The joy of His Father was His strength

“Looking unto Jesus the Author and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Heb. 12:2).

The Son of God endured the keenest physical torture and mental anguish as He witnessed and felt sin and His Father’s wrath. His heart suffered the deepest darkness as His Father turned away and Christ lost His eternal comforter and rock. In body, spirit, and soul He was tormented and desolated as the Father left His Son in complete defenseless vulnerability and the arch enemy took full advantage of his one and only opportunity to gore Jesus into sin.

Many times had God overseen the temptations of His Son by Satan. In Bethlehem and Egypt and Nazareth, then through the Pharisees and scribes and priests, by the people and even by Christ’s own disciples, Satan had been given open invitation by the Father to provoke His Son to grow impatient and to lash out. Yet the Savior could not be led into sin.

Through the typical experience of Job, we can hear the Father telling Satan of His Son, “And the Lord said unto Satan, Hast thou considered My servant Job, that there is none like Him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth God, and escheweth evil? and still He holdeth fast His integrity, although thou movedst Me against Him, to destroy Him without cause.” (Job 2:3). And to give us deeper revelation into the battle that took place on Calvary we hear Satan’s challenge to the Father, “Skin for skin, yea, all that a Man hath will He give for His life. But put forth Thine hand now, and touch His bone and His flesh, and He will curse Thee to Thy face.” (Job 2:4,5). We then hear the Father concede to Satan’s hidden accusation, “The [Father] said unto Satan, Behold, He is in thine hand.” (Job 2:6). However, with His Son, He could not permit His Son the caveat given for Job, “…but save His life.”

In every dealing with religious leaders and the sin-loving multitude, the joy of Christ’s Father’s presence shined through His every word, look, and deed. Power to produce life was in everything He offered everyone. Thus, He perfectly represented the Creator, and thus in Him alone could the Father be perfectly well-pleased.

In the heart of Christ, where reigned perfect harmony with God, there was perfect peace. He was never elated by applause, nor dejected by censure or disappointment. Amid the greatest opposition and the most cruel treatment, He was still of good courage. Desire of Ages, p.330.

Deep within the soul of the divine One abode a pearl of great price. His joy could not be stopped or shut up; it was a source of a refreshing, constant welling up and springing up unto salvation to His audience. He might be “troubled on every side, yet not distressed; [He might be] perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” (2Cor. 4:8,9). By beholding Him we become changed into His same image. “Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body. For we which live are alway delivered unto death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.” (2Cor. 4:10,11).

By beholding Christ’s character we are as it were translated “into the [His] kingdom.” (Col. 1:13). By sighted faith in His joy under fire we are filled with His spirit and enabled to have joy through the worst episodes in our life.

By faith, by connection with Christ through faith, we can appropriate His same undying trust and joy. The arch-deceiver could not beat out of the holy One His hope in God. The Messiah went down into the dominion of death fully but blindly hoping in God, still grasping for every evidence of His Father’s love. Still retaining joy, in His spiritual torment He was hopelessly at peace; in His rejection by heaven and earth His last erg of brainpower died hopelessly joyful and hopeful.

The Son of God was born of God and kept by God and none could take His Father’s character out of Him. The Father sealed Himself in His Son and “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come,

nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature,” was able to separate Him from the love of God. (Rom. 8:38,39). Sin and Satan were unable to separate Them and to rob Christ of the seal of God indelibly impressed into His divine mind.

A life in Christ is a life of restfulness. There may be no ecstasy of feeling, but there should be an abiding, peaceful trust. Steps to Christ, p. 70.

“He that cometh from above is above all: He that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh of the earth: He that cometh from heaven is above all.

And what He hath seen and heard, that He testifieth; and no man receiveth His testimony.

He that hath received His testimony hath set to His seal that God is true.

For He whom God hath sent speaketh the words of God: for God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto Him.

The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into His hand.

He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on Him.” (Jn. 3:31-36).

On the cross, in His dying breath, Jesus breathed out purity and faith and His heart never lost its abiding joy. All that Satan had done on Earth during the previous 4,000 years was in preparation for his one, great, eternal success at overthrowing the faith of the Son of God. And when Christ, the object of the devil’s unmitigated wrath, was beyond His enemy’s grasp and safely held in unconscious death, then the great robber of God’s people roared out his utter failure, bewailing his doom. The Father and Son had permanently exposed Lucifer as the imposter and traitor that he was and he was forever fixed in the sentence of damnation. Earth and humanity were secure in God’s kingdom.

The joy of the Lord had been the Messiah’s strength from manger to cross. Therefore, “God also hath highly exalted Him, and given Him a name which is above every name.” (Phil. 2:9). As our advocate before God He retains His everlasting joy that always satisfied the awful King of the universe. God is joyful with us who approach Him through His dear Son. His Son is our surety to make sure we obtain His impress of character. Thus God can be just by faith when exonerating us in His Son, because He knows His Son will not fail nor be discouraged until He has set His righteousness in us.

Finally, His righteousness will be our righteousness, His strength our strength, His abiding joy or abiding our joy.