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Unutterable Loneliness
"I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was none with me. Isa. 63:3. Through childhood, youth, and manhood, Jesus walked alone. In His purity and His faithfulness, He trod the winepress alone, and of the people there was none with Him. He carried the awful weight of responsibility for the salvation of men. He knew that unless there was a decided change in the principles and purposes of the human race, all would be lost. This was the burden of His soul, and none could appreciate the weight that rested upon Him.
Throughout His life His mother and His brothers did not comprehend His mission. Even His disciples did not understand Him. He had dwelt in eternal light, as one with God, but His life on earth must be spent in solitude. As one with us, He must bear the burden of our guilt and woe. The Sinless One must feel the shame of sin. The peace lover must dwell with strife, the truth must abide with falsehood, purity with vileness. Every sin, every discord, every defiling lust that transgression had brought, was torture to His spirit.
Alone He must tread the path; alone He must bear the burden. Upon Him who had laid off His glory and accepted the weakness of humanity the redemption of the world must rest. He saw and felt it all, but His purpose remained steadfast. Upon His arm depended the salvation of the fallen race, and He reached out His hand to grasp the hand of Omnipotent love.
The loneliness of Christ, separated from the heavenly courts, living the life of humanity, was never understood or appreciated by the disciples as it should have been. . . . When Jesus was no longer with them, . . . they began to see how they might have shown Him attentions that would have brought gladness to His heart. . . .
The same want is evident in our world today. But few appreciate all that Christ is to them. If they did, the great love of Mary [Matt. 26:6-13] would be expressed, the anointing would be freely bestowed. . . . Nothing would be thought too costly to give for Christ, no self-denial or self-sacrifice too great to be endured for His sake."
God's Amazing Grace p. 163
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In my minds eye, I see again the picture a Chinese artist made who experienced imprisonment for his faith and sharing. He showed Jesus in the cell with a man with torn clothing. Jesus also had emblems of shame draped on Him. (Purple robe, missing robe, scars) These thoughts were brought to me to comfort me while we were threatened with imprisonment and death.