2. THE LIFELONG SEVERE, CRUEL, AND BRUTAL BRUISING OF JESUS AT NAZARETH.

Many Christians have limited the sufferings of Jesus to the last few hours of His life, however, this is very far from the truth. The Scriptures reveal that Jesus suffered a lifetime of great hardships, opposition, suffering, and spiritual conflict. The anticipation of this suffering occurred before the foundation of the world. Titus.1v2. Rev.13v8. The following beautiful hymn by C. A. Tydeman expresses the fearful cost of our salvation, and the eternal commitment and dedication of Jesus to our salvation.

1. I have a friend whose faithful love
Is more than all the world to me,
'Tis higher than the heights above,
And deeper than the soundless sea:
So old, so new, so strong, so true;
Before the earth received its frame,
He loved me-Blessed be His name!

2. He held the highest place above,
Adored by all the sons of flame,
Yet, such His self-denying love,
He laid aside His crown and came
To seek the lost, and, at the cost
Of heavenly rank and earthly fame,
He sought me-Blessed be His name!

3. It was a lonely path He trod,
From every human soul apart,
Known only to Himself and God
Was all the grief that filled His heart:
Yet from the track He turned not back
Till where I lay in want and shame
He found me-Blessed be His Name!

4. Then dawned at last that day of dread
When desolated but undismayed,
With wearied frame and thorn-crowned head
He, now forsaken and betrayed,
Went up for me to Calvary, And dying there in grief and shame
He saved me-Blessed be His name!

5. Long as I live my song shall tell
The wonders of His matchless love:
And when at last I rise to dwell
In the bright home prepared above,
My joy shall be His face to see,
And bowing then with loud acclaim,
I'll praise Him- Blessed be His name!

Only God the Father, the Holy Spirit, and Jesus, can fully know the terrible trials, heartbreak, and anguish that Jesus has endured for us. The great and good angels stand amazed at the sufferings and totally sacrificial divine love of Jesus for us, but even they cannot fully comprehend the sufferings that the Trinity have endured for us. My aim in this study is to be illuminating, not controversial, and to bring fellow Christians face to face with our wonderful Lord, by seeing what He has endured for us. The realisation of the sufferings of the Trinity for us, will give us a true realisation of the value that they put on us.

N.B. 1. Jesus experienced dreadful and relentless conflict and bruising all of His life.

The Church has largely confined the sufferings of Jesus to the last few days and hours of His life, and has completely failed to see the tremendous conflicts, bruising and pain He had to endure in His daily life at Nazareth and His ministry. This is revealed by Isa.53v11., "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities." (KJV) However, this verse means much more than is conveyed by King James Version.

Today's English Version gives a very enlightening translation of Isa.53v11., it reads. "After a life of suffering, He will again have joy; He will know that he did not suffer in vain. My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased, will bear the punishment of many and for His sake I will forgive them." End of quote.

In Is.53v11., "He shall see of the travail of His soul," "travail," "amal" 5999," does not refer to travail in childbirth, but to the drudgery, hard labour and tough grind of a worker, which produces exhaustion, sorrow, grief, and trouble. The salvation of all those who believed in Him was going to make all this drudgery and hardship worthwhile. Hebrew for "shall be satisfied," "saba" 7646, means, to be saturated; to be abundantly satisfied and full. The foundations of the eternal kingdom of God are built on the impregnable and indestructible foundation of the amazing sacrificial love of Jesus. In Heb.12v2., "the joy that was set before Him," was the joy of redeeming us and making us partakers of the kingdom of Heaven, just as Paul says that getting His converts into heaven was His joy and crown. Paul states in 2Cor.1v14., "As also you have acknowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, even as you also are ours in the day of the Lord Jesus. Paul repeats this again in 1Thes.2v19,20., "For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming? v20. For you are our glory and joy." And yet again in Phil.4v1. "Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved."

So we see that the word translated in Is.53v11. as "travail," "amal" 5999, speaks of a lifetime of arduous and exhausting labour and toil, which produces sorrow, grief, trouble and trials. It is a dark word that speaks of burdensome and protracted toil, a life of toil, trials and trouble, not a short period of trials, problems and difficulties. Jesus was badly bruised throughout all His life. A lifelong trial of unrelenting bruising and hurt.

