Isaiah 53:4

4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.

This part of Isaiah, prophetically describing the coming “servant” who would save so many (Jesus), describes how the servant would be despised and hated by many who could (and would) be saved by his sacrifice. We know that about 400 years passed before this prophecy came into truth and was recorded in the New Testament, but it seems as though Isaiah was really there to see Jesus–seeing the outright hatred on the faces of the Sanhedrin as they condemned Him, hearing the hoarse cries of the crowd as Pontius Pilate asked the Jews what they wanted him to do with Jesus.

For most of us, even established Christians, Jesus is more often a vague presence in our lives, worthy of worship, but little else. We don’t think about Jesus walking with us, even though we talk a lot about it. He’s kind of like that friend we keep meaning to contact but never quite get around to it; you know you should, but the longer you keep forgetting, the harder it gets to contact, until finally you’re too ashamed to acknowledge it.

But in fact, Jesus should be (and is) a close presence in our lives. After all, He bore our pain, sorrow, and other afflictions, and took care of our sin; He knows everything about us because He is God in flesh. Yet we do not treat Him as a close friend, but hold Him constantly at arm’s length. (I’m guilty of doing this, especially as a younger believer.) If we can shift our thinking to understand Him more as the closest friend and advisor we could ever have, it would be much closer to the character of Jesus.

For instance, driving in dangerous traffic? Jesus is riding shotgun with us. At the gym, laboring to lose pounds? Jesus is lifting weights with us. Trying to deal with ignorant people at work? Jesus knows exactly what you’re feeling when you walk away from the argument. Whatever we’re going through, Jesus has been there–we Christians have a Friend and Counselor that will never leave us. No wonder He’s also known as the Comforter!