March 24, Evening

C. H. Spurgeon · Modern retelling

"In that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit." — Luke 10:21 · KJV

The Savior was "a man of sorrows," but every thoughtful mind has discovered that deep in His innermost soul He carried an inexhaustible treasury of refined and heavenly joy. Of all the human race, there was never a man who had a deeper, purer, or more abiding peace than our Lord Jesus Christ. "He was anointed with the oil of gladness above His fellows." His vast benevolence must, from the very nature of things, have afforded Him the deepest possible delight, for benevolence is joy. There were a few remarkable seasons when this joy showed itself. "At that hour Jesus rejoiced in spirit, and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth." Christ had His songs, though it was night with Him; though His face was marred, and His countenance had lost the luster of earthly happiness, yet sometimes it was lit up with a matchless splendor of unparalleled satisfaction, as He thought on the recompense of the reward, and in the midst of the congregation sang His praise to God. In this, the Lord Jesus is a blessed picture of His church on earth. At this hour the church expects to walk in sympathy with her Lord along a thorny road; through much tribulation she forces her way to the crown. To bear the cross is her office, and to be scorned and counted an alien by her mother's children is her lot; and yet the church has a deep well of joy of which none can drink but her own children. There are stores of wine and oil and grain hidden in the midst of our Jerusalem, on which the saints of God are evermore sustained and nourished; and sometimes, as in our Savior's case, we have our seasons of intense delight, for "there is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of our God." Exiles though we are, we rejoice in our King; yes, in Him we exceedingly rejoice, while in His name we set up our banners.