The Joy of Jesus

At this time of year, we often talk of Jesus’ suffering, the horror, the tragedy. I never want to minimize that. I want to grow in my thanksgiving for all the pain Jesus went through for me.

 

But I also think it is good for us to remember, at any time of year, how great was Jesus’ joy and desire to bring us safe home to God.

 

Hebrews 12:2: fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

This verse takes my breath away. Jesus scorned the shame of the cross because of the joy set before him. We are that joy. And because Jesus looked forward to the joy of having us in his family, he endured the cross.

 

Romans 5:6-8: You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

 

Jesus loved us, and died for us, while we were still sinners.

 

Isaiah 53: 11: After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

 

In this passage which describes Jesus’ horrible suffering, it says he will be satisfied.

 

Matthew 28:18-20: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

 

Jesus offers us the opportunity and power to work with him to bring others to be part of his family.

 

Hebrews 7:25: Consequently he is able for all time to save those who draw near to God through him,

since he always lives to make intercession for them.

 

Jesus lives now to speak to God the Father on our behalf.

 

Jesus, teach us more fully to understand how important we are to you. I love you, Lord. 

Thank You, Jesus

I love reading Psalm 53 around Easter time, and I decided to share the whole passage.

 

Good Friday is a day of sorrow, and it is important for us to remember what Jesus suffered to spare us punishment. Verse 6 touched me this time, that because I went my own way, Jesus died for me.

 

But on Sunday, and every day, we can celebrate, with Jesus, his victory and the joy he has with us.

 

Hebrews 12:2: fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

 

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

    Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.

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

This is one of Murray’s and my favorite passages in the Bible.

Who has believed our message

    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

    and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain

    and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

    stricken by him, and afflicted.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

    and by his wounds we are healed.

We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

    each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,

    yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

    so he did not open his mouth.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

    Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

    for the transgression of my people he was punished.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

    and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

After he has suffered,

    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

    and he will bear their iniquities.

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.

Lord God, thank you for what Jesus was willing to go through for us, and praise you for the hope of Resurrection Sunday.

The Joy of Good Friday

Isaiah 53:5: But he was pierced for our transgressions,

    he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

I have always been depressed by Good Friday, and Isaiah 53 holds so much sorrow.

I never want to stop learning of Jesus’ suffering, or value it less. However, I am choosing to look at the joy of Good Friday today.

Hebrews 12:2: fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.

My husband Murray often prays, “Jesus, thank you that when you knew there was no other way to save us, thank you that you jumped up on the cross for us.”

I’ve argued with Murray about this. I say I’m not sure we should say that Jesus jumped up on the cross. It’s not like he was happy about it.

And yet, isn’t that what Hebrews 12 is saying?

Because of the joy set before him, Jesus endured the cross and scorned the shame of it. The joy set before him. That’s us, the joy of our salvation.

Yes, he was punished, but that’s what brought us peace. He was wounded, but that is how we were healed.

Jesus saw the joy in that, so I will too.

Thank you, Jesus, for being willing to jump up on the cross for me.

Quick Snapshots of a Family Trip

For years I’ve made snapshots with words for special memories.

Last Tuesday, my husband Murray, our son Ping-Hwei, and I took a trip to Missouri to visit my mother, then to Iowa to visit our daughter Rebecca. Here are a few snapshots.

Murray, Ping-Hwei, and I spent about thirty-three hours in the car together. We listened to books by two of our favorite authors: John Grisham and Harper Lee.

My mother lives by herself. She has her days and her house settled into a routine she is comfortable with. So we three barge in, to shake things up and trash her house. She was gracious enough to say, “I’m always glad when you come.”

My brother Rodney came to Mom’s to have dinner with us on Thursday night. He said to me, “You still have those orange shoes. Aren’t you ever going to wear those out?”

Murray cooked his Filipino family recipe of green bean chop-sui for my Mom and Rodney, and they both had seconds.

When Rodney left, he put his hand on my shoulder. “Well, Kathy, I’m glad you got to see me.”

Rebecca has a beautiful, fun cat named Millie; Rebecca calls her a cat model. Millie was not happy when we invaded her territory. She spent much of the time we were there hiding in a corner in a closet. When I held out my hand to try to pat her, she sat back on her hind legs, batted furiously at my hand, and spat.

We had our Easter worship service with Rebecca’s church on Saturday night. Murray gave one of his highest compliments to the minister there: “He sure is excited.”

Rebecca volunteers at a local dog shelter. Sage is an American bulldog who suffers a large degree of stress. Whenever the volunteers come to walk the dogs and clean everything up, Sage gets to wait in the car.

Sunday morning, we went with Rebecca for her normal job at the shelter. Murray and Ping-Hwei helped Rebecca walk the dogs and clean up. My job was the best. I sat in the car and kept Sage company.

When Sage is just around people, she is a lovely, sweet, fun girl. She snuggled up against me or laid in my lap, gave me more kisses than I can count, and showed a happy smile in her voice.

Murray, Ping-Hwei, and Rebecca went bowling. Ping-Hwei won both games.

I have never enjoyed shopping, until Rebecca was old enough to take me. The two of us went shopping Monday morning, mostly for gifts which I can’t talk about yet.

Rebecca is an excellent teacher. She showed me how to use dry shampoo.

I brought many fun snapshots home from this trip. These are just a few.

Beautiful Hope

1 Corinthians 15: 20 But Christ has indeed been raised from the dead, the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.

I will be away from my computer next Friday, so here is an early Easter greeting.

Yes, Friday was black. And for Jesus’ followers, the days ahead remained black. But amazing hope came with Resurrection Sunday, and soon they would share this hope with the world.

The women went to the tomb first, heart-broken, confused, but wanting to serve Jesus still. The tomb was empty, and angels told them Jesus was alive again. They were afraid but filled with joy. Then Jesus met them.

Matthew 28:10: Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers to go to Galilee; there they will see me.”

He honored Mary Magdalene by appearing to her, to comfort her and give her a message to share with the disciples. John 20:14-17.

Peter—one of my heroes—wept bitterly after denying Jesus. Matthew 16:15-17. He was afraid to hope Jesus was alive again; didn’t know what to believe. But Jesus had a specific message sent to him, to let Peter know he was still included. Mark 16:7.

Jesus appeared to Peter on his own. Luke 24:34. He reassured Peter that he still trusted him to care for those he, Jesus, loved. John 21:15-17.

Cleopas and his friend were dejected as they walked along the road, but Jesus joined them and explained how the Scriptures showed how his death had to happen. Luke 24:13-35.

Thomas—another hero of mine—was not the only one who doubted. All the apostles did. Luke 24:7-9. But Jesus gave a special gift to Thomas, singling him out, asking Thomas to touch him, convincing Thomas that Jesus was really alive. John 20:24-29.

Jesus leaves a special blessing for us today and—what a privilege—we get to share the assignment he gives to his disciples.

John 20: 29 Then Jesus told him, “Because you have seen me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.”

Matthew 28:18-20: Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

Like Jesus’ disciples I doubt. I am afraid. I am dejected and need to be reminded again and again of God’s will. Just as Peter denied Jesus, I deny him in so many ways, in my words and actions; like Paul, I persecute him. I, too, feel bitter with despair. But Paul reminds us that though we have failed God, with his unbelievable grace and mercy, he is still able to use us. 1 Corinthians 15:10.

We still struggle with blackness today, just like Black Friday. The blackness is our sin, which leads to death. Praise God, Jesus has saved us from all of this.

1 Corinthians 15:55-57: “Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting? The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”