“My God, My God, why have You forsaken me?” These haunting words of anguish send chills to my spine.
From a medical standpoint, I understand a lot about how much physical pain Jesus suffered for us. Crucifixion was torture to the entire body:
Nerves pierced by nails in the wrists.
The brachial plexus nerve bundle running through armpits and shoulders sending waves of agony through the upper body.
Suffocation as the chest is compressed by the hanging position.
Understanding these and other facts help me appreciate my Savior’s sacrifice.
How often do we ponder His emotional anguish? The betrayal by the friend He had mentored for three years. The torment He saw in His mother’s eyes as He designated John to care for her. Peter’s paralyzing guilt as he watched his Friend and Teacher die a horrible death—Jesus felt that, too.
Have you ever felt the pain of separation from God? Jesus did. God could not look at the sin Jesus became for us, and He pulled His presence away from His son.
I have felt emotional separation from God—it’s frightening and extremely sad. I don’t know how people bear it on an ongoing basis–especially those whom God is chasing, trying to get their attention.
Is this kind of pain what is called “entering into the sufferings of Jesus”? I’m not sure it is. That type of suffering, I believe, is enduring persecution for His name’s sake while yet knowing His presence with us.
I do know that God pulls the manifestation of His presence further from us on occasion so we will seek Him in a deeper way. It’s a teaching and a discipling moment, not a punishment. And we know that God always reaches for us even more strongly than we reach for Him.
Just like with physical surgery, some pain is meant for healing.
this is part 2 of a series on pain
part 1| Should a Christian Have Pain?
part 2| Separation from God
part 3| Why Pain?