Barnes writes about, "bruised," "daka," in Is.53v5.. "The word used here, "daka" 1792, means properly to be broken to pieces, to be bruised, to be crushed. Job.6v9. Ps.72v4. Applied to mind, it means to break down or crush by calamities and trials; and by the use of the word here, no doubt, the most severe inward and outward sufferings are designated. The Septuagint renders it, "memalakista]," `He was rendered languid,' or feeble. The same idea occurs in the Syriac translation. The meaning is, that he was under such a weight of sorrows on account of our sins, that he was, as it were, crushed to the earth." End of quote.

N.B. 2. Christ's continual bruising fights of faith, and His victories of faith at Nazareth.

The bruising conflicts Jesus experienced at Nazareth through Satan inspired people.

In Psalm.69v7-21., we have a amazing prophetic insight into Christ's life at Nazareth. The Amplified Bible translation is most enlightening. v7. Because for Your sake I have borne taunt and reproach; confusion and shame have covered my face. v8. I have become a stranger to my brethren, and an alien to my mother's children. [Jn.7v3-5.] v9. For zeal for Your house has eaten me up, and the reproaches and insults of those who reproach and insult You have fallen upon me. [Jn.2v17. Rom.15v3.] v10. When I wept and humbled myself with fasting, I was jeered at and humiliated; v11. When I made sackcloth my clothing, I became a byword (an object of scorn) to them. v12. They who sit in [the city's] gate talk about me, and I am the song of the drunkards. v13. But as for me, my prayer is to You, O Lord. At an acceptable and opportune time, O God, in the multitude of Your mercy and the abundance of Your loving-kindness hear me, and in the truth and faithfulness of Your salvation answer me. v14. Rescue me out of the mire, and let me not sink; let me be delivered from those who hate me and from out of the deep waters. v15. Let not the floodwaters overflow and overwhelm me, neither let the deep swallow me up nor the [dug] pit [with water perhaps in the bottom] close its mouth over me. v16. Hear and answer me, O Lord, for Your loving-kindness is sweet and comforting; according to Your plenteous tender mercy and steadfast love turn to me. v17. Hide not Your face from Your servant, for I am in distress; O answer me speedily! v18. Draw close to me and redeem me; ransom and set me free because of my enemies [lest they glory in my prolonged distress]! v19. You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonour; my adversaries are all before You [fully known to You]. v20. Insults and reproach have broken my heart; I am full of heaviness and I am distressingly sick. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none. v21. They gave me also gall [poisonous and bitter] for my food, and in my thirst they gave me vinegar (a soured wine) to drink. [Matt.27v34,48.]

1. Jesus experienced great rejection, and an heartbreaking fight of faith in His home.

a. Jesus experienced some good early years with His family, then things went badly wrong.

We read in Lk.2v39,40. v39. "So when they had performed all things according to the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own city, Nazareth. v40. And the Child grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him." NKJV. Then after Christ's visit to the temple at twelve we read in Lk.2v49-52., v49. "And He said to them, "Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father's business?" v50. But they did not understand the statement, which He spoke to them. v51. Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. v52. And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and men." NKJV.

The fact that Mary kept these things hidden away in her heart speaks volumes, the reason becomes obvious when we read and study the Scriptures. The favour Jesus had with people seemed to dissipate quickly, both among His family, and among most of the people in Nazareth, for like people elsewhere, they loved darkness more than light, because their deeds were evil. Jn.3v19. The light of the world exposed their sinful darkness by His godly, unselfish actions, and life of love and prayer. We know that Jesus did not preach to the people of Nazareth until His first sermon there, which resulted in them trying to kill Him. Jesus and God the Father knew how they would reject anything that Jesus had to say, so God hid the marvellous knowledge of Jesus away, until Jesus started His ministry. Is.49v1,2. Christ's life at Nazareth was not preaching time, but education time for Jesus, in preparation for His ministry, the Cross, and His ministry as our Great High Priest.. Is.50v3-7. The fact that Mary "kept all these things in her heart," shows that she was unable to openly repeat the wonderful things that she had experienced, and reveals the rejection that she and Jesus suffered at Nazareth. Satan certainly succeeded in turning the town against Jesus in a major way.

