When it comes to portrayals of Jesus on film, my favorite may forever by that of Bruce Marchiano in the Visual Bible’s film, “THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW.” Were I to choose one word to characterize that portrayal I would choose “joyful.” Through prayer and Bible study, Bruce became convinced joy was the key to the character of Jesus. It certainly makes sense when you consider the way children flocked to Him. The Bible indicates that joy follows a life of obedience:
“You love righteousness and hate wickedness. No wonder God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy more than all your companions” Psalm 45:7.
This prophetic verse is repeated in the New Testament, and again applied to Jesus:
“You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness. Therefore God, your God, has anointed you with the oil of joy beyond your companions” Hebrews 1:9.
This passage is written as a cause and effect statement: BECAUSE you love to do the right thing, God has filled you with joy.
This is true for us as well. When we make good choices, God gives us joy. You won’t always feel joy in the moment, but I believe the Bible shows a correlation between righteousness—good choices—and joy.
But what about the converse? Does sin make people unhappy? Yes.
The Bible calls Jesus the Man of Sorrows because He bore OUR sorrows—when He bore our sins.
In the Garden of Gethsemane He said, “My soul is swallowed up in SORROW” Mark 14:34, and “My soul is swallowed up in SORROW to the point of death” Matthew 26:38. Jesus had nothing to feel sorrowful about. Dying on a cross would be scary, even terrifying. But not especially sorrowful. And this is not a question of translation. As I noted elsewhere, I reviewed over 60 English translations on this point!
Jesus felt sorrow over the sins of the world which were about to press their crushing weight onto His holy and divine heart.[1]
“My soul is EXCEEDINGLY SORROWFUL,” “I AM NEARLY CRUSHED WITH GRIEF,” “My soul is deeply grieved, EVEN TO THE POINT OF DEATH,” “My heart is so heavy with grief, I FEEL AS IF I AM DYING,” “The sorrow in my heart crushes Me.”
Jesus was sweating blood over SORROW because He knew His heart would be carrying the burden of mankind’s sins. We know sin causes death, but what does death cause if not sorrow? Thus, sin leads to sorrow. First, sorrow over mortal deaths, but then sorrow over the death of a relationship with the God Who loves you so infinitely, so passionately. Add to that the smaller deaths of hope, deaths of opportunities, deaths of better options and a blessed future. Sin steals, kills, and destroys, and the result is such great sorrow. Centuries of overwhelming sorrow and grief. Bearing the sins of history means feeling the GRIEF of history—the SORROW of history.
Don’t try to duck the truth on this: OBEDIENCE BRINGS JOY. DISOBEDIENCE BRINGS SORROW.
Or to put it another way: if you want to be happy, make better choices.
Are there exceptions? Yes. Are there other factors in play? Of course. Do people find joy in sin? Sometimes. Can you be sorrowful, while righteous? Certainly.
But the simple truth is this—people who make good choices are happier than people who make bad choices.
Read Hebrews 1.
P.S. I met Bruce Marchiano (pictured) on March 20, 2020. He graciously signed my copy of his excellent book, IN THE FOOTSTEPS OF JESUS: ONE MAN’S JOURNEY, which I read over a dozen times, using it for inspiration every time I played Jesus on stage. I love this book!
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[1] I am quoting myself for the next two paragraphs, but without quotation marks. https://dadsdailydevotionals.com/2023/11/06/man-of-sorrows-jesus-was-not-fearful-but-sorrowful-matthew-2638/
Household Words: 