March 10th, 2026
Tuesday, March 10
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
~ Isaiah 53:2-4
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
~ Isaiah 53:2-4
__________________________________________
Our world makes no room for weakness. It’s so ingrained in how we live that often, until we are actually in a place of weakness, we won’t even notice it. For example, have you ever noticed how many places are not accessible to those with a wheelchair, walking disabilities, or other physical infirmities or weakness? Next time you walk down main street, try noticing. You might be surprised. You might also be surprised at how little you have actually noticed this before. Those with weakness in our “tough” world of making it on your own have a hard time. They have to navigate a world built around the capabilities of the strong and able. It’s hard. But, of course, in our world it’s weakness to admit that it’s difficult. Don’t complain -- isn’t that what we teach?
Houston, we have a problem.
The cross of Jesus is the epitome of weakness. In passage after passage, the New Testament writers highlight this (1 Corinthians 1:27-29; 2 Corinthians 2-5 and 13:4; Hebrews 4:15).
The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus empathizes with our weakness. He writes: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus came in weakness and embraced it, without sin. Now, the idea of “temptation” and “sin” for the writer of Hebrews is not lust or greed or lying. It’s the temptation to shun human weakness and suffering. He was writing to Christians who were starting to think following Jesus was in fact not worth it. The cross of Jesus was shameful and weak. Following Jesus exposed them as weak in the world, and that made life difficult. They were thinking of walking away from faith and embracing a better life that avoided weakness.
The writer of Hebrews makes it clear to them that Christ resisted temptation and sin by remaining weak and embracing the shame of the cross (Hebrews 12:1-3). Christ did not abandon weakness. And he is weak with them. The sin is to abandon weakness; to abandon weakness is to abandon Christ. It is not surprising that Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats specifically refers to actions that identify with the weak and suffering in society, and that Jesus says “what you do to the least (read: “weak”), you do to me (Jesus)” (Matthew 25:31-48).
According to the Apostle Paul, visible weakness is actually the evidence that his ministry is thriving (2 Corinthians 2-5). When was the last time you saw some new church name itself something like “Fellowship of the Weak”? You don’t see it. And you likely won’t, as long as the American church is taking its cues from a world of glory that doesn’t make space for weakness. We want to “hype-up” everything, look capable, strong, and “exciting.” We aren’t helping anyone (especially our youth) learn the way of the cross. Weakness is where Christ is found. Glory comes after this life. Weakness now. And it’s not a bait-and-switch where weakness is the path to something greater. Not in the New Testament. Weakness is the way of Christ. Period. The cross makes that clear.
Your weakness, pain, and suffering are not shameful things to overcome. They might be seen as that in this world. But Christ has overcome the world through weakness. Christ had no beauty; he was despised; he was rejected. It is this, my friends, that most identifies you with Jesus and not outward displays of beauty, strength, or success. Because Christ was weak and embraced weakness, so to can you. In weakness he is strong. Take heart.
_______________________________________
For reflection:
Prayer: God of glory, your strength and blessing is not found in human success, but in weakness and frailty. By your Spirit, draw us more deeply into this truth, so that our weaknesses might shine, and we might be transformed. Amen.
Our world makes no room for weakness. It’s so ingrained in how we live that often, until we are actually in a place of weakness, we won’t even notice it. For example, have you ever noticed how many places are not accessible to those with a wheelchair, walking disabilities, or other physical infirmities or weakness? Next time you walk down main street, try noticing. You might be surprised. You might also be surprised at how little you have actually noticed this before. Those with weakness in our “tough” world of making it on your own have a hard time. They have to navigate a world built around the capabilities of the strong and able. It’s hard. But, of course, in our world it’s weakness to admit that it’s difficult. Don’t complain -- isn’t that what we teach?
Houston, we have a problem.
The cross of Jesus is the epitome of weakness. In passage after passage, the New Testament writers highlight this (1 Corinthians 1:27-29; 2 Corinthians 2-5 and 13:4; Hebrews 4:15).
The writer of Hebrews says that Jesus empathizes with our weakness. He writes: “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin” (Hebrews 4:15).
Jesus came in weakness and embraced it, without sin. Now, the idea of “temptation” and “sin” for the writer of Hebrews is not lust or greed or lying. It’s the temptation to shun human weakness and suffering. He was writing to Christians who were starting to think following Jesus was in fact not worth it. The cross of Jesus was shameful and weak. Following Jesus exposed them as weak in the world, and that made life difficult. They were thinking of walking away from faith and embracing a better life that avoided weakness.
The writer of Hebrews makes it clear to them that Christ resisted temptation and sin by remaining weak and embracing the shame of the cross (Hebrews 12:1-3). Christ did not abandon weakness. And he is weak with them. The sin is to abandon weakness; to abandon weakness is to abandon Christ. It is not surprising that Jesus’ parable of the sheep and the goats specifically refers to actions that identify with the weak and suffering in society, and that Jesus says “what you do to the least (read: “weak”), you do to me (Jesus)” (Matthew 25:31-48).
According to the Apostle Paul, visible weakness is actually the evidence that his ministry is thriving (2 Corinthians 2-5). When was the last time you saw some new church name itself something like “Fellowship of the Weak”? You don’t see it. And you likely won’t, as long as the American church is taking its cues from a world of glory that doesn’t make space for weakness. We want to “hype-up” everything, look capable, strong, and “exciting.” We aren’t helping anyone (especially our youth) learn the way of the cross. Weakness is where Christ is found. Glory comes after this life. Weakness now. And it’s not a bait-and-switch where weakness is the path to something greater. Not in the New Testament. Weakness is the way of Christ. Period. The cross makes that clear.
Your weakness, pain, and suffering are not shameful things to overcome. They might be seen as that in this world. But Christ has overcome the world through weakness. Christ had no beauty; he was despised; he was rejected. It is this, my friends, that most identifies you with Jesus and not outward displays of beauty, strength, or success. Because Christ was weak and embraced weakness, so to can you. In weakness he is strong. Take heart.
_______________________________________
For reflection:
- Read 2 Corinthians 2-5. How does weakness make space for the work of Christ in ways that human capability cannot? What weaknesses do you hide from that actually might be places for the power of God to shine through? Why is weakness so difficult for us/you to embrace?
- For those with kids: Talk about weaknesses they have. Do they think they have to hide them? Why? What if God said their weaknesses are actually the best things? What would that change about how they lived?
Prayer: God of glory, your strength and blessing is not found in human success, but in weakness and frailty. By your Spirit, draw us more deeply into this truth, so that our weaknesses might shine, and we might be transformed. Amen.
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