In spite of all the problems at Nazareth, Jesus "increased in wisdom and stature." "Increased," is "proekopten" the imperfect active of "prokopto" 4298, which means properly, "to cut and beat a passage forward, to drive forward, to advance and make progress," then to grow, to increase. ("Prokopto," is used of Paul's pre-Christian progress in Judaism in Gal.1v14.; of false teachers going forward in evil and to judgement in 2Tim.2v18, and 3v9., of time being far spent in Rom.13v12. Paul warns us in 2Tim.3v13., that evil men will stubbornly beat their way forward, and advance into greater and greater evil and deception.)

In the case of Jesus, the imperfect of "prokopto," informs us that Jesus kept actively and vigorously cutting his way forward, as through a forest or jungle, like the true spiritual pioneer of faith that He was. Jesus resolutely hacked and cut His way through the spiritually dark jungle of Nazareth, and went forward with God His Father. The wonderful child, youth, and man, Christ Jesus, was totally determined to save and bless us. No praise that we can give, is sufficient to thank Him for the terrible trials He faced and overcame for our sakes. He is beyond doubt, truly worthy of all the praise that we can give Him. Jesus also kept growing in stature "helikia," 2244, as in Luke.12v25., and in wisdom, which is far more than knowledge. Jesus matured physically, intellectually, and spiritually, and victoriously overcame the gross spiritual darkness of Nazareth. Blessed be His Name!

b. Jesus was treated like a stranger and alien by His brothers and sisters. Ps.69v7-11. Mt.13v55,56. Mk.6v3. 3v21.

We read in Ps.69v7-11., that because of Christ's holiness and dedicated prayer life, His four brothers, and at least three sisters, were severely hostile to Jesus and despised and rejected Him, and treated Him like a stranger and an alien, and verbally reproached and criticised Him. Mk.3v21. Jn.7v5. We are definitely told that this was because of Christ's dedicated life of fasting and prayer, and holy living, because zeal for God's house and children, had eaten Him up and devoured Him. See Jn.2v13-17. We must remember that no temple had been built when David wrote this psalm, and scholars tell us that the word "house" here can, and does mean the household and family of God. Christ's constraining love for us impelled Jesus forward.

c. We read in Mk.3v21., that Christ's family said that Jesus was insane when He upset the religious hierarchy.

In Mk.3v22. the religious hierarchy said that Jesus was possessed by, and did His works by Beelzebub, and it seems that when His family heard of this, they came to take Him home. The religious leaders may well have instructed them to do this. The four big and strong brothers of Jesus came to lay hold of Jesus, "kratesai" 2902, and compel Him to come home. The words "hoi para autou," mean literally "those from the side of Him," it is undoubtedly referring to the family of Jesus, as it does in the Septuagint, as Mk.3v31. expressly mentions, "His mother and brothers." What a sad day for Jesus when His family thought that He was insane, "exeste" 1839, literally, "beside Himself."

d. We read in Jn.7v5., that His brethren did not believe in Him.

After His resurrection Jesus appeared to James and restored and revolutionised Him, and he became a pillar and leader in the Church, and Jude also recognised the Divine Lordship of Jesus and wrote a short but powerful epistle. James 1v1. Jude.1v1.

2. Jesus was bitterly criticised, and sceptically rejected by most of the people in Nazareth.

Moral, honest and sincere people at Nazareth admired Jesus in His early years, then things went badly wrong.

We read in Lk.2v40,52., that Jesus found favour during His early years at Nazareth with the decent people there, they could not help but appreciate this beautiful, helpful, gracious and loving, and God-blessed boy, then things went badly wrong.

a. We read in Ps 69v12., that the elders who sat in the gate of the town, spoke against Jesus and criticised Him.

