Jesus Crucified

"Man of Sorrows"

by Phillip Bliss, 1875

1 Man of sorrows what a name
for the Son of God, who came
ruined sinners to reclaim:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
2 Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
in my place condemned he stood,
sealed my pardon with his blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
3 Guilty, helpless, lost were we;
blameless Lamb of God was he,
sacrificed to set us free:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
4 He was lifted up to die;
"It is finished" was his cry;
now in heaven exalted high:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
5 When he comes, our glorious King,
all his ransomed home to bring,
then anew this song we'll sing:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!

Phillip Bliss lost his life in a train wreck in Ohio in 1876 at the age of 38. One year prior to his death, he wrote "Man of Sorrows."  From a deep movement of the Spirit of God, Bliss penned these words and we continue to be blessed by the picture they present.  The suffering that Jesus bore on that cross cannot be imagined in the mind of the today's believer however it was a kind of suffering that caused even the Roman populace to refuse to mention the word "cross."

King David wrote in Psalm 22:16 "they pierced my hands and my feet."  Jesus was made a curse for us, for "cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree." (Deut. 21:23).  The evil that took place that day was overcome by the work God was accomplishing according to His divine purposes.

Mocked by the soldiers; mocked by the Jews; and rejected by the Father, this Man of Sorrows was crucified on a cruel cross fulfilling the prophetic plan of God set in motion from the beginning of creation.  Jesus was led outside the city to the place of execution.  Awake all night; scourged and abused by the soldiers...Jesus was in a very weakened state and unable to carry His cross...He was exhausted.  Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, had come to Jerusalem to sacrifice his Passover lamb however he was recruited to carry the cross for the "Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world."

Immediately on Golgotha's hill, Jesus was hung on His cross and over His head was a sign (placed by the Roman soldiers) that read: "This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews."  In that darkest hour of recorded history it seemed that all was lost, it was that moment when it seemed that all was lost...the Father turned His back on His Son!  Sin so engulfed Him that God could not look upon His beloved, only begotten Son.

Yet, it was at this very moment when hope for all generations was provided.  The death of Jesus gave "victory" over the judgment of sin whose condemnation was destroyed for all who would call upon the Name of Jesus in faith.  The concomitant resurrection sealed the fate of Satan and gave life everlasting to those who would believe and follow Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Indeed, "death was swallowed up in victory!" 

The "Man of Sorrows" has truly become "King of kings and Lord of lords."