The Suffering Servant
April 7, 2023 | Han Choi BF ‘24
image description: crucifixion
”Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 53:12
What does it mean to become more like Jesus?
As Christians, this is our defining heartcry—to be more like Jesus. The original Greek word Christianos (Christ meaning “the anointed” and tian meaning “little”) literally translates to “little Christs,” or “little anointed ones.” We are meant to be little Jesuses.
When I used to sing and pray “Father, make me more like Jesus,” there were many things on my mind and heart. I prayed with passion, wanting to be able to selflessly love others with God’s love; to become gentle and lowly like Him; to know the Father and to be one with Him, for deeper intimacy. I wanted to become a better Christian.
These are all true and beautiful prayers. But recently, I have found myself in a place of weakness. When I am struggling, feeling doubtful, burdened, and when it feels like my thoughts are spiraling out of control, how can I be like Jesus? What does Jesus, the perfect Son of God, have to do with my shortcomings, mistakes, and weakness?
When I look back on my relationship with Jesus, I know that it began at the cross. Besides Jesus’ resurrection, His crucifixion at Calvary was the single most important moment in history. It was the moment when God incarnate descended to the lowest possible depth of humility, the ultimate culmination of the infinite love of God displayed in the last, passing breath of Jesus. To me, Calvary was where Jesus embraced me and told me that He loved me. But I realize, as I am trying to become more like Jesus, that the cross for Him was the final ascent in an entire life lived in complete obedience. Jesus did not become the Suffering Servant only after the cross. He was, and always has been, the Suffering Servant. Jesus obeyed by trusting His Father in every breath, thought, and action during His time on earth. He clung to the Father and did His will (John 5:30). He obeyed by becoming a living sacrifice, by living a life of worship.
It’s hard to believe, but God’s word tells us that Jesus is not someone who is far-removed from us, but He can sympathize with all of our weaknesses. It says that He Himself was tempted with everything that we are tempted by, yet he persevered (Hebrews 4:16).
The truth is that Jesus already lived the life that I am now living through. He went before me. Every burden and every hardship; every struggle with sin, anxiety, doubt; every single moment and piercing of sorrow and grief and pain—Jesus went through it all, and bore it all (Isa. 53:4). When I couldn’t, and still can’t, Jesus carried it all. He never succumbed to temptation, or fear, or doubt, or any other thing. He overcame.
Can you imagine? Jesus willingly bore every suffering, sickness, affliction—mine, yours and every single person’s. He can actually sympathize with us. This was the life He lived; the cross He carried. He willingly obeyed, all for love’s sake. He willingly poured out Himself unto death. I have heard this said many times, and have said it myself. But do I really understand what this means? Have I ever poured myself out even remotely close to death? Can I obey unto death?
On that cross, He bled until He died. He was pierced when I should’ve been the one. He carried the impossible weight of death and suffering and pain of sin. It was more than just physical destruction. It was suffering the full wrath of an all-consuming fire, a Holy God.
Yet Jesus obeyed.
Out of love, He chose you and me. And by His obedience, He redeemed our lives. He bought us with His own flesh and blood and made us desirable. His life was freely imputed onto ours.
How can love be so one-sided? How can I ever respond? The answer, I realize, is I never can, and I never will adequately be able to. My love for Jesus will never equal His love for me. So today, I ask myself: Jesus, what does it mean for me to obey? How can I obey You?
No matter how hard it can be, no matter the cost, I will give Him all that I am. Because all that I am is all that He desires. To pour out myself, just like He did.
This piece is a part of a series for Lent 2023. Read more at https://www.yalelogos.com/lent2023