Sunday Service - 26 Mar 1955 / 31 Mar 1955

The Fifth Sunday in Lent is known as the Passion Sunday, and this week is known as Passion Week. Today the Church begins to commemorate the Passion of our Lord.

What does the word ‘Passion’ mean? ‘Passion’ comes from the Latin word ‘Passio’ which means suffering. So we are called upon to think of the suffering of Jesus during these days. There are two kinds of suffering: a) Physical – bodily suffering b) Moral or mental suffering.

Jesus suffered in both these ways. His physical suffering was great – death on the cross was a very cruel form of death. But it is about the moral and mental suffering we are to think about this morning.

You know the story of the Prodigal son. The son wanted to have his own way. The father allowed him to go his own way, and yet the father continued to love him, even though the son led a riotous life. The father suffered. There was much pain of mind caused to him. This is meant to be a picture of God. God loves us devotedly, and when we break away from Him and fall into evil ways it causes intense suffering to God. The prodigal’s father suffered because of the sins of his son. Love always suffers. The innocent suffer for the guilty. Jesus, who is God himself made man, came to show us how great God’s love is for us, and how he suffers for our sins. So what is the Passion, the suffering of Jesus? It is the moral and spiritual suffering which Jesus had to undergo because of his love for mankind.

When we think of the suffering of Jesus we think of his suffering on the cross. The mental and the moral suffering at the time of His crucifixion must have been very intense. When He found He had been betrayed by His friends, He must have been very hurt. The very persons He loved sent Him to the cross. That must have made Him heartbroken. But we must draw our attention to the fact that His suffering began very early in his life. His suffering must have started as soon as He began to love people. All through His life Jesus loved men and women, boys and girls, devotedly. Think of the way He dealt with the children who came to Him – the tenderness and love shown to them: Zacchaeus, Martha and Mary, Lazarus, Nicodemus, the women taken in sin, the sick and the suffering. His whole life was full of tremendous love, kindness, patience and forbearance. He loved all His life, and as soon as He first began to love He began to suffer.

During this week let us think chiefly of our sins, which give Jesus Christ so much sorrow because He loves us. In our quiet moments let us think of the failures and shortcomings in our life which add to the Passion of Jesus. Let us resolve that with His help we would rout them out and have done with them.