Introduction
If you had any doubt that Jesus suffered for you after yesterday’s study, today’s might hit you hard. In Psalms, we get a glimpse into Jesus’ relationship with His brothers and His community. The picture is a sad one. It shows what life was like for Jesus on a daily basis. Take a moment to pray before you read God’s Word.
Reading [You can read as much as you can, depending on your availability]
Matthew 13:55
Mark 6:3
Psalms 69:7-12
Meditating [Use these questions to start your thinking]
- Many feel that the Messianic Psalms 69, especially verses 7-12, speak of Christ’s growing up years. If this is true, what do they tell us about Jesus’ early years?
- Why would Jesus feel like a stranger and an alien to His brothers (Psa. 69:8)?
- Where did Jesus get the strength to endure the suffering? What do you think Jesus was learning from the suffering (Heb. 5:8)?
- What other questions do you still have?
Sharing: Text ONE of your answers to the questions above to your team. Each team should post a sharing from a team member in the comments below.
Let me begin today by answering the question, “So, how do you know that this Psalm is a passage about Jesus?” Good question. Grab your Bible and go to John 2:17. In this passage, Jesus is ripping through the temple, defending the honour of His Father’s name. Jesus is really mad! When the disciples see Jesus’ reaction to the inconsiderate way the temple is being treated, a light bulb goes on in their heads and they have a flashback to when they were little Jewish boys sitting at the feet of the scribes. This is what they learned then: “‘zeal for your house consumes me.’” Do you remember reading these words? Go back and check out Psalms 69:9. This is one of the ways we know this to be a Messianic passage.
I am not sure what struck you most as you read about these years in Nazareth for Jesus but some of the things that grabbed my heart were that:
Oh, how it must have hurt Jesus to listen to the drunks of His town make fun of Him. And I wonder what the elders at the city gates were saying about Jesus? I imagine they were deciding whose turn it was to talk to Joseph about Jesus’ crazy behaviour. After all, it does say that Jesus wept, fasted and put on sackcloth. Those are all things Old Testament prophets did when there was sin in Israel. I imagine Jesus might have been walking through town crying over the sin of His people and begging God for mercy on them. Maybe He was even asking His Father to forgive them because they didn’t know the mistakes that they were making.
One thing is very clear: Jesus suffered His whole life for you and me. He did not suffer only during the last few hours of His life, but His whole life. “He was … a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering” (Isa. 53:3). Sit there for a second and let that sink in. Our salvation came at no small price. I have not chosen these verses lightly and in no way do I want to paint a picture of Jesus’ growing-up years being completely rotten. Jesus had parents that loved Him, although at times I am sure that Jesus was a puzzle to deal with. Can you imagine having a perfect kid who never sinned? That alone would drive a parent crazy. When people sin around us, it causes us to feel better about our own sin. Not Jesus — He never sinned, He always obeyed and He was always good. All the suffering Jesus faced was undeserved, whereas most of the suffering you and I do is well deserved. Isaiah 53 and Psalms 69 were given to us not to make us to think less of Jesus, but to help us appreciate the sacrifice He made to come and live among us.