Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53
Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
In the last few weeks in our home, we have had many conversations about Easter and its meaning. It took a little while to get past the newness of peeps and candy filled eggs with our boys, but eventually we landed on the story of Jesus. Simultaneously, our small group has gone through a six-week study called The Easter Experience by City on a Hill productions. This has led us up to celebrating Easter this past weekend. In the midst of all of these conversations and scripture reading around Easter it has allowed us more time to reflect around what Jesus physically went through in addition to His willingness to die upon that old rugged cross.
In our group we have read various scriptures leading up to this event and asked each other, ” Who would you most identify with at this moment?” One of the two thieves, Peter, Judas, Mary, one of the guards or on-lookers? We had the opportunity to watch some difficult video that visually shows his pain and suffering. As we landed on Isaiah 53 its amazing to see how over 700 years earlier Isaiah was prophesizing this day to come. It’s fitting that Isaiah means “God is salvation” in Hebrew.
Another interesting fact that I learned this week while learning more about Isaiah 53 is how the total chapters in Isaiah is equal to the old testament and the new testament. (66) our Sovereign Lord always shows his authority in so many ways.
Now Isaiah 53 has so many truths we can take away. I would encourage you to read slowly Isaiah 53:1-12. If we had only had Isaiah 53 we would understand the birth, life, death, and resurrection of our Lord. We have fallen short, and like sheep needing a shepherd, there is only one person who can save us, Jesus. The suffering that Jesus went though He did not deserve. All of it. Its unimaginable that the sins He died for on the cross include my sins today. And even though Jesus didn’t deserve any of it, He took them all.
Mark 10:45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
It’s hard to even imagine, I take it for granite daily. No, there’s nothing I can do to pay Him back. I simply give thanks, pray to be obedient, lovingly trust Him with all aspects of my life to the best of my human possibility. We deserved the death, but Jesus took it for all of us. We thank you, praise you, and love you.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin[b] for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:20-21.
From Suffering Servant to Glorious King.