Theology Of Mental Health 04 | Jesus’ Pain
Introduction—Mental Health in the Biblical Story.
Mental health is not something that humans created or discovered in the modern world. Mental health is deeply rooted in the ancient biblical story. Mental health and every bit of human flourishing was God's design. He created well-being. He created our minds. He created our emotions. He created relationships. He created us to be in a relationship with him. To understand mental health, we have to understand God's intent for creation and the story of mental health within the biblical story.
The Bible tells a story of mental health from Genesis through Revelation. There is a mental health meta-narrative in scripture. From the story of creation to the fall to the death and resurrection of Jesus, the story of well-being threads through the Bible.
Within this meta-narrative are three significant moments.
Let’s look at the third significant moment—Mental Health & Jesus | Jesus’ Pain.
Mental Health & Jesus | Jesus Understands Pain
Mental health is not a subject disconnected from the life of Jesus. He understands mental and emotional pain.
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."- Isaiah 53:3 (ESV)
During Jesus' life on earth, he experienced pain and suffering. A component of that pain was mental and emotional pain. Isaiah clearly brings this to light in his vivid description of the suffering savior. Jesus felt the full spectrum of human emotions. Jesus felt joy and happiness. Jesus also felt deep pain and sorrow. In fact, Isaiah calls Jesus "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief."
The Hebrew word for sorrow is מכְאוֹב | makob. Makob has the idea of mental suffering or mental pain.
The Hebrew word for grief is חֹ֑לִי | choli. Choli has the idea of mental pain or mental sickness.
When is the last time you heard Jesus described as someone who lived with mental and emotional pain? This was a genuine description of Jesus' emotional atmosphere. He felt deeply the brokenness of life on earth. He was not immune to human pain, whether that was physical pain or mental and emotional pain. He understands mental and emotional pain. He felt human suffering in his body and soul. He can empathize with us.
The climax of Jesus suffering was the cross. The cross was trauma to the greatest degree. No human has experiences the degree of trauma that Jesus experienced on the cross. On the cross Jesus suffered in every way—mentally, emotionally, relationally, physically and spiritually. It was an experience of holistic and traumatic suffering.
It is through his suffering on the cross that he brings healing to our brokenness and suffering. We now experience redemption in the brokenness of our humanity. We can experience forgiveness from God. We can experience a repaired relationship with God. We can experience a restoration of the image of God. And we can experience the renewal of well-being that God designed.
This renewal of our well-being can take place in all areas of our lives. Mentally. Emotionally. Relationally. Spiritually. And all of this is possible through Jesus suffering and death on the cross.
Our relationship with God is restored—well-being spiritually.
Our relationship with the image of God is restored—well-being internally.
Our relationship with a healthy thought life is being restored—well-being mentally.
Our relationship with a healthy emotional life is being restored—well-being emotionally.
Our relationship with God's design for flourishing relationships is being restored—well-being relationally.
God begins a healing and renewal process in us to make us people of peace—well-being experienced on every level.
Life In Two Spaces
This renewal of our peace is an already-not yet experience. What I mean by that is while we are in the process of renewal, we are also still living in an imperfect world. We live in two spaces that are interconnected. One of those spaces is the reality of redemption where we are being renewed. The other space is the reality of the fall where we face suffering in a broken world. In the space of redemption we invest in our mental health toward flourishing within God's design. In the space of the fall we recognize that human suffering is a normal part of living in an imperfect world. We cannot evade suffering in this world, even as our life is being restored and renewed back God's design.
Jesus suffered extensively and redemptively for us. He chose to enter the space of suffering for us. I still am fascinated by the fact that the Son of God chose to suffer so that we ultimately can be healed from suffering. That He did not choose to evade suffering, but he entered the experience of suffering to an extent that will never be replicated in history. His suffering is the answer to our broken relationship with God. His suffering is the answer to our brokenness. His suffering is the answer to our suffering. His suffering is the answer to our peace. To put simply, Jesus suffering was the means by which humans are healed—spiritually, relationally, mentally and emotionally. This healing does not take place instantaneously. Most of it takes place over a lifetime. And our ultimate healing will be experienced at the end of history as Revelation 21:4 triumphantly declares:
"He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away." (NIV)
And for now, we are becoming a people who are being changed from the inside out by Jesus. And as that transformation occurs we experience the peace or well-being that God designed for us, even in a broken world.
Check out Theology of Mental Health 05 | Following Jesus Through Pain.
There Are Better Days Ahead.
Much Love + Peace,
Wesley Towne, Founder