Day By Day On The Cross Part 3

The Emotional Suffering and Abandonment of Jesus

So far, we’ve looked at the physical pain Jesus endured—the crown of thorns, the beatings, the nails. But if we stop there, we miss something just as powerful: the emotional and psychological weight He carried. Holy Week is not just about blood and bruises—it’s about abandonment, betrayal, shame, and sorrow. All of it—for us.

Let’s continue.

The Emotional Weight: More Than Just a Body

One of the hardest things for people to grasp is that Jesus wasn’t just God on earth—He was fully human, too.

He had feelings.

He got tired. He felt pain. He got frustrated. He wept.

Sometimes we think He just "knew everything would work out" and wasn’t truly affected—but that’s not true. He had to deal with His emotions like we do. The difference? He always turned to the Father.

He felt grief. He felt betrayal. He knew what it was like to be abandoned. And in the final moments before the cross, He was left completely alone.

The Kiss of Betrayal

Judas didn’t just point Jesus out.

He kissed Him—an act of affection and friendship—while handing Him over to the enemy.

Jesus looked him in the eye and asked, “Judas, do you betray me with a kiss?”

Think about how that must have felt. You’ve probably been betrayed before—stabbed in the back by someone you trusted. Now multiply that by eternity. This wasn’t just a friend… this was someone who walked with Him, talked with Him, ate with Him, laughed with Him.

And now he was selling Him out.

Jesus didn’t lash out. He didn’t retaliate. He took that pain and pressed through it.

Abandoned by His Closest Friends

Right after the arrest, everyone scattered.

The ones He had poured into for three years—the ones He called friends, brothers—ran away when He needed them most.

And Peter?

Peter denied even knowing Him. Three times.

Scripture tells us Jesus and Peter locked eyes after the third denial. Can you imagine the look in His eyes? Not of anger… but of heartbreak.

If you’ve ever been rejected by someone you love, you know the feeling.

Jesus did, too.

The Garden of Gethsemane: Anxiety and Agony

Long before the cross, the pain started in the garden.

Jesus knelt and prayed. Not once, not twice, but three times.

“Father, if there’s any other way, let this cup pass from me. But not my will—Yours be done.”

He was in such deep anguish that Scripture says He sweat drops of blood. That’s a real medical condition—hematidrosis—and it only happens under extreme stress.

He was overwhelmed with what He knew was coming.

It wasn’t just the nails. It wasn’t just the whip.

It was the weight of sin. The separation from the Father. The loneliness. The betrayal. The mockery.

Beaten by Strangers, Scorned by the Crowd

The soldiers that beat Him weren’t just following orders. These were trained professionals—men who knew how to cause pain.

They came from a different culture, a different race. A Roman battalion from Western Europe… beating a Middle Eastern man from Nazareth.

Ever thought of it that way?

It was racial. Political. Cultural.

He was a Jew, accused by His own people, beaten by Gentiles, and left to die by a system designed to dehumanize.

And He endured it without hate.

The Mockery at the Cross

Even on the cross, as He hung there—naked, bleeding, suffocating—they mocked Him.

“If you’re the Son of God, save yourself!”

“Come down from the cross, and we’ll believe in you!”

Can you imagine the temptation to fight back?

Can you imagine the pride you’d have to crush, the anger you’d have to suppress?

Jesus had done nothing but good—healed the sick, raised the dead, fed the hungry, loved the unlovable—and now they were laughing at Him. Spitting on Him. Cursing Him.

He could have called down legions of angels. But instead?

He prayed.

“Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”

Forsaken by the Father

And then came the hardest blow of all.

God the Father, the One Jesus had been in perfect relationship with since before the beginning of time, turned away.

Not because He wanted to.

But because Jesus had become sin.

And God cannot look on sin.

Jesus cried out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

That’s not just a cry of pain—it’s a cry of despair. The loneliness. The abandonment. The weight of separation.

All of it came crashing down in that moment.

He bore it all.

He Endured It for You

Every betrayal you’ve ever felt—He felt it.

Every time you were lied to—He’s been there.

Every abandonment. Every mockery. Every fear. Every moment you’ve ever felt unseen or unheard…

Jesus carried it.

He didn’t just die for your sins. He suffered for your healing, your restoration, your peace.

He looked down through the corridors of time and saw you.

And still, He stayed on that cross.

We’ll wrap it all up in Part 4—the final installment of this series—where we’ll reflect on the resurrection power that followed all of this suffering.

But for now, hold this truth close:

Jesus understands your pain.
Because He’s felt it.
And He conquered it.
For you.