What?!

Last week we had a lot of time to read, and I tackled John Pipers', Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ. Very easy read. Full of helpful Truth. I recommend it.

On page 60 I began to exclaim, "WHAT?! I never thought about that!" And as some of you friends (ehem, Julie Vanlue) well know, if I'm amazed by something I'm reading...and you're in the room...you're gonna hear about it.

Piper is talking about Jesus being born to Mary- a virgin. And Mary's shame-- that others judged her for being pregnant before she was married; even though it was by the Holy Spirit. Then he talks about Jesus, and this is what it says,

"His enemies always had this trump card they could throw on the table when the force of truth turned against them. In John 8, Jesus was uncovering their deep duplicity and slavery to sin, even implying that the devil was their father. When Jesus said, 'You are doing what your father did,' they reached for the card and said, 'We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father- even God" (verse 41). The indictment was not veiled: they were calling Jesus a bastard." (emphasis mine)

My mouth dropped open. I had never considered the suffering, mocking, etc. that Jesus must've endured for appearing to be what they'd describe as an "illegitimate child." This suffering that Jesus experienced that Isaiah prophesied about in chapter 53-- "Man of sorrows, acquainted with grief" was not only the suffering of the cross to bear our sin. It was life long.

Just makes me love Him more.

So, am I alone in never having thought about this before? I've read that verse in John 8 numerous times, but never realized they were meaning to take a stab at Christ!