The Grief of our Lord

When Jesus heard what had happened, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. Hearing of this, the crowds followed Him on foot from the towns. When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14:13-14

Jesus was sad.  He heard that his cousin, John, had been beheaded, and he needed time to grieve. John, the one who was sent to prepare the way for the coming Messiah, was also family to Jesus.  These events were grand in the scope of the coming of the Kingdom of God, to us.  But it was also personal.  This brutal act was a piercing loss for Jesus.

Isaiah 53:3 says, "He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care."  

This is the deepest kind of grief, losing a loved one.  And this death was so unjust.  This godly man was beheaded for standing up for what was right.  It so is hard to understand this, except it does exemplify our need for a Savior, one who can save us from the vile things we do.  And also our need for an Intercessor, One willing to stand in the gap for us before our Holy, Just and Righteous God.

"He is the kind of high priest we need because He is holy 

and blameless, unstained by sin. 

He has been set apart from sinners and has been given 

the highest place of honor in heaven. 

But because Jesus lives forever, His priesthood lasts forever. Therefore He is able, once and forever, 

to save those who come to God through Him. 

He lives forever to intercede with God on their behalf."  

Hebrews 7:24-26

This is the amazing thing Jesus does for us!  Forever interceding. But in the meantime, here is Jesus, living among us, experiencing the suffering of a broken world. His cousin was murdered and He was brokenhearted.  I wonder what happened when He withdrew to this private place.  I imagine He cried.  Pouring out His sorrow for this personal loss. And maybe also for the horrible state of mankind, with its suffering and injustice. Oh, the things we do to one another. I imagine He cried out to His Father.  And I picture His Father comforting Him.  2 Corinthians 1:3 refers to God as the Father of all (and that is ALL) comfort.  

This also is the nature of God, compassionate and comforting.  So Jesus did what His human nature caused Him to do, He grieved His loss and cried out to His Father in heaven.  And then almost immediately He did what His divine nature called Him to do.  He responded in compassion to the needs of the crowds that followed Him by healing their sick.  

Jesus experienced it all. He respected His humanness by grieving a significant loss and all of the injustice of that. And He respected His divine nature by not becoming bitter and carrying on with His mission of compassion, of salvation. For us.  

Help me Lord to grieve my losses, but also to keep moving forward. Help me to respond in compassion and not give in to the bitterness and brutality this world has to offer.  Help me to accept your comforting touch.  Help me to abide in You and respond to my world as You would have me do.