What Does It Take to Make You Cry?

Royal Priesthood, Holy Nation                                              Acts 1:3

What Does It Take to Make You Cry?

by Robert T. Cooper

Some people are tough and some are tender. Some cry over sunsets, kittens and babies. Others don’t shed a tear even when physically abused. Some cry in empathy at nearly every TV show or movie. I cry in some, but I confess that The Passion of the Christ had me weeping over what my sin caused my Lord to suffer.

In truth, I had heard and even told verbal descriptions of Christ’s suffering on several occasions over the years. You can find various descriptions of the sufferings of Jesus from His prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane all the way through His being pierced in the side with a spear. The brutality was fierce. In fact, while the portrayal in The Passion film was the most graphic to date, even it was not fully authentic. The truth was simply too gruesome to show in its entirety.

Isaiah wrote, “And with His stripes we are healed.” This did not mean that Jesus’ suffering would result in physical healing for believers. Rather it means that in Jesus’ shed blood and death on the cross He would take our sin on Himself, dying in our place, that if we will repent of our sin and place our faith in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, we will have forgiveness of sin and eternal life.

When I was a teenager, Jesus Christ, Superstar created quite an uproar. It first came out as a double LP record album. One of the criticisms against it was that the recording ended with the Crucifixion. So when the rock opera is staged, it is done in a way that hints at the Resurrection.

For us as believers, the Resurrection shows God’s Power over sin, death and hell. It shows that Christ is indeed the firstfruit from the dead. It shows that we too have hope in resurrection, that we too will rise. Since there was an “after the suffering” for Jesus, there will be an “after the suffering” for us as well.

Now, back to the question in the title, or perhaps a better question. As you reflect on the suffering that Jesus endured on account of your sin, what feelings do you experience?