Session 3 · Hebrews 12:2
The Happiness of Christ
Is he really glad when needy people come?
Book reading: Chapter 3: The Happiness of Christ
Chapter 3 makes a claim that sounds almost too good to be true. Drawing on Thomas Goodwin, Ortlund argues that Christ takes joy and comfort when sinners bring him their distress, their need and their emptiness. Not that he puts up with it. That he is glad.
Start with Hebrews 12:2. Jesus "for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame." Joy is what carried him through. The cross was not a grim duty done through gritted teeth with joy tacked on at the end. Joy was set before him. The verse does not list everything that joy contains, so we look at what else Scripture says about what makes him glad.
In Luke 15:7, Jesus says there is more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance. Notice what stirs the joy: a person turning and coming. It is not a person who has finally gotten their act together.
John 15 adds another angle. Jesus tells his disciples he has spoken so that his joy may be in them and their joy may be full. His joy is something he wants to share with us, not guard from us.
Ephesians 5:29-30 says no one hates his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, because we are members of his body. Then look at Acts 9:4-5. Jesus asks Saul, "Why are you persecuting me?" He counts harm to his people as harm to himself. If our hurts land on him like that, it is not a stretch to believe he is moved when we bring them to him.
Now the limit, and it matters. Romans 6 asks whether we should keep on sinning so that grace may increase, and answers with a firm no. Christ is not pleased by sin. The book is not claiming he enjoys our failures. The claim is that he is glad when needy people come to the only one who can meet their need. A good doctor is glad when a sick person walks in the door, though she is not glad about the disease. The gladness is at the coming, not at the sin.
The takeaway: your emptiness is not an embarrassment you must fix before showing up. Bringing it is the very thing that makes him glad.
A word of care: shame can make this hard to believe, especially if you grew up around people who treated your needs as a burden. If that is true for you, consider talking with a pastor, counselor or trusted friend alongside your prayers.
Key idea
Scripture ties Christ's joy to the cross and to sinners who come to him, and the limit is that he is glad at needy people coming, never at sin itself.
Questions to consider
- Hebrews 12:2 says joy was set before Jesus as he went to the cross. How does that change the way you picture his attitude toward the people he died for?
- Where do you tend to wait until you are "better" before bringing something to Jesus? What would it mean to come now?
Journal prompt
Write down one need or failure you have been keeping tidy in your prayers. Then write it again in blunt, honest words, as if talking to someone who is glad you came.
Practice
1. Choose one specific need today, such as a temptation, a fear, or a failure. 2. Without softening it, say it to Jesus in one or two sentences. 3. Ask for exactly what you need. 4. Stay still for one minute and let the fact of his gladness sink in.