Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road—the desert road—that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet. The Spirit told Philip, “Go to that chariot and stay near it.”
Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.
“How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.
The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture:
“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
and as a lamb before the shearer is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
Who can speak of his descendants?
For his life was taken from the earth.”
The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.
This passage of scripture in Isaiah that the eunuch was reading is found in Isaiah 53 (NIV 1984):
… He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities…
As I was praying through what I read in Acts 8 and in Isaiah 53 concerning Jesus Christ, and how, in his humiliation, he was deprived of justice, and how we, too, as his followers, will sometimes be deprived of justice, because we are followers of Christ and not of man, the Lord brought to mind another phrase: “This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it.” This is a quote from Psalm 118 (NIV 1984):
… In my anguish I cried to the LORD,
and he answered by setting me free.
The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The LORD is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
… I was pushed back and about to fall,
but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song;
he has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and victory
resound in the tents of the righteous:
“The LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!
The LORD’s right hand is lifted high;
the LORD’s right hand has done mighty things!”
I will not die but live,
and will proclaim what the LORD has done.
The LORD has chastened me severely,
but he has not given me over to death.
Open for me the gates of righteousness;
I will enter and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD
through which the righteous may enter.
I will give you thanks, for you answered me;
you have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the LORD has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day the LORD has made;
let us rejoice and be glad in it.
O LORD, save us;
O LORD, grant us success.
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
The LORD is God,
and he has made his light shine upon us.
With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession
up to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give you thanks;
you are my God, and I will exalt you.
Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.
My Understanding: God does not promise us that the Christian life will be easy, or that we won’t face many hardships. In fact, he promises us just the opposite. Jesus, while he was still on the earth, informed his disciples concerning the sufferings and unjust treatment they should expect to experience as his followers. He told them that if he was hated that they would be hated, too. He told them that they would be treated just like he was treated. Isaiah 53 paints for us a very vivid description of how Jesus was treated, although he had done no wrong, and had only done good to people.
He was despised, rejected by men, a man of sorrows and one familiar with suffering. People even hid their faces from him. He was crucified on a cruel cross for our sins. He was oppressed and afflicted. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. He was deprived of justice. Yet, it was the will of God that he should die for the sins of the world. Yet, although he had no physical offspring, he has seen and will continue to see spiritual offspring. God the Father resurrected him back to life so that he lives forever and ever. And, as a result of his guilt offering for our sins and his resurrection, by God’s grace, and through faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we can be set free from the ultimate penalty of sin (spiritual death; eternity in hell) and from the control of sin over our lives on a day-to-day basis.
Then, Psalm 118 continues this thought about Jesus Christ when it states that the stone the builders rejected has become the capstone and that the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. So, this is the day the LORD has made and we should rejoice and be glad in it. Why? Because Jesus, although he had died a cruel death as though he was a common criminal, and even though he had been deprived of justice, God had a greater plan for him that man could not stop. From all appearances Jesus had failed in his earthly mission and that his work died with him. Yet, that was not the truth of the matter. His death served a greater purpose – so that it could bring life to us, who by faith have made Jesus our Lord and Savior. So, it appeared his life had ended, but in reality it had only begun, because through his death and resurrection many have come to faith in Jesus Christ and have been given new life in Christ Jesus, and so Jesus lives on through our lives, and we live because he lives within us. So, that is why we rejoice and are glad in that day.
Not only can we rejoice in Jesus’ victory over death, hell, Satan and sin, and in our salvation through faith in him, but we can rejoice even in our own afflictions and unjust treatment because when the Lord chastens us, even through unjust treatment, he has a greater purpose for allowing us to be crushed, and so we must trust in his sovereignty and his wisdom in doing in our lives what is best for us. And, we must not fear man or what man might do to us, because the Lord is with us, and because it is much better to take refuge and to trust in the Lord than to put our trust in man, because man will fail us, but God will never fail us, even though it may appear sometimes as though he has forgotten us.
If we truly place our trust in Jesus Christ, and we are walking humbly before him in obedience, he will be with us and will see us through whatever trials he might allow to come our way. He may not set us free from our circumstances, but he will set us free from the fear of what might come our way. And, he will be our strength and our song of victory even in our trials, because we trusted in the Lord and did not give way to the fear of man.
Jesus, Lead Me / An Original Work / July 22, 2011
Jesus, lead me all the way.
Be my hope and be my stay.
Gently lead me where I should go,
So Your Spirit, I want to know.
Open up my heart to You.
Fill me with Your love and truth.
Make my heart want to obey.
Be my Lord today. Gently lead always.
Jesus, lover of my soul,
Cleanse my heart, and make me whole;
Be transformed in my heart today,
As I turn from my sin and pray.
Make Your will known to my heart.
May I not from You depart.
How I long to hear You now,
As I humbly bow. Jesus, hear me now.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YTIM16o9ldg
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