Of all these, the name which grabs our attention as we prepare for another memorial weekend, remembering both the death and resurrection of Christ, is this one, Jesus is a "Man of Sorrows."

Nearly 150 years ago, the great songwriter Philip Bliss gave us these lyrics:

Man of sorrows, what a name, for the Son of God, who came, ruined sinners to reclaim.

Bearing shame and scoffing rude, in my place condemned He stood, sealed my pardon with His blood!

Guilty, helpless, lost were we, spotless Lamb of God was He, full atonement - can it be?

Lifted up was He to die, "It is finished!" was His cry, now in heaven exalted high.

When He comes, our glorious King, all His ransomed home to bring, then anew this song we'll sing - Alleluia! What a Savior!

The name for Jesus we're considering is from Isaiah 53:3 where the Messiah was predicted to be, "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."

The word for sorrow here comes from the Hebrew word "mak-obe'" which means "affliction, grief, pain, sorrow." It is from a primitive root which properly means, "to feel pain." To say that Jesus was acquainted, or familiar with grief, is to say that He came to know suffering by experience, it means that He was fully human.

During His lifetime and ministry, Jesus suffered many times and in many ways.

As an infant, Jesus, along with His family, became a refugee when Herod's threats required that they take flight to Egypt.

How much this reminds me of Deogratius Rubera and his wife who fled for their lives when the horrendous conflict broke out in Rwanda in 1994 he was a Tutsi, she a Hutu. From village to village they ran, hoping to find safety. She was 9 months pregnant and gave birth to her first child in a strange village where the only medical clinic had already been destroyed in the conflict. A Christian woman helped her to give birth, and she and her husband immediately ran again until they crossed the border - they have never been back to their homeland.

Perhaps people like these can take comfort knowing that Jesus is acquainted with the grief of the refugee.

Jesus also suffered from poverty.

His father Joseph, out of fear, was forced to bring up his adopted son in the substandard and discriminated Galilean town of Nazareth, of which it was later said, "Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?" Yes, technically this question had to do with the expected origin of Messiah according to Jewish prophecy, but it is also well known that the people of Judea looked down the people of impoverished Galilee. Furthermore, Jesus later would say to a would-be follower, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."

Perhaps those in our world who are poor and discriminated against can take comfort knowing that Jesus was acquainted with life lived in poverty and discrimination.

To the best of our knowledge, Jesus was also partially orphaned due to the early death of His earthly, adoptive father.

It is commonly believed that Joseph died when Jesus was a young teen, at least we know that he was not alive to take care of Mary, and that's why at Calvary, Jesus delegated John to be a surrogate son to care for Jesus' mother.

Perhaps those who are no longer cared for by birth parents can take comfort knowing that Jesus is acquainted with the sorrow of abandonment.

We also know that the suffering experienced by the very human Jesus did not come as a surprise to Him.

Several times He had said to His disciples something like, "the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law." (Mark 8:31) He takes to himself the title "Son of Man" in order to reinforce this understanding that He was every bit a man, a human, not a god dressed up like one.

Just before the Last Supper in the Upper Room, Jesus said, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luke 22:15)

Again, after His resurrection, preparing His disciples for their mission, Jesus said, "This is what is written, the Christ will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (Luke 24:46)

Not only that, His Apostles understood the reality, and the importance of this suffering. Peter preached it: "But this is how God fulfilled what he had foretold through all the prophets, saying that his Christ would suffer." (Acts 3:18)

And Paul, witnessing before King Agrippa said, "I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen - that the Christ would suffer." (Acts 26:22,23)

Then also please notice that the suffering Jesus endured during the closing day of His life included all kinds: physical, emotional and spiritual pain.

The physical pain included such things as:

Being hit with fists and slapped in the face (Matthew 26:67), once even in front of the High Priest (John 18:22).

His hands were bound, (Matthew 27:2) and He was "flogged" or "scourged" (Matthew 27:26) which consisted of 39 stripes, a lash of 3 thongs administered 13 times.

A victor's wreath was made, but not of leaves and flowers but of thorns, and pressed into His scalp (Matthew 27:29), and

His head was beaten repeatedly with a staff (Matthew 27:30).

He obviously suffered from extreme weakness so that He was not able to carry the cross-bar (John 19:17 - Mark 15:21).

We all know about the crude metal nails driven through His wrists and ankles to fasten his body to the cross (John 20:25), and finally,

To ensure He really was dead, a spear was thrust into His side (John 19:34) - although with this attack He did not feel pain because He was now dead. However, the blood and water flowing out would indicate extreme pressure around the heart, leading us to say, "He died of a broken heart."

