It is a wonder that God’s salvation in Christ is not ONLY tied to the eternal and complete redemption of souls, but also the specific road Christ traveled down in the purchasing of those souls. Namely, it was a road consisting of betrayal, rejection and suffering. The gospel records indicate that he was utterly ridiculed and/or rejected by the overwhelming majority of those he ministered to; he was betrayed by being sold out to his enemies by a close companion, and finally when he was in the most danger, he was completely abandoned by his dearest friends. This was prophesied in Is. 53—3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him…7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted…8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away…
Our responses to the truths of these verses must not ONLY consist of feelings of sorrow that Jesus had to endure such things, coupled with gratefulness that he did—although those are good responses. We should ALSO obtain great confidence that Jesus can sympathize with our great struggle and provide powerful assistance to us when we are rejected by those close to us for the sake of Christ.
There is another way to gain confidence from Christ’s life of rejection and suffering, and that is realizing that God was just as sovereign and his plan was equally being carried out in the rejection of Christ as much as in the salvific benefits secured by Christ. In other words, God ordained not only the END of what Christ accomplished in the salvation of sinners, but also the MEANS of how it took place. Without adopting these convictions, the road we must walk down as Christians will be unbearable and the temptation to compromise will be more than we can handle.