I invite you to think carefully about the supreme test Jesus faced in the race. Hebrews 12:2 offers this intriguing statement: "[Jesus] endured the cross, despising the shame."
Shame is a feeling of disgrace, embarrassment, humiliation. Forgive me for stirring the memory, but don't you have a shameful moment in your history? Can you imagine the horror you would feel if everyone knew about it? What if a videotape of that event were played before your family and friends? How would you feel?
That is exactly what Jesus felt. Why? you ask. He never did anything worthy of shame. No, but we did. And since on the Cross, God made Him become sin (2 Corinthians 5:21), Jesus was covered with shame. He was shamed before His family. Stripped naked before His own mother and loved ones. Shamed before His fellow men. Forced to carry a cross until the weight caused Him to stumble. Shamed before His church. The pastors and elders of His day mocked Him, calling Him names. Shamed before the city of Jerusalem. Condemned to die a criminal's death. Parents likely pointed to Him from a distance and told their children, "That's what they do to evil men."
But the shame before men didn't compare with the shame Jesus felt before His Father. Our individual shame seems too much to bear. Can you imagine bearing the collective shame of all humanity? One wave of shame after another was dumped on Jesus. Though He never cheated, He was convicted as a cheat. Though He never stole, heaven regarded Him as a thief. Though He never lied, He was considered a liar. Though He never lusted, He bore the shame of an adulterer. Though He always believed, He endured the disgrace of an infidel. ~~
-From: Just Like Jesus By: Max Lucado
Oh, Blessed Dear Wonderful Saviour, Jesus, thank you for dying so that I,(we), will live eternally with you. WHAT A WONDERFUL SAVIOR! What a Wonderful Maker(Creator)! Praise Your Holy Name! --- <http://youtu.be/RfWsE7SEhuk>
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me." [John 14:6]