We are told five times in Ps.69v7,9,10,12,19,20., that Jesus was taunted, reproached and spoken against, and the Hebrew of verse 20 states that this reproach broke His heart and made Him physically ill. Spiritual conflict through people and evil angels, caused Jesus considerable stress, mental conflict and physical illness. Jesus looked in vain for people who would comfort Him, and take pity on Him, but He could not find anyone who was able to understand His problems and heartache, or prepared to help Him, this was why God sent Moses and Elijah to talk with Him and help Him in the mount of transfiguration. Life at Nazareth was extremely hard for our dear Lord Jesus. Even His good mother Mary was unable to give the kind of sympathy or spiritual help that Jesus needed. We read in Ps.69v20,21., that Jesus did look for people who could help, strengthen, and comfort Him, but no one was in the spiritual condition to do so. The heart of Jesus was broken by the reproach He suffered at Nazareth and during His ministry. Everyone, including the apostolic band, failed to comprehend, or help Jesus, with the great inner pain and suffering that this reproach and rejection caused Him. Mary of Bethany may have partially perceived it, but no one else did.

b. We read in Ps.69v12., that drunkards made up and sang vile and disgusting songs about Jesus.

These drunkards, aided by the Prince of darkness, evidently made up foul, offensive, and evil songs about Christ's birth and Mary's seeming immorality and unfaithfulness. Like the Jewish leaders later on, almost everyone at Nazareth, openly sneered at, and taunted, Jesus about His birth, and said that He was born of fornication. Others whispered against and slandered Jesus behind His back, and said that Joseph had to marry Mary, because she was pregnant before they were married. The Holy Lamb of God patiently endured this false accusation, and violent speaking against Him by sinners. Heb.12v3. They mocked and derided His wonderful and miraculous birth. Christ's brothers and sisters could not stand this pressure, and stood with the critics against Jesus, and refused to believe in Him. This was a very severe trial for Joseph, Mary and Jesus.

We read in Deut.23v2. "One of illegitimate birth shall not enter the congregation of the Lord; even to the tenth generation none of his descendants shall enter the congregation of the Lord."(NKJ). The Living Bible translates Deut.23v2., "A bastard may not enter the sanctuary, nor any of his descendants for ten generations." (TLB). Christ's critics surely used this Scripture to attack Him, for Jesus had to live all His life with the accusation that Israel's religious leaders hurled at Jesus in Jn.4v41., "We be not born of fornication." They pointed the finger at Jesus and accused Him of being the product of fornication, when He said that they were seeking to kill Him, and that the Devil was their father. See John.4v40-44. "Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God."(KJV)

The prohibitions by God laid down in Deut.23v2. shed considerable light on Ps.69v19.

The Amplified Bible's correct translation of the Hebrew text informs us, that the verbal attacks on Jesus made Him physically ill. Ps.69v19,20. "You know my reproach and my shame and my dishonour; my adversaries are all before You [fully known to You]. v20. Insults and reproach have broken my heart; I am full of heaviness and I am distressingly sick. I looked for pity, but there was none, and for comforters, but I found none." (AMP)

c. When Jesus preached His first sermon at Nazareth, the inhabitants of Nazareth tried to kill Him.

We are told in Lk.4v22., that the people of Nazareth marvelled at the beautiful and gracious words that Jesus spoke to them, and then after His sermon, they exploded in a frenzy of murderous rage, and tried to throw Him over a cliff and kill Him. Lk.4v22-30. Jesus knew that the listeners were going to try to kill Him, when He finished His sermon, but He still spoke to them with the utmost kindness, gentleness and grace, "charis" 5485. They were charming, appealing and winsome words, that revealed and conveyed the beautiful, caring, and gentle personality of Jesus, but they rejected both His words and Him, and tried to kill Him. The people of Nazareth said that Jesus was a wonderful carpenter, but they treated Him with contempt and rejected His ministry. Jesus was despised and rejected of men in His own home town, this was an extremely bruising experience.

N.B. The insights that the epistle of James gives us into the life of Jesus at Nazareth.

