A Deeper Look at His 'Passion'

"... to whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs..."

--Acts 1:3

The only place in the King James Bible where the word "passion" is used, it translates the Greek word, "pentho", which is defined as an 'extremely painful experience'.  Most translations, i.e., the "New King James Version" use the word 'suffering' instead of 'passion'.  Luke, the writer of the Book of "Acts", as inspired by the Holy Spirit, found it necessary to refer to the suffering of Jesus (not merely His death) as the event that lends proof to the resurrection.  In other words, the 'many infallible proofs', such as the fact that He was seen by over 500 on one occasion (1 Cor. 15:6); He ate with His disciples; the scars of His wounded hands and side were physically touched, etc., would not have been proof had He not really died.  And it was more than the cessation of vital signs, or even the appearance of blood and water from His spear-pierced side that proved to the witnesses of His crucifixion that He was truly dead...  It was the incredible suffering that no human could possibly survive.

This indescribable suffering was what made a believer out of the Roman Centurion (Luke 23:47).  It was pain that could only be inflicted by God Himself (Isaiah 53:4,10), as He punished His only begotten Son in your place, and mine---a punishment so terrible, it disfigured His physical appearance 'more than any man' (Isaiah 52:14) and the witnesses turned their faces from Him.  They turned their faces from Him, though, refusing to look at His suffering, before it had gotten to the really bad part... God, the Father, in His love for His Son and in respect for His willingness to endure such an experience, obscured the worst part of this terrible scene by darkening 'all the earth' for three hours (Luke 23:44)... This was no thunder storm, solar eclipse, or any other such natural occurrence---'all the earth' was darkened.  Only the sounds of Jesus' painful cries pierced the darkness... "My God, My God..  Why have You forsaken me?"

 

Today, people (even Christians) turn their faces from the sufferings of Jesus and refuse to see and understand the incredible price, paid for their salvation.  A severe lack of understanding was evidenced in the popularity of Mel Gibson's movie, "The Passion" and its portrayal of the mental and emotional suffering of Jesus.  The movie opens with Jesus in Gethsemane, praying in agony, sweating blood, over the anticipation of that which men were about to inflict upon Him.  May I submit, however, that nothing any man or group of men could do, in the way of torture or physical abuse (or the anticipation thereof) could have caused Jesus Christ to fear, tremble, and sweat blood.  Real men have laughed in the face of worse, and no one can convince me that Jesus was not a 'real man'.

The 'cup' He so agonized over---the 'cup of suffering and death' of which He was about to drink, had absolutely nothing to do with what any man was going to accomplish by acting out the human part of His painful experience...  As bad as it was---and I do not make light of it---it did not compare with the wrath you and I deserved, which Jesus willingly suffered for us.  The suffering of Jesus---the suffering, that is, of His soul---that which would ultimately so disfigure His appearance as He hung on the cross, began days before Calvary, as described in the Gospel of John...

"Now my soul is troubled, and what shall I say? 'Father, save Me from this hour'? But for this purpose I came to this hour.

Father, glorify Your name...

Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out.

And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.

This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

--John 12:27-28, 31-33

That which troubled the very 'soul' of Jesus did not have to do with the pending punishment of men, but it had to do with the fact that He was about to be joined with the sinful state of mankind and for the first and only time in eternity, be literally 'cut off' from the Father---forsaken by Him---and suffer the outpouring of His wrath on the sinfulness of man.  When He said, "If I am lifted up from the earth", He was NOT referring to being 'lifted up' in praise, as many today have thought... He was referring to being 'lifted up' on the cross.  And as He explained to Nicodemus (John 3:14-15), if salvation was to be made available to believers, He must be 'lifted up' as 'the serpent', as prophetically indicated by God's instructions to Moses in the wilderness (Numbers 21).  The 'suffering' that bought our salvation was not physical, it was spiritual...

"He shall see the labor ['travail' - KJV] of His SOUL, and be satisfied.  By His knowledge 'My righteous Servant shall justify many, FOR HE SHALL BEAR THEIR INIQUITIES" 

--Isaiah 53:11

The suffering 'of His Soul' (not body) was brought about by the fact that 'He bore our iniquities'.  Paul, in the New Testament, says it this way...

"For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him"

--2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus, who 'knew no sin'---never committed any act of sin or disobedience to the Father---as He was 'lifted up' on the cross, drew all of mankind to Himself, becoming one with our sin.  And as He became 'the serpent' (the symbol of sin--not Satan)---as He became one with the sinfulness of mankind---He began for the only time in eternity to suffer separation from His Father, and receive the most severe outpouring of wrath that would ever take place---that which you and I deserved.

  

It is this Biblical portrayal of His 'passion', not the Hollywood version, we need to turn back to, praying earnestly for vision and understanding of the awesome price, paid for such a wonderful salvation.  The greatest revival---the greatest outpouring of the Spirit and grace of God---happened on and following the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2), when the full remnant of true Israel (by the thousands), as well as the first multitudes of Gentiles, began to be saved and filled with the Holy Ghost.  This was prophesied by the prophets of old, including Zechariah.  But it was part of Zechariah's prophecy which revealed that it was actually the suffering of Jesus, witnessed by those who watched His crucifixion and told of it, that brought about such a great repentance, especially on the part of the Jews...

"And I will pour on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and supplication; then they will look on Me whom they pierced.  Yes, they will mourn for Him as one mourns for his only son, and grieve for Him as one grieves for a firstborn...

In that day a fountain shall be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for sin and for uncleanness"

--Zechariah 12:10, 13:1

Zechariah's prophecy was fulfilled, according to the gospel of John, beginning when Jesus was actually hanging on the cross...

"For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, 'Not one of His bones shall be broken.' And again another Scripture says, 'They shall look on Him whom they pierced."

--John 19:36-37

If the view and revealed understanding of the suffering of Jesus (His 'passion') initially brought about such a great awakening---doesn't it stand to reason, that if we can just come back to the Word, seriously revisit that revelation, and allow the Holy Spirit to renew our understanding; then true revival can happen again?

Please let me encourage you, not to 'turn your face away' any longer from this most important truth concerning His suffering, but allow the Holy Spirit to give you such a graphic picture of it that you will, as the Scripture says...

"... be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height---to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

--Ephesians 3:18-19