Humiliating Jesus

Dorothy Sayers said Jesus suffered three humiliations: the incarnation, the cross, and the church.  There is truth in these words.  Think of the humiliation of God, Creator of the Universe, the One who created mankind in His own image, choosing to impregnate and be born through a human woman.  He left heaven to live on earth among fallen men and women in order to give them the opportunity to once again have a personal relationship with Him – as Adam and Eve had in the Garden of Eden.  He did this because of His great love for each of us.  And then, he suffered the torture and indignities of the cross.  Imagine.  He was beaten, spit upon, lacerated by a whip, stripped of his clothing and nailed to the cross where he hung for hours while his enemies gloated.  Even as He was dying, He was thinking of others.  He gave His mother’s care over to John.  He called upon God, the Father, to forgive us.  He finished the work His Father gave Him to do:  save us – if we only believe in Him.  And the last, and on-going humiliation – watching what people do “in the Name of Jesus”. 

The Crusades, the Inquisition, slavery, pogroms…

As a Christian, those times of history grieve my soul.  I want to apologize.  I want to cry out loud and say Jesus wouldn’t have done those things. 

But if I had been living back then, would I know or be any better?  Would I get sucked into false teaching and fear-inspired warfare?

We live in troubled times.   Fear is like poison.  Voices tend to get strident.  Mankind has always looked for someone to blame.  Think of Adam and Eve who started that ball rolling.

What do we do? Oh, what do we do?

Remember Jesus.  Imitate Jesus.  Follow Jesus’s teachings.  Love the way Jesus loved.  In Him, we have the assurance of a new life and a new earth.