A Man of Sorrows
Isaiah 53:1-3 ESV
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom
has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a
root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no
beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was
despised, and we esteemed him not.
As Jesus Christ, our God and
Lord, was treated, so will we who follow him be treated. He was hated,
despised, rejected, persecuted, abandoned, betrayed, denied, falsely accused,
wrongfully arrested, beaten, mocked and then hung on a cross to die, although
he had done no wrong. Why? Because he told people the truth about their sin,
because he claimed to be who he was and is, and because he did not conform to
the traditions of men.
So, if we truly follow him
with our lives, in being his servants and witnesses in taking the gospel of
Jesus Christ to the ends of the earth, and in living in his righteousness,
following his example, then we will also be hated and persecuted.
But, who were Jesus’ fiercest
opponents? They were the Jews, who were then God’s people. But they were also
the religious leaders within the temple of God. What is the temple of God
today? It is the church, but not a physical building or a denomination or an
organization, but the people of God, the body of Christ.
So, we should not at all be
surprised if our strongest opponents are from within the church, too, and among
the leadership, but not necessarily from among those within the body of Christ,
but from among those who make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but who
are hypocrites, as were the Pharisees and many of the religious leaders of
Jesus’ day.
He Bore our Sins
Isaiah 53:4-6 ESV
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried
our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by
God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his
wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have
turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity
of us all.
Jesus Christ, the Son of God,
and yet God himself, the second person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy
Spirit – left his throne in heaven, came to earth, took on human flesh,
suffered as we suffer, was tempted as we are also tempted, yet without sin, and
then was crucified on a cross for our sins.
He who knew no sin became sin
for us on that cross so that when he died, our sins died with him, and were
buried with him. And, when he was resurrected from the dead, he rose victorious
over sin, death, hell and Satan on our behalf. So, through faith in him, we can
be delivered from slavery to sin and be set free to walk with him in his
righteousness and holiness.
We, as his followers, will
never be able to take upon ourselves the sins of the world in the same way in
which Jesus did, nor is that necessary, for Jesus died once for all, and only
he can take away the sins of the world. Nonetheless, many are called upon to
suffer and die for the sake of the name of Jesus Christ and for