Dont Take The Easy Way Out
Don’t Take The Easy Way Out
Matthew 26:36-53
(Read text NIV) As we think of those who suffered and those who gave their lives on this Memorial Day weekend, we need to look at the issue of suffering. We live in a world where suffering is the great enemy of mankind. We do all in our power to avoid or eliminate it. At times our efforts are noble. Usually, they’re ridiculous. The following are actual responses from comment cards given to the staff members at a wilderness area in 1996: Trails need to be wider so people can walk while holding hands. Trails need to be reconstructed. Please avoid building trails that go uphill. Too many bugs and leeches and spiders and spider webs, please spray the wilderness to rid the areas of these pests. Please pave the trails so they can be snow-plowed during the winter. Chair lifts need to be in some places so that we can get to wonderful views without having to hike to them. The coyotes made too much noise last night and kept me awake. Please eradicate these annoying animals. A small deer came into my camp and stole my jar of pickles. Is there a way I can get reimbursed? Please call… Reflectors need to be placed on trees every 50 feet so people can hike at night with flashlights. Escalators would help on steep uphill sections. A MacDonald’s would be nice at the trailhead. The places where trails do not exist are not well marked. Too many rocks in the mountains.
Dave Dravecky says, “Yes, suffering is the enemy of the average American. In America, Christians pray for the burden of suffering to be lifted from their backs. In the rest of the world Christians pray for stronger backs so they can bear their suffering. It’s why we look away from the bag lady on the street to the displays in store windows. Why we prefer going to the movies instead of to hospitals and nursing homes.”
When we of Jesus’ crucifixion, frankly, I don’t think most people get it. We’d rather look away from suffering and focus on God’s blessings. Many churches would rather skip all that stuff about the torture and death of Christ and jump to the Resurrection. The Resurrection is the hope of mankind, but we must not miss the importance of the cross.
We hear the story of Jesus and his crucifixion and we think, “How awful! Poor Jesus, He was a victim of the most terrible crime in history.” While it’s true that Jesus did suffer from a crime against him, he was no victim. Although he easily could have, he chose not to take the easy way out, but to actually embrace his suffering.
And suffer, he did. The stories told about his cross are so familiar and romanticized that we usually don’t recognize exactly what Jesus endured. He faced more suffering in a 12 hour period than most of us will experience in a lifetime. I want you to see and maybe even feel the extent of his suffering. Let’s look at …
THE SOURCES OF HIS SUFFERING
1. The first was sheer loneliness. This time of Jesus’ suffering is often called the Passion. It began the night before Jesus was crucified in a place called the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus led his disciples there to pray. He specifically singled out Peter, James, and John and asked them to stay up with him. Jesus went away to pray, but he came back several times where he found his friends asleep. The scripture reading shows that Jesus was frustrated and hurt by their lack of caring.
I contend that Jesus’ suffering began here because he was lonely. He fully understood that he was going to die a horrible death and he wanted his closest friends to be with him. He wanted their support, their care and concern, but all they could do was sleep. Even when he was on the cross, his friends, with the exception of John, were no where to be seen. They were too scared to even come near him. They were afraid they’d have to do a little suffering of their own.
There’s a terrible loneliness when facing the possibility of suffering or death. Most people who are dying or know their going to die want other people around them. In all my time as a pastor, I’ve never witnessed any dying person drive people away and ask to be alone. Family and friends gather by their bedside and that is absolutely the best thing that can happen. That’s what Jesus needed in the garden that night, but his friends let him down. He suffered loneliness needlessly.
Let me encourage you, if you know someone who’s sick or facing death, bless them with your company. Don’t go in with the idea that you have to say the right words or solve the problem. They simply need your presence, your prayers, and your care. You may only hold hand. It doesn’t seem like much, but it goes a long way.
2. Jesus experienced unanswered prayer. Three times that night Jesus prayed that this “cup” would be taken away from him. He was praying not to have to face the agony of the cross. He also didn’t want to endure the sins of the world. Here’s the perfectly sinless Son of God and he’s about to be cursed. He who knew no sin was to become our sin for us.
Three times he prayed for another way and three times he was denied. There was no other way. His flesh and soul screamed against the torture of the cross, but in the end Jesus decided to embrace it. He submitted to the will of the Father.
