Christ Jesus is understood to be the fulfillment of biblical prophecies such as Isaiah’s foretelling of “a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3). But recently when I saw a painting of Jesus smiling and radiating with joy, I was immediately drawn to that image of our dear Master and Savior.
I realized I had not really thought of him in that manner. I had always pictured Jesus as a sober, thoughtful, spiritually-minded man whose mission was, in the words of Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer of Christian Science, “to reveal the Science of celestial being, to prove what God is and what He does for man” (Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures, p. 26). For fulfilling this mission, he was rejected, mocked, persecuted, and finally crucified. It was hard for me to see how joy fit into that whole experience. And yet in his farewell discourse with his disciples, Jesus said, “These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full” (John 15:11). He also promised them, “Your sorrow shall be turned into joy” (John 16:20).
What is it that Jesus knew about joy, and how can that comfort and uplift us as we face what can sometimes feel like endless challenges?
