03/15/2023
Although we know Jesus for His love and mercy, and are overcome by the thought of His suffering and death for us, there was a time in which He was preparing to do battle with the sins of the world, and at that time even His disciples were amazed and afraid. At that moment Jesus was like us... struggling with a determination to defeat sin.
“And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,”
Mark 10:32 ESV
When Jesus faced the sins of mankind he became stern and determined to defeat them. He spoke of His coming struggle with His disciples and had an air about Him that was different from what He had shown them before. He frightened them, but at the same time His strength and demeanor amazed them.
When we are living in sin, we are with them as if they were friends, but when we are preparing to remove ourselves from them, and receive Jesus as our Lord and Savior we struggle against them, and then, as we draw closer to Christ, we become resolute in overcoming those sins. We tell those we love what we are preparing to do, and finally accept Jesus as our savior, and redeemer. We are following a pattern similar to that of Jesus, but the sins of the world came on Him suddenly and all at once... we couldn't possibly face such an onslaught, but for our part, the sins we face seem just as daunting to us.
When we face our own sins at our conversion, we too take on an air of dread mixed with determination for victory. We become serious in our demeanor as the moment approaches, and if it weren't for the love and the knowledge that God is with us, we would feel fear. Jesus felt these things just as we do, His humanity was every bit as dependent on the power of God for strength as ours is.
There is a phrase used in the Bible that describes how Jesus must have looked to His disciple that day. This saying comes from Isaiah chapter fifty, which is a most incredible description of the suffering of Jesus. Verse seven reads this way...
“For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
Isaiah 50:7 KJV
Setting ones face like a flint. This is a bold description that describes a sharp, gleaming, but stern look; it is hard and unbending... it draws on the image of a knife, arrowhead, or axe that is formed for the task of cutting and severing meat from bone, or hewing wood, and it will not yield.
Yes, the apostles saw a different man walking before them. In this moment Jesus was unlike the teacher He had been, and in this moment He was unlike the man who would wash their feet, serve the first communion, or join them on the road to Emmaus. This was Jesus who was preparing Himself to suffer, die, defeat sin, and rise from the grave. This was Jesus who was preparing to face the sorrows and atrocities of the world and use His body as an ointment to cure and soothe those who had committed them.
This determination and resolve to defeat sin that was finalized in the Garden of Gethsemane is often called "the discipline of dismay." Oswald Chambers wrote of it in these way...
"The discipline of dismay is essential in the life of discipleship. The danger is to get back to a little fire of our own and kindle enthusiasm at it (cf. Isaiah 1:10-11). When the darkness of dismay comes, endure until it is over, because out of it will come that following of Jesus which is unmistakable joy." - Oswald Chambers
We too undergo this discipline of dismay; that time when we struggle to reach the resolve needed to let go of our sins, and grasp firmly to our faith in Jesus Christ... or later, after conversion, to let go of the life we know and answer a calling that takes us out of our comfort zone. In that time we too will be required to set our faces like flint and walk by ourselves before those we know and love... quietly seeking God and perhaps asking Him to "take this cup from me." Are there those among us who are facing this darkness today? Are there those we realize are there at this moment and need our prayers? Do we remember the moment when we suffered in this way and called on the Lord for strength? Do we remember the angel that appeared to help us?
“And there appeared to him an angel from heaven, strengthening him.”
Luke 22:43 ESV
Prayer:
Father, comfort me as I undergo the discipline of dismay, and give me the courage and resolve of Jesus as I walk on in your will. Give me the faith to drink from the cup when you place it before me. Lord, we are approaching Easter, and what better time to consider these things and the example of faith that your Son presents to us. We thank you father for the suffering He underwent because we realize the joy that followed as His fire was rekindled, and He joined you once again. We wish to feel that joy Father, and although we too walk in life and will suffer, we hold fast to your promise of eternity and joy with you. As we walk alone before the rest of the world, dealing with our dismay, we know that you are with us and revealing to us your will for our coming days... let our stride be sure, and our faces set as flint in our resolve to serve you then, and forevermore.
Rich Forbes