Let’s put ourselves into the actual scene in the upper room just hours before Jesus was arrested. He is talking to His disciples about the Holy Spirit…His coming and  His ministry in them after Jesus’ departure. Then Jesus begins to talk to the Father…right there…in their presence…while they listened! He’s pouring out His heart…to the Father…about the most pressing things on His mind before He left His beloved friends… before He went to the cross. So, what did He say?

When we unpack this long prayer, Jesus said much but asked the Father for little. His requests were interspersed with many words, confirming His obedience to the Father, and expressing His loving relationship with the Father and His utmost confidence in the Father’s love and commitment to Hi, His Son. 

“After saying all these things, Jesus looked up to heaven and said, “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son so he can give glory back to you.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭1‬ ‭NLT‬‬

“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.”

‭‭John‬ ‭17‬:‭5‬ ‭NIV‬‬

First request…”Glorify me…”

“Restore to me the same glory I shared with you in our divine nature before I set it aside to become a man.”

Jesus didn’t shed His divine glory. He veiled it in human flesh, choosing not to act as God but to act as a human under the Father’s authority and power through the Holy Spirit. 

“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.”

‭‭Philippians‬ ‭2‬:‭6‬-‭7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Now, after the cross, He was ready to resume His glorified position with the Father…but first, one more test!

Since Jesus was the mirror image of His Father, the time had come for this truth to be tested. Would He remain true to His divine nature in His humanity, under the severest trial a human could ever undergo? How would He navigate the suffering for which He had come to earth without sin?

What would that test be? What was the suffering He was to endure that would try, to the limit, His commitment to free His people from the guilt and penalty of sin?

Hebrews tells us that His suffering was specifically concentrated in His temptation. What He was reported to do during His physical and mental suffering through the cross, encapsulated His entire life on earth as a human. This was what He overcome through His death on the cross. 

“But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Death, for Jesus, was the culmination of what He suffered. The temptation that He endured and overcame by the process by which he died, qualified Him to be our Saviour from sin and our eternal high priest…

“During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with fervent cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him…”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭5‬:‭7‬-‭9‬ ‭NIV‬‬

His greatest suffering, therefore, according to Hebrews, lay in overcoming what He was tempted to do…

“Because he himself suffered when he was tempted (scrutinised, enticed, examined, proved), he is able to help those who are being tempted.”

‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭2‬:‭18‬ ‭NIV‬‬

It seems, then, that we share the same temptation as Jesus in our humanity and…this specific  suffering carries the weight of everything we suffer as humans. 

What was the suffering?

Peter answers that question for us…

“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.” 

The sin that would have disqualified Him would have come from His mouth…what He said…not what He did. 

“…When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭22‬-‭24‬ ‭NIV‬‬

He said nothing!

Now , let’s examine the implications of Peter’s statement. 

Jesus’ entire life was marked by antagonism, opposition, misrepresentation, false accusations, ridicule, insults and abuse, all of which were designed to cancel Him as a person. These expressions of contempt culminated in a trial, conducted by the highest religious court of the land, that reached the zenith of injustice. 

Jesus was the God-man. He was the Word of God. He could have opened His mouth and spoken words that would have obliterated His judges forever…and vindicated who He was but…He said nothing. 

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭7‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Why did Jesus not defend Himself in the face of such terrible injustice? Of course, we know that He had to die but…didn’t He have the right to defend Himself? Instead, He absorbed every word spoken against Him without retaliating.  

There is something deeply embedded in Jesus’ silence that has meaning for us as well. 

Writing to slaves, Peter said this…

“For God is pleased when, conscious of his will, you patiently endure unjust treatment. Of course, you get no credit for being patient if you are beaten for doing wrong. But if you suffer for doing good and endure it patiently, God is pleased with you. For God called you to do good, even if it means suffering, just as Christ suffered for you. He is your example, and you must follow in his steps.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭NLT‬‬

I think this is what Paul meant when he said…

“And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering.”

‭‭Romans‬ ‭8‬:‭17‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Suffering in silence in the face of injustice without retaliating is the most powerful way of showing our submission to and trust in the Father and our allegiance to Jesus… just as Jesus did under severe pressure. 

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.”

‭‭1 Peter‬ ‭2‬:‭23‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Consider these words…

“The tongue has the power of life and death, and those who love it will eat its fruit.”

‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭18‬:‭21‬ ‭NIV‬‬

Is His humanity, in the most extreme suffering, Jesus refused to push back against His accusers. He left His case in God’s hands…and was thoroughly vindicated. 

…and, if we are to share His glory, so must we!