Jesus Suffered First

Hebrews 4:15-16, 5:8; Matthew 27:45-46

Jesus bled real blood. He suffered stripes from a brutal whipping, thorns in his brow, nails in hands and feet … even the feeling of abandonment from God! He also knew beforehand in excruciating detail the pain that lay ahead of him. We often fail to focus on His pain because we know the end of the story, that He conquered death. But Jesus knows. He knows what suffering is. The Son of Man absolutely can identify with you in your suffering.

Questions for further thought:
1. What does it mean to you that Jesus suffered, too?
2. Maybe your pain doesn’t seem as great as what Jesus had to endure; does that make a difference in how He can identify with you?  

Challenge: Think about the pain that you’ve experienced. Have you ever been able to help someone else because of that experience? If not, try to think of how you could use the wisdom you gained to do so. Either way, thank God that something good can come out of tough times.