three things:  First, let's remember that Jesus is with us, so let's seek the mind of Jesus to help us avoid the same kinds of sins in our relationships that lead to so much tension and strife. Two, as he empathized with us, let us also be open to other peoples' sorrows and pain, even if it's inconvenient and messy as it often is. Three, as he gives us opportunity and strength, let us reach out to others with his hands guiding ours, healing and doing good as he did.

That's why the Gospel is relevant today.