Man of Sorrows

“Man of sorrows, wondrous name for the Son of God who came.” As we approach Easter, it would be good to look at the Old Testament “Man of Sorrows,” Jeremiah, and the New Testament “Man of Sorrows,” Jesus.

Reading: Jeremiah 20:7-10

The Bible is a book of joy. “Rejoice in the Lord always!” says Paul in Philippians 4. But we also have to remember the verse from 1 Corinthians 12:26 “When one suffers, we all suffer.”

Proverbs 14:13 “Even in laughter, the heart sorrows.” And we know that this is true.

Number 1. He suffered through persecution. The king was against him, the priests were against him, and the whole town was against him. Even his own friends were against him. (v10). The people banished him from the temple when he turned up to minister. They even found an old disused well and dropped him down.

You may not ever experience that kind of persecution, but maybe right now you’re having a tough time at work. There may be problems relating to fellow workers, and you may feel like an outsider, so you can in some way identify with Jeremiah.

Number 2. He suffered through loneliness. Jeremiah 15:17 “I sat alone.” And some of you can say that. You may be in a loving and supportive fellowship, but there are times when you go home to an empty house, and you can identify with Jeremiah when he says “I sat alone.”

So, Jeremiah challenged God. He asked him honest questions: “Lord, why do You deceive me?” (Jer 15:18). “You’ve deceived me, Lord.” (Jer 20:70). Of course God hadn’t deceived him, but that is what it felt like to Jeremiah. God had never made promises to Jeremiah that He wouldn’t and couldn’t keep, and we know that most of God’s promises are not to get us out of a difficult situation, but to be with us as we are experiencing these difficult situations. But Jeremiah was feeling so low that it was affecting his perception of God.

Jeremiah had no idea that people at Drury Presbyterian Church in 2023 would be reading his personal diary. God said, “I want it written down so that people can identify with you.” Because it’s there, people can know that it’s okay to express their hurt, and be honest with God.

Jeremiah’s New Testament counterpart. Isaiah 53 calls Jesus “the Man of sorrows.”

  1. He faced the agony of anticipation. He had a cup before Him that He knew He must drink. He knew that He would be experiencing intense physical pain. He had the agony of the anticipation of spiritual pain, of feeling separated from God. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
  2. He was experiencing the agony of loneliness. He says to Peter, James and John, “Stay here with Me, and keep watch with Me.” But what do they do? They fall asleep (Matthew 26:40).
  3. Jesus prays that supreme prayer in Matthew 26:42 “Lord, not my will, but Yours be done.” Your will is always best, Lord. It’s not easy to understand. The Lord’s Prayer: “Thy will be done.” It is not fatalism. It can be a joyful submission to Someone so much more wonderful than we are.

Number 4. What is the relationship between His Gethsemane and mine? We all have our “Gethsemanes.” Jesus identifies with us in our sorrow and suffering. We say, “Lord, do You know what I’m going through?” And Jesus says, “Yes, I know exactly what you’re going through. I know it is tough- it is terribly tough, but I have been through sorrow and suffering in My Gethsemane. I’ll take your hand and we’ll walk through this together.”

3 verses from Jeremiah. Jeremiah asks in chapter 8 verse 22: “Is there no balm in Gilead?” Yes, Jeremiah, there is a balm. There is healing. There is healing because of what Jesus has done for us at Calvary. Song of Solomon1:3 “His Name is as ointment poured forth.”

Jeremiah 20:13 “Sing to the Lord.

Give praise to the Lord.” Despite all that he was going through, Jeremiah still praised God.

Jeremiah 31:3 His love is unconditional. We don’t have to earn it. Today, be assured that He is right beside you telling you, “I’ll never, ever, ever let you go. I’ll walk beside you in that valley, and I’ll be with you step by step.”