5.By what means was Jesus able to endure the cross, despising the shame?

By the joy set before Him.

It is very difficult at times for us to bear our personal cross. If we are to successfully follow Jesus throughout our lifetime we most have before us a joyful hope. That hope must be anchored beyond the grave, that is, we must be willing to go through life and never experience the fulfillment of joy in the present world. Nevertheless it is good to hope for fulfillment even in this world.

I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalms 27:13).

If the Christian walk is to be bearable we must have a hope of joy. We can find that hope only by spending much time before the Lord, walking with Him each day, as did Enoch. The Lord shares His secrets with us and they are not to be divulged to other people.

Jesus endured the cross by spending much time alone with God in prayer. The joy that God had for Him was not realized in this world, but now Jesus possesses all things. We must pray for joy. We cannot endure the rigors of patient, cross-carrying obedience unless we are finding joy continually in the Presence of the Lord.

People who believe it is not necessary to pursue the Lord with such intensity, to bear the cross of denial, look on the disciple with scorn. The disciple, because of his willingness to suffer with the Lord, looks with scorn on the reproach that comes on him. The true saint scorns the reproach of the cross because of the vision of joy he holds.