Preventing Abuse: Jesus Was Abused Too
“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” Isaiah 53:3a, 5.
You were abused. Not just once but many times. You were bruised both physically and emotionally. Words cut holes in your heart. Holes that are still there today. The physical bruises may be gone, but the emotional scars run deep. What happened that someone who should have loved you and protected you instead used you in such an awful way?
You see your scars, and you feel like junk. You feel damaged, like a totaled car no one wants to waste time fixing. Your friends don’t have those scars. The people they grew up with would never have thought to lay a finger on them. Instead, they protected them from harm. Your friends don’t understand your pain. They can’t imagine what it could be like.
People tell you to “Just get over it. What is wrong with you? Why do you still hurt?” You feel lonely and wonder, “Doesn’t anyone understand what I went through?”
One man understands you very well. His name is Jesus. Jesus was abused? Really? Yes. Jesus was abused both physically and verbally. He was beaten, whipped, spit at, and nailed to the cross. He didn’t deserve one bit of this. The people knew this but did it to him anyway. They wanted to get rid of him. They needed him dead. So, they abused him. He was mocked and betrayed by a kiss. A kiss by someone who was supposed to be his friend. Imagine how that must have hurt.
But why, if he is God, did Jesus allow himself to be abused? Why didn’t he avoid it all? Jesus endured all this abuse because he loves you. He didn’t want you to be lost forever, so he came and suffered hell for you. He let himself be abused so you can be forgiven.
Jesus knows what it is like to go through what you went through. He knows what it is like to endure abuse. Don’t push him away. Tell him what you went through. He won’t say, “I don’t get it.” He won’t tell you that you are being too sensitive. He won’t tell you to get over it. He knows what it is like and that it will be a long struggle for you. It was hard on him, and he is God. It certainly won’t be easier for you, a mere human. You don’t have almighty powers. Jesus does. Let him into this part of your life so he can come alongside you. Tell him it hurts, and let him say to you, “I know, and I can bring you peace.”
Michelle Markgraf, Freedom for the Captives
