11th March 2025
We can have confidence in Jesus to know our vulnerability
Part of a series for Easter Preparation
… the Jews started arguing over him: “Isn’t this the son of Joseph? Don’t we know his father? Don’t we know his mother? …”
John 6:42 (MSG)
The header scripture implies that the Jews were saying that Jesus was just one of us. Although they were questioning his divinity they were, in a very real sense, right in saying that he was human. While not forgoing his divinity, Jesus really was just like one of us.
Eugine Peterson translates John 1:14 as ‘The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighborhood.’ We can have confidence in Jesus because he was willing to be identified with us including with our vulnerability. He ‘moved into our neighbourhood’ as a tiny, helpless baby who needed to be fed, changed and cared for. He knew what it was like to be a toddler, a child and a teenager. He had to learn and work. He experienced being a refugee, being thirsty, and tired. He was humiliated, betrayed, and abandoned by his friends. He became weak and was abused, exploited and tortured. He knew what pain was, and eventually, he died. Our God embraced vulnerability in Christ Jesus.
Often, we human beings don’t like to be vulnerable: we pretend that we are capable, that we are in control, and that we can cope with anything thrown at us. Deep down we know that we are vulnerable and that we can be hurt if our weaknesses are exposed, so we do our best to cover them up. Sometimes that’s the right thing to do because people can exploit our vulnerability which can be painful and hurt. Jesus knows that hurt because he entered the human experience.
The truth is, we are not always strong, we are not invulnerable to what life throws at us. Acknowledging this fact is very liberating, as it eliminates the need to constantly maintain the facade of being able to handle everything. It also enables us to seek assistance when necessary. While family, friends, colleagues at work and fellow Christians can be of considerable support in our weaknesses, our supreme source of strength for our vulnerabilities is Jesus himself. The one who became vulnerable for us, who can empathise with our plight, is the one best placed to help us. We just need to hand over our vulnerabilities to Jesus and receive his strength and competence in return.
The one who walked in our shoes now walks with us in our vulnerabilities. That’s a Saviour we need and one in whom we can confidently trust.
Prayer
Loving Father, we are so thankful that you have the whole world in your hands. Knowing that frees us to acknowledge that we don’t. We don’t have control over a lot of things, and we come to place all our vulnerabilities into the hands of Jesus, and to receive his grace and help in our time of need. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church