For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:2
In calling the Hebraic Christians to stay faithful and endure hardship, the Hebrews writer points out that Jesus was able to endure the hardship of the cross – not just the pain, but the shame and the agonizing separation from the Father – by focusing instead on the joy before him.
What was that joy? Our redemption. You and I being restored into the relationship with God we were created to have. What got Jesus through it all was that the end result of all that he did and suffered was each of us being made spiritually alive again!
We can get a glimpse of what the height of that joy by examining another emotion God displays – the grief and despair of a relationship of love that’s been lost. Our first encounter with God’s feelings about His broken relationship with mankind is found in Genesis 6.
The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The LORD regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the LORD said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them. ” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.
Genesis 6:5-8
God’s trouble is not one simply of “moral judgment” but is one of a broken heart that has been rejected. We see this even more clearly later in His response to yet another rejection by his people Israel.
During the reign of King Josiah, the LORD said to me, “Have you seen what faithless Israel has done? She has gone up on every high hill and under every spreading tree and has committed adultery there. I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me but she did not, and her unfaithful sister Judah saw it.”
Jeremiah 3:6-7
God communicates his heartbreak to the prophet Jeremiah in terms of a rejected spouse who has betrayed him for someone else. When I read that God says, “I thought that after she had done all this she would return to me…” I hear the pain in his voice and I get a glimpse at his utter heart break over his lost love. Unfortunately, this is a story repeated over and over again throughout history, as God’s people reject him over and over again for other gods.
Jesus’ Joy
Two parables told back-to-back in the Gospel of Luke illustrate the joy God has when we (lost sinners) return to him.
Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Doesn’t she light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, ‘Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.’ In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.”
Luke 15:8-10
But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.”
Luke 15:22-24
The story of the woman who found her lost coin mentions the joy in heaven when someone repents. The father in the story of the prodigal son illustrates God’s heart of celebration when we return to him. The bible speaks of no greater joy!
One Sinner Who Repents
I skipped ahead in Hebrews to this passage because today is a day of joy. Lovina Eze has decided to follow Jesus and make him Lord of her life. Praise God! There is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God! God’s pain over their separation is turned to joy as she is reunited with the God who loves her and created her! THIS is the joy set before Jesus. Thank you, Jesus, for enduring and inspiring us to endure too!
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