What Christ Suffered

We are indebted to the prophet Alma for our knowledge of the full measure of His suffering [quotes Alma 7:11-12] ("He Is Risen," Ensign, May 1988, p.16)

11 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

12 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.

13 Now the Spirit knoweth all things; nevertheless the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance; and now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Think of it! When his body was taken from the cross and hastily placed in a borrowed tomb, he, the sinless Son of God, had already taken upon him not only the sins and temptations of every human soul who will repent, but all of our sickness and grief and pain of every kind. He suffered these afflictions as we suffer them, according to the flesh. He suffered them all. He did this to perfect his mercy and his ability to lift us above every earthly trial. ("He Is Risen," Ensign, May 1988, p.16)

I refer to the hours that comprised Gethsemane and Calvary and also the period just before. ...

While weary and worried Apostles slept, in Gethsemane Jesus began to be "sore amazed" (Mark 14:33), or in the Greek rendition, "awestruck" and "astonished" and "very heavy" as the Psalmist had foretold. (See Ps. 69:20-21.)

Jesus, Creator and Jehovah, surely had known for a long time what He must do. Nevertheless, He had never known, personally, the exquisite and exacting process of an atonement before. And it was so much worse than even He with His unique intellect had ever imagined. No wonder an angel appeared to strengthen Him! (See Luke 22:43.)

No wonder He began to be "very heavy" or, also in the Greek rendition, very "dejected" and "depressed" and filled with anguish. The cumulative weight of all mortal sins, somehow, past, present, and future, pressed upon that perfect, sinless, and sensitive soul! All infirmities and sicknesses were part, too, of the awful arithmetic of the Atonement. (See Alma 7:11, 12; Isa. 53:3-5; Matt. 8:17.)

"And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me." (Mark 14:36.) It was the cry of a Child, in deep distress, for His Father.

As Jehovah, Jesus had said to Abraham: "Is any thing too hard for the Lord?" (Gen. 18:14.) Jesus had taught this very truth about what was feasible for believers in His mortal ministry. Had not an angel told a perplexed Mary about her own impending miracle, saying, "For with God nothing shall be impossible"? (Luke 1:37.) And so in His anguish, Jesus actually pled that the hour and cup might pass from Him. In His anguish, He even quoted back to the Father those special, significant words--"All things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me." (See Matt. 16:26; 26:39.) This was not theater--this was shuddering reality! Did the Lamb, in this extremity, hope for a ram in the thicket? I do not know, but the suffering was enormously multiplied by infinity. His soul-cries are understandable. ("The New Testament--A Matchless Portrait of the Savior," Ensign, Dec. 1986, p. 26)

Jesus' perfect empathy was ensured when, along with His Atonement for our sins, He took upon Himself our sicknesses, sorrows, griefs, and infirmities and came to know these "according to the flesh" (Alma 7:11-12). He did this in order that He might be filled with perfect, personal mercy and empathy and thereby know how to succor us in our infirmities. He thus fully comprehends human suffering. ("Enduring Well," Ensign, Apr. 1997, p. 7)

When Jesus took upon Himself the heavy, atoning yoke in order to redeem all mankind by paying the agonizing price for our sins, He thereby experienced what He Himself termed the "fierceness of the wrath of Almighty God" (D&C 76:107). The phrase itself makes the soul tremble. Jesus also volunteered to take upon Himself additional agony in order that He might experience and thus know certain things "according to the flesh," namely human sicknesses and infirmities and human griefs, including those not associated with sin (see Alma 7:11-12). Therefore, as a result of His great Atonement, Jesus was filled with unique empathy and with perfect mercy. ("Becoming a Disciple," Ensign, June 1996, p. 12)

Jesus thus not only satisfied the requirements of divine justice but also, particularly in His Gethsemane and Calvary ordeals, demonstrated and perfected His capacity to succor His people and his empathy for them. He came to know, personally and perfectly, "according to the flesh" how to help us become more like His fully comprehending Father: "Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite" (Psalm 147:5). Jesus' daily mortal experiences and His ministry, to be sure, acquainted Him by observation with a sample of human sicknesses, grief, pains, sorrows, and infirmities which are "common to man' (1 Corinthians 10:13). But the agonies of the Atonement were infinite and first-hand! Since not all human sorrow and pain is connected to sin, the full intensiveness of the Atonement involved bearing our pains, infirmities, and sicknesses, as well as our sins. Whatever our sufferings, we can safely cast our care upon him; for he careth for [us]" (1 Peter 5:7). Jesus is a fully comprehending Christ. (From Not My Will, But Thine, p.51)

It seems that no matter how carefully we walk through life's paths, we pick up some thorns, briars, and slivers. ...

How are the thorns and slivers of life removed? The power to remove the thorns in our lives and in the lives of others begins with ourselves. Moroni writes that when we deny ourselves of ungodliness, then the grace of Christ is sufficient for us. (See Moro. 10:32.)

Too often we seek bandages to cover the guilt rather than removal of the thorn causing the pain. How much we resist the momentary pain of removing a sliver, even though it will relieve the longer-lasting pain of a festering sore. Everyone knows that if thorns and briars and slivers are not removed from the flesh, they will cause sores that fester and will not heal. ...

As a carpenter, Jesus would have been familiar with slivers and thorny woods. As a child, He would have learned that one rarely gets a sliver when working the wood in the right direction. He would also have known more than any how slivers--small and painful--divert attention from important matters. The scourging of Jesus took place partly with thorns:

"Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers.

"And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews!

"And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head." (Matt. 27:27-30.)

Perhaps this cruel act was a perverse attempt to mimic the placing of an emperor's laurel upon His head. Thus, there was pressed down upon Him a crown of thorns. He accepted the pain as part of the great gift He had promised to make. How poignant this was, considering that thorns signified God's displeasure as He cursed the ground for Adam's sake that henceforth it would bring forth thorns. But by wearing the crown, Jesus transformed thorns into a symbol of His glory. ...

Our Savior knows "according to the flesh" every dimension of our suffering. There is no infirmity He is not familiar with. In His agony He became acquainted with all of the thorns, slivers, and thistles that might afflict us: [quotes (Alma 7:11-12.)] (From "A Crown of Thorns, a Crown of Glory," Ensign, May 1991, pp. 68-70)