This brings us to note the multiple forms of emotional suffering also experienced by the "Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief."

The first indication of such suffering was during what we call the Garden Prayer when Jesus cried, "my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow" (Matthew 26:38).

Luke, the doctor, reports that the stress of the moment was so great that Jesus "sweat drops of blood" (Luke 22:44).

That was soon followed by the disappointment He felt when He returned to His disciples only to find them sleeping instead of supporting Him in prayer (Mark 14:37).

But that disappointment paled in comparison with the feelings of being betrayed, denied, and abandoned by His closest friends and supporters (Mark 14:50).

Soon after, Jesus experienced being despised and rejected by the most highly respected religious leaders of His day. Later, looking back on this, John would write, "He came unto His own, and His own received Him not." (John 1:11)

He felt the pain of being unfairly judged (Luke 23:14,15) and publicly mocked and humiliated; the soldiers made sport by striking Jesus while blindfolded, and then asking "who hit you?" (Mark 14:65)

In addition, the soldiers knelt before Him with the pretense of hailing Him as king (Matthew 27:29).

Jesus was further insulted by being spit in the face (Matthew 26:67; Matthew 27:30), and

On Golgotha's hill, passers-by taunted Him with such words as "save yourself," "let God rescue Him if He is truly the Son of God" (Matthew 27:39, 40-43) - even the robbers joined the jeering crowd (Matthew 27:44).

And certainly another form of emotional pain endured was when Jesus looked down from the cross, and there saw the grief of His own mother (John 19:26).

Then lastly, there was the spiritual suffering.

Never having sinned (Hebrews 4:15), is it any wonder that Jesus would question the will of God when He realized that He must carry, and die for, the sins of the world?

And what greater pain could there be than realizing that God apparently had turned His back on His Only Begotten Son, causing Jesus to cry out with the greatest agony, "Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46)

With all this, is it any wonder we would focus on this particular name ascribed to Jesus? "A Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief"? Jesus never experienced the joys of marriage or the pleasures of being a father. He never realized the comforts of His own home and the kind attentions of friends and neighbors. Jesus was "A Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief." He lived alone, and even worse, He died alone. Jesus was "A Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief."

Yes it does bring comfort knowing that He, the very Son of God was not exempted from the suffering experienced by all mankind. Whether our pain and suffering is physical, emotional or spiritual, we can know that He knows, for "He's been there, done that."

It may also remove some of the hesitancy we at times have about praying, for now we know that He knows, and has true empathy - certainly we don't have to go through any other "more human" mediator such as His earthly mother or deceased men and women we have judged to be Saints.

Knowing this "Man of Sorrows," it also may reduce our tendency to moan, "Why me?" If He so suffered, and His pain was, by far, worse than any we might experience, then why would we expect to be exempt? or why would we compare ourselves with the people around us instead of comparing ourselves with Him?

Furthermore, fully realizing His great suffering may help us get away from the inclination to believe that our own suffering must be a form of punishment, for what sin had He committed to deserve such?

So this week as we memorialize Jesus in this great annual celebration of His Passion and Resurrection, let's be sure to remember Him as the "Man of Sorrows, acquainted with grief."

1. What are some of the names and titles you can think of which refer to Jesus? List as many as possible on the newsprint.

2. Of all these, why would we choose "Man of Sorrows" as being most appropriate for the week approaching Easter?

3. What are some of the special features concerning the prophecies given 700 years before Christ in Isaiah 53?

4. How did Jesus know about pain? By reading medical journals? Interviewing people He healed? Simply because He was God and knows everything? Or how?

5. Prior to the events surrounding the crucifixion, what are some of the ways Jesus may have experienced suffering, even as a young person?

6. Why should His disciples not have been surprised by the suffering endured by Jesus?

7. List some of the ways Jesus suffered physically during the time leading up to and including the crucifixion.

8. During this same time, what are some of the ways He suffered emotionally?

9. What may have been some ways Jesus suffered spiritually?

10. How does it help us knowing that Jesus suffered in all these ways?

11. What is the problem with the practice of praying to the earthly mother of Jesus or those we have named "saints"?

12. How does understanding Jesus as the Man of Sorrows help reduce the "Why Me?" syndrome?

13. Why do you think it is that so many people, in times of suffering, assume it must be some form of punishment, and how does the story of Jesus mitigate against such a belief?