Third in a series on Romans 15:1-3
“For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me’ ” (Romans 15:3).
Bringing Jesus into the equation seems especially strong as Paul tries to convince His fellow Christians that giving up some liberties for the benefit of others is a small price to pay in comparison to what Jesus both gave up by leaving Heaven and suffered for all mankind by coming to the earth. He bore the burden of the reproaches of all of our sins.
The quotation is from Psalm 69:9 and is intended to allow the supreme sacrifice of Jesus to stand tall in convincing His fellows to get over themselves and be willing to follow this principle of sacrificing relatively minor inconveniences for the spiritual good of others
No example could have been given that would have been any more dramatic or convincing than this one. Pondering Jesus’ sacrifice of Himself in contrast to what Paul is teaching us to do should bring us to our knees in shame: the two are not even comparable.