James was one of the five sons of Mary, the mother of Jesus, and he lived with Jesus for almost 30 years. Mt.13v56. Mk.6v1-6. The bitter rejection of Jesus by the people of Nazareth infected James and Christ's other brothers and sisters. They were appalled when the Rabbis and other leaders tried to kill Jesus, and they felt totally unable to stand with Christ against the hostile and violent opposition that came against Him. However, Jesus revealed Himself to James after His resurrection and the scales dropped from his eyes, and he saw the glory, beauty and majesty of our Lord's life at Nazareth. The epistle of James gives us a priceless insight into the life of Jesus at Nazareth, for the practical wisdom of James is derived from the memories that James had of the life of Jesus. Every Christian who met James undoubtedly asked, "What was Jesus like to live with in the home? What did He teach? Tell us about it." This epistle gives the answer. People listened with bated breath as James told the facts about Christ's patient endurance of trials, His practical caring love for all, particularly widows and orphans, His remarkable wisdom, and how He worked so very hard to provide for Mary's large family after Joseph died. The practical advice that James gives, came out of living with Jesus, and the truths that Jesus not only spoke, but also lived out, during His life at Nazareth.

When in James.1v2,12., James speaks of endurance in trial, and joy in tribulation, he recalls how Jesus overcame the violent hostility at Nazareth with constant enduring love. In James.5v7-12. the patient endurance of Job and Jesus, is set forth as an example for us to follow. In James.2v1-13., the impartial integrity and justice of God and Jesus is revealed. In James.1v17., when James speaks of the invariable goodness of God, he remembers that Jesus was always the same, and had no bad days.

James had seen how the people of Nazareth had been led astray by sinful desires, James.1v13,14., and in sharp contrast had seen the sinless purity of Jesus, who kept Himself unspotted from the world. Jesus was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. Heb.4v15. The temptations of Nazareth were lethal, vicious, and unrelenting, but Jesus conquered them all. James warns us that worldliness will bring God's judgement upon us. We are to keep ourselves unspotted from the world and seek to do the will of God in our daily living, just like Jesus did in His everyday life for 30 years at Nazareth. James.4v1-17.

James learned from Jesus that "faith without works is dead and worthless." James.2v20. We see in James.2v14-26., the practical nature of the faith of Jesus. James saw pure, undefiled, and caring religion manifested in the life of Christ. Jesus met the needs of the poor, widows and orphans, He lived out the sermon on the Mount at Nazareth before He preached it. James.1v22-27. Like Abraham, who is used here as an illustration of faith with works, Jesus proved His faith by His works, and so must we.

James is thinking of Jesus when he speaks of the perfect man who controlled Himself and bridled His tongue. Jesus was totally open and without guile, and free from hypocrisy, He lived out the pure, peaceable, gentle, merciful, and impartial wisdom of God, in spite of the vicious opposition, slander and criticism that was hurled against Him at Nazareth. James.3v1-18. James could not forget this rejection and criticism of Jesus, for he joined in with Christ's critics against Him. Ps.69v7-10. The Scribes accused Jesus of doing miracles by Satan's power, when His family heard of this, they said, "He is mad," and His brothers came to take Him home by force. Mk.3v21-35. Jn.7v5. James and Jude certainly regretted their alliance with the enemies of Christ, for they write with awe about Jesus, and say they are a lowly servant "doulos" 1210, of "the Lord Jesus Christ." James.1v1. Jude.v1.

Christ's scathing criticism of the selfish rich is clearly seen in James.2v1-7. 5v1-6.. James warns the rich against defrauding the labourers of their rightful wages. Jesus certainly did not try to make Himself popular with the rich. Mt.23v1-39. Lk.16v13-15.

In James.5v13-20., James states that prolonged determined praying will bring healing to the sick, and uses Elijah as an example to prove it. "The earnest (heartfelt, continued) prayer of a righteous man avails much." James was also thinking of the matchless prayer life of Jesus, which brought ostracism and criticism from James and Christ's other brothers and sisters. Ps.69v7-10. We see from the parable in Lk.11v9-13., that the desire to get bread for others had been the driving force of our Lord's dedicated prayer life. Jesus had prayed through into complete victory, until everybody was healed, who came to Him for healing. Mt.12v15. 14v14. 15v30. 19v2. 21v14. Lk.5v15. 6v19. We read in Mt.8v16,17., that all healing flows from the atoning death of Jesus. James followed our Lord's example in holy living, he was known as "James the Just." He also tried to imitate our Lord's prayer life, it is reported that he prayed so much on his knees, that his knees became as calloused as a camel's knees.

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