Maybe you’ve been there. You’ve cried out to God, but the heavens are like brass above you. You don’t get the answer you want. It’s important in those times to stop asking for the same thing and simply hand yourself over to God’s will. Rather than try to “name it and claim it” or pray the “Prayer of Jabez,” follow Jesus example and surrender to God. Often we pray to take the easy way out, but often God calls us to embrace suffering.
3. Jesus felt the sting of betrayal. Judas, one of the twelve, turned out to be a rat. This man was hand picked by Jesus. He saw the miracles. He heard the Good News from the very mouth of God. Jesus lavished his love on this man. He entrusted him with power and authority too. Judas was the treasurer. You’ve got to be highly trusted in any organization to be given the task of handling money. Judas also went on a preaching and healing mission. He, himself, surely proclaimed the Good News of Christ, healed the sick, and cast out demons. Despite all his accomplishments and experiences, in the end, Judas, sold Jesus out for the price of a slave.
Betrayal is a painful thing, especially if you’ve invested a lot of yourself in someone else. It’s not physical suffering, but it’s like a punch in the gut when you find out that a friend is gossiping about you, or a family member slandering your character, or a co-worker stabbing you in the back to get the promotion, or a spouse having an affair.
4. Jesus also suffered injustice. Most of us here can’t identify with this kind of suffering because we’ve never felt it. When I read the injustice perpetrated on Jesus, it makes me angry. As I’ve studied through the Greek it strikes me at the extent to which Jesus was denied justice. Yet, he never said a word about it.
The religious leaders in Jerusalem wanted him dead – end of story. They met at night, which was a big “no, no.” They brought in false witnesses who couldn’t even get their stories straight. Jesus said nothing. He let the liars get tangled in their own words. I believe there’s a lesson there for us when we’re falsely accused. The only time Jesus did speak out was when the High Priest put him under oath and compelled him to tell whether he was the Son of God or not. It was only then that Jesus, bound, silent and totally at their mercy spoke up and confirmed that he was the Christ. The kangaroo court convicted Jesus unfairly. All he did was tell the truth.
The Jews couldn’t execute Jesus themselves s they sent him to Pilate, the Roman governor of the territory. I used to think that Pilate was probably an okay fellow, the victim of circumstances and arm-twisting. But that’s not the case. Pilate was an evil man who lacked moral courage. He knew that Jesus was innocent. His personal interrogation found no reason for a death sentence. His wife sent him a note telling him not to convict Jesus. He knew that the religious leaders wanted Jesus dead out of envy, but he condemned him anyway.
Imagine going to court and the judge and jury find you innocent. Unfortunately for you there’s a group lobbying for your execution, so the judge reverses the decision and sentences you to the electric chair. You’d appeal and hire Johnny Cochrane. Not Jesus. He remained silent as a lamb taken to the slaughter. He embraced suffering.
5. There was the humiliation. They spit on him, called him names, slapped him and pulled his beard out. The religious leaders were so dignified that they put a cloth sack over Jesus head, socked him with heir fists and said, “Prophesy, prophet! Who hit you?”
Later on the Roman soldiers made sport of him. After a severe beating with a cat-o-nine-tails whip, they stripped Jesus and dressed him in kingly, purple cloth. Then they smashed a crown of thorns into his scalp. They continued the name-calling and spitting.
Some of us get suicidal when we commit a fashion felony or are seen with toilet paper stuck to our shoe. Jesus endured terrible and undeserved humiliation.
6. There was the physical pain. In many cases, the beating prisoners received at the hands of Roman guards was enough to kill them. One medical expert noted that after the flogging Jesus back was probably shredded and his internal organs exposed. He was in critical condition before the cross. Usually the condemned had to carry their own cross to the execution site. Jesus was so badly beaten that the soldiers had to force a passerby to carry it for him.
Then there’s the pain of the cross. The spikes in the hands and feet are bad enough. Please understand that crucifixion was invented by the Romans to bring the maximum suffering for the longest possible time before death. It was the best they could come up with in inhumane treatment. It was so bad that Roman citizens could not be executed by crucifixion. It was reserved for slaves and foreigners. Crucifixion kills by suffocation. The condemned must constantly push upward to exhale. You agonized in constant exertion until your body literally gave out and you went unconscious. At that point you died because you could no longer push yourself up to breathe.
It’s amazing to me that this was the kind of death that God sent his one and only Son to earth to endure. Even worse than the physical pain was what happened next.
