For hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, that ye should follow his steps. I Peter 2:21
Shame is given to Jesus by men; yet this He despises. A cross is given Him by God; but this He endures. He is not perturbed by men's misunderstanding, ostracism, accusation, desertion, or condemnation. Not because the shame is not serious; in point of fact, the shame He suffers exceeds that which any other man has ever passed through. Neither is it because His holy nature is insensitive to the shamefulness of being insulted; actually His feeling is much keener than that of others. The cross which God has given Him is not light. What He has gone through before men and the evil spirits and the holy angels is not without hardship. Yet our Lord endures the cross. He accepts it and endures it. And the final result? He reaches the end triumphantly: "and hath sat down at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12.2) awaiting the moment of His glorious appearing. |
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