With Easter only a few weeks away, I asked Karen, “What do you want to do for Easter? Any family plans to get together? If not, do we want to buy something special to eat? Or is there some place special you want to go to after church for dinner?” I love Easter Sunday! Jesus resurrected! The stone rolled away! The empty tomb! His salvation is here! Rejoice! Woohoo! I AM FORGIVEN because of Easter! All of a sudden, I realized my thoughts were only on Easter Sunday! I began to think about all that Jesus did for us so we could celebrate Sunday with friends, family, special food, going to church!

My mind went to the 4-5 days leading up to Easter. And then I got out my Bible and turned to Isaiah chapter 53. My eyes fell immediately on verse 6, which I memorized as a child: “All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way; And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” But the Lord had me go back to verses 3-4: “He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows acquainted with grief…He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.” It hit me so hard—a Man of sorrows! A prophecy written 700 years before Jesus was born! Before Jesus was crucified and died!

At Easter, we focus on two days out of the entire life of Jesus: Good Friday and Easter Sunday. But God the Son walked on the earth for 33 YEARS. It’s true we don’t know a lot about the first 30 years before He began His public ministry, but we know what He endured those last 3 years by reading about His life in the first 4 books of the New Testament: Confronting the religious leaders who were bound by tradition and man-made rules, who tried to stone Him, throw Him off a cliff, then plotted His death. Loving the people, the crowds who one day loved Him for His miracles and the next day left Him because of the truth He spoke. He was misunderstood by his family and even his disciples misunderstood His mission. His words were continually twisted. He was hated, mocked and rejected. He suffered deep grief and wept over the things we weep over…death of our friends, rejection when we try to tell people truth and they refuse to consider it, betrayal by those closest to us. Finally He wept over Jerusalem, because they failed to respond to, or even recognize, the One sent to save His people, to reveal to them the character of the Father, to give them the true source of peace.

Maybe you’re in a state of personal anguish today. There’s something that is causing you a great deal of pain. Jesus has been there. He has walked in your shoes. Don’t think that God is disconnected from what you’re facing. Jesus has faced it. Today, the risen and living Jesus can enter into your suffering. He has experienced it. He understands. You’re not alone. Talk to Him. Let Him in to your pain, your grief, your sorrow.

“He was wounded for OUR transgressions, He was bruised for OUR iniquities; the chastisement for OUR peace was upon Him, and by His stripes WE are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Another translation says it more plainly, “He was pierced for OUR rebellion, crushed for OUR sins. He was beaten so WE could be whole. He was whipped so WE could be healed.” He endured years of sorrow to get to the cross. Why? He couldn’t stop thinking about YOU and ME.