The Sufferings of Jesus

For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. There will be no end to the increase of His government or of peace, On the throne of David and over his kingdom, To establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness From then on and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this (Isaiah 9:2–7).

      This prophetic eschatological passage speaks of the coming of a King who will rule and reign on heaven and on earth. A child is born and a son given - and I’d like to suggest that the government of heaven on earth rests on the sons and daughters of God.

There is a connection between the rule or dominion of God on earth and us showing up as sons or daughters. When I think of some of my heroes of modern times, Bill Johnson and John and Carol Arnott, (just to name three) I am struck that they show up in their lives as sons and daughters, not as fathers and mothers. Many, including me, have given them a place as a father and mother, but they still manifest this quality of sonship. Which also makes them easy to follow.

     When I start talking about becoming a son, many people think immediately of the abuses. The serious abuses of previous movements in the church, particularly the discipleship movement in the 70s and 80s. People will hear me say that I want a subservient people waiting to mow my lawn and roof my house when I speak of sonship.

Let me ask you a question: Is Jesus less than the Father? No. That would be nonsense and heretical. Sonship is not about hierarchy or authority; it’s about how we as individuals manifest or show up in our own lives.

The culture of heaven is not authority or even power - it is family.

Not the “2.2 kids, a minivan, and a dog” family but family relationships that love and honor each other. Sonship is not a loss. It’s not a taking away of your freedom, destiny, and will. It is not a theft of your greatness. In this Kingdom, those who want to be first must be last. Those who want to be the greatest must be the least.

I would suggest that the real suffering of Jesus we are to embrace and be baptized into is not the 40 hours of the Passion. But rather, it is the 33 years of being a son on earth as He was in heaven.