Stricken, smitten, and afflicted,
See Him dying on the tree!
‘Tis the Christ by man rejected;
Yes, my soul, ’tis He! ’tis He!
‘Tis the long-expected Prophet,
David’s Son, yet David’s Lord;
Proofs I see sufficient of it:
‘Tis the true and faithful Word.
Tell me, ye who hear Him groaning,
Was there ever grief like His?
Friends through fear His cause disowning,
Foes insulting His distress;
Many hands were raised to wound Him,
None would interpose to save;
But the deepest stroke that pierced Him
Was the stroke that Justice gave.
Ye who think of sin but lightly
Nor suppose the evil great
Here may view its nature rightly,
Here its guilt may estimate.
Mark the Sacrifice appointed,
See who bears the awful load;
‘Tis the WORD, the LORD’S ANOINTED,
Son of Man and Son of God.
Here we have a firm foundation;
Here the refuge of the lost;
Christ’s the Rock of our salvation,
His the name of which we boast.
Lamb of God, for sinners wounded,
Sacrifice to cancel guilt!
None shall ever be confounded
Who on Him their hope have built.
This somber hymn certainly doesn’t make the most popular songs sung at church list. But I would argue it should be one we sing more. We need these sobering words to remind us of what Jesus did for us, and what our sin really deserves.
For if we don’t really get the extent of our sin, we don’t know how much we need Jesus, and our view of the cross will rise or fall accordingly. If we think of sin as just bad outward behavior than we may falsely assume we are doing pretty good and therefore what he did in life and in death is not that great.
Like the Pharisees, we may fail to see our pride, judgement and self-righteousness as equally condemning. For our inward desires, ruling idols, the ways we try to manipulate and control, seek to elevate ourselves and tear down others is also the sin for which Jesus had to die. When we begin to grasp this, that every intention of the heart is evil all the time (Genesis 6:5), what Jesus did becomes a whole lot greater.
Our view of the cross rises & falls dependent on how we see our sin
What the featured hymn also points to is the suffering and pain Jesus endured. Stricken, smitten and afflicted at death, but also in life as a necessary part of God’s plan so that Jesus could identify with us in our suffering and pain.
Therefore, “Jesus knows what it is like to be misunderstood. He knows what it’s like to be persecuted, mocked, and rejected. He knows what it is like to be gossiped and lied about behind his back and criticized to his face. He knows what it means to be ignored and excluded. He knows what it means to be hurt by those he loves. He knows what it means to feel sad and alone. He knows what it is like to be faced with temptation. He knows what it means to be uner stress and pressure. He knows what it means to be afraid and upset. And he knows what it means to be angry (Face Time, page 27).”
“…Jesus felt every emotion we do, but without sinning! Because he experienced first-hand all that we face, he understands us completely. He know what we go through. His suffering perfected his ability to full identify with us…(Face Time, page 27)” And because this is true, we can go bodily to him with everything, without shame.
Jesus, who was stricken, smitten and afflicted, endured the cross, thinking little of the shame because of the joy set before him in gaining eternity for all of God’s children (Hebrews 12:2). This is who Jesus is for us! But sometimes we need a somber song to remind us, and move our hearts to truly praise his name, “Hallelujah!”
For further meditation, click here listen to the hymn "Stricken, Smitten and Afflicted."