7. Jesus, for the first time ever, suffered the silence of God. Remember some of his final words on the cross? “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” The inclusion of these words, for me, is proof that the gospels are true. How could Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, the only begotten Son of the Heavenly Father, experience forsakenness. It’s a mystery. Jesus, the third person of the Trinity, the Son who lived in unbroken fellowship with the Father and the Holy Spirit, felt the pain of God’s silence.
There’s debate among different theologians and scholars about whether or not Jesus descended into hell after his death. I think he did, but it doesn’t matter, because He experienced hell while he was alive. Ultimately, hell is separation from God. Jesus suffered that separation on the cross. He tasted an eternal aloneness.
Jesus suffered. No doubt about it. But here’s something I don’t want you to miss.
TWO EXPLANATIONS OF JESUS’ EXPERIENCE
1. He had the power to avoid suffering.
Look at his own words about the situation. This is what he said to Peter at his arrest: V.53 “Don’t you realize that I could ask my Father for thousands of angels to protect me, and he would send them instantly?” (NLT)
At the snap of his fingers Jesus could have crushed his enemies. But he didn’t do it. John gives us some insight on Jesus conversation with the man who sentenced him to death. “You won’t talk to me?” Pilate demanded. “Don’t you realize that I have the power to release you or to crucify you?” Then Jesus said, “You would have no power over me at all unless it were given to you from above.” John 19:10-11 (NLT)
Pilate wasn’t really the one in control of the situation. Jesus wasn’t a helpless victim. Look what else he said: “No one can take my life from me. I lay down my life voluntarily.” John 10:18a (NLT)
Jesus had the power to avoid the pain. He could have taken the easy way out. Instead, he embraced suffering. But why?
2. He endured the pain because it was the price of love.
Had Jesus saved himself from the pain, he would have simultaneously lost humanity. Jesus’ choice was to save himself or save his people. He chose us. He chose the nails. “He was willing to die a shameful death on the cross because of the joy he knew would be his afterward.” Hebrews 12:2 (NLT)
This act of submission to suffering reveals God’s heart toward sinful humanity. “God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners.” Romans 5:8 (NLT)
We can’t skip the cross and focus only on the empty tomb. Don’t turn away because when you see the suffering of the Son you can also see the love of God. Real love is action. God demonstrate his love through Jesus Christ. He embraced suffering so that he could one day embrace all of us in eternity.
So what does this mean for us?
NOW IT’S YOUR TURN
Christian means “little Christ” or “Christ-follower.” Many folks still haven’t realized it, but Jesus calls us to follow him into suffering. Don’t believe me. Look at this verse. Philippians 1:29 says, “You have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him.” (NLT)
The “privilege of suffering”? We thought suffering was something to be avoided, but apparently it’s a vital part of a life of faith. Please don’t misunderstand. I’m not saying that we should intentionally seek out pain and inflict it on ourselves. You don’t have to. It’ll find you, especially if you’re a follower of Jesus Christ. I’ve said it before and here it is again, “God doesn’t promise us happiness in this life. Instead he promises “trials, temptations, and persecutions.” When they come Don’t take the easy way out, embrace suffering. 1 Peter 4:12, 13 says, “Dear friends, do not be surprised at the painful trial you are suffering, as though something strange were happening to you. But rejoice that you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. (NIV)
As a Christian you will come face to face with decisions to do the right thing or the easy thing. For the follower of Christ it’s no longer a question of right and wrong. It’s right or easy. When God has you’re heart by faith you desire to do the right thing automatically. The problem is that the right thing is usually the hardest thing to do. Don’t take the easy way out. Embrace suffering.
What is the hard and painful thing that God wants you to do right now? Only you can answer this question. Maybe there’s a truth that you need to tell. Keeping your mouth shut would be a lot easier, but speaking the truth in love has the potential to bring healing. Maybe there’s a personal sacrifice God wants you to make. The same Lord who told people to sell everything and follow him hasn’t changed his mind. Is there a hardship you might have to endure to be faithful. Endure it. Is there a habit or lifestyle issue that is questionable? It’s easy to keep doing the same old thing, but it could be keeping you from God’s best.
I can’t give you an exhaustive list of what God may or may not be telling you to do. But I can confidently tell you this. He wants you to live like his Son. Don’t take the easy way out. Embrace suffering. There’s joy on the other side of it.
It may be that you need to put your trust in Christ. It may bring you persecution, but I want you to know this, even if it does, there is joy on the other side.