Monday, March 30 - Man of Sorrows

Scripture:

“He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with grief… Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases.” — Isaiah 53:3–4

Hymn Focus:
Man of Sorrows

“Man of Sorrows! what a name for the Son of God, who came.”

“Ruined sinners to reclaim—Hallelujah! what a Savior!”

This Lenten hymn has always puzzled me because it includes the word “Hallelujah,” which we traditionally don’t say or sing during the season of Lent. Yet here it is.

Lent draws us close to the suffering heart of Christ. The hymn Man of Sorrows does not soften the reality of Jesus’ pain; it names it plainly. To call Jesus a “man of sorrows” is to confess that God chose to enter fully into human grief—betrayal, rejection, and anguish—for the sake of love.

Isaiah’s words prepare us to see this truth without turning away. Jesus does not merely observe suffering from a distance; he bears it. Lent helps us recognize that Christ’s suffering is not accidental or meaningless. It is the path by which broken lives are reclaimed and hope is restored.

The hymn holds sorrow and praise together. Even as it recounts Christ’s wounds, it breaks into gratitude: “Hallelujah! what a Savior!” Lent teaches us this holy tension—grief for sin and suffering, gratitude for mercy and redemption. At the cross, we see the cost of grace and the depth of God’s love at once.

As we move toward Holy Week, this hymn invites us to bring our own sorrows to Jesus. The One who knows grief is able to meet us in it. Lent assures us that our pain is neither ignored nor wasted; it is carried by Christ, who transforms suffering into salvation.

Prayer

Suffering Savior, In this Lenten season, help us to behold your love made visible in wounds freely borne for our sake. When we carry sorrow or shame, draw us close to the cross. May your suffering redeem our lives, and your mercy lead us into hope, now and always. Amen.