Jesus stared down the shame. That is a powerful encouragement for all today who are plagued with shame. Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines shame as “a painful emotion caused by consciousness of guilt, shortcoming, or impropriety.” The Free Dictionary defines it as “a painful emotion caused by the belief that one is, or is perceived by others to be, inferior or unworthy of affection or respect because of one’s actions, thoughts, circumstances, or experiences.” It is “a condition of disgrace or dishonor; ignominy.” Some say shame is an emotion of self-blame.

Jesus stared down shame in its worst form: the guilt of all our sins, failures, and judgments. He despised it, and He didn’t just passively submit to it but intentionally and aggressively attacked shame.

[Fix] our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. (Heb. 12:2)

Jesus stared down shame by not letting the prospect of it deter Him from the cross. The blame and shame for all of our sins, failures, and self-judgments, whether real or falsely self-perceived, were laid on Him. Praise God, He didn’t give up on us, thinking the price was too great. He made it His life mission to defeat this tool of Satan.

Jesus stared down shame by neutralizing it on the cross. Shame is a form of self-death, a fear of being exposed, or the embarrassment of already being exposed. Our sins, failures, and self-judgments were fully exposed before God and were defeated on the cross. We are forgiven at the depth of our worst and most painful fears, namely, shame. God does not practice double jeopardy; He does not prosecute twice for the same crime (whether real or perceived). On the cross, Jesus was punished for us to set us free from the fear of shame.

Jesus stared down shame by His resurrection. There is life after death! There is life after shame! We are forgiven for all of our sins, failures, and self-judgments. We are redeemed as valuable to God, and He chose to adopt us in love. We have no fear of being exposed because His blood covers us. We have already been nailed to the cross in Jesus, and there is no longer any more need for judgment. We are free from shame.

Jesus stared down shame by His promise to return. He is coming back into this shame-filled world to finally expose shame for what it is! Our Lord will turn shame back on itself so that all can see how shameful shame is. It will be entirely and forever silenced, done away with. Those who proudly shamed others will be exposed, naked, without excuse. Those who cast the first stone at others will stand naked in shame. Satan himself, the author of shameful manipulative lies, will be exposed as naked and shamed. The self-loathing he used as a weapon against us will be turned against him. I don’t think his eternal judgment will be spent cursing God but cursing himself in shame.

Because Jesus stared down shame, we too can stare shame down. We cannot change the past, but we can change how we see the future. Because of the cross, shame can no longer control and manipulate us to deter us from our mission to live for and serve our Lord. The fear of shame is exposure and judgment, but we have already been exposed and have found God’s unconditional, eternal love, not judgment. Praise God for His victory over shame.

Lord, I join with Jesus and stare down shame in my life. I do not fear judgment but remind myself that You love me entirely, even in the secret parts of my life.