Guest Editorial: Raul Moreno – Evangelist
“It was the third hour when they crucified Him… At the sixth hour darkness came over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour… with a loud cry, Jesus breathed His last.” (Mark 15:25, 33-34)
Our Lord Jesus Christ hung on the cross for approximately six hours. It is shocking to see how much pain our Savior suffered. Previous to Golgotha, Jesus was scourged, beaten, mocked, spat upon, betrayed by His disciples, as well as having nails driven through His wrists and feet, that literally began to rip the life away from Him. After these inhumane trials came those six long hours of horrific and hideous pain. Beyond this intense pain, “He bore the sins [of the whole world] in His body.” (1 Peter 2:24) The emotional, physical and spiritual pains were crushing for our Lord. This begs the question, “How did Jesus handle pain?” Interestingly on the cross, Jesus uttered seven short phrases that the Holy Spirit records for us. If we examine these words that came out of His heart, we will learn from His example how to deal with pain. I say this because in my time as a Christian, almost all the disciples that I have seen fall away do so because they did not handle pain like Jesus did. Also, of equal concern are “hurting disciples.” Because they did not follow our Lord’s example in handling pain, “hurting disciples” remain in the church – in a weakened or lukewarm state – often critical of other disciples, especially leadership. Thankfully, none of us will ever have to go through all of Jesus’ pains. Yet, because Jesus endured the maximum of all forms of pain, He became our perfect example and “the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him.” (Hebrews 5:8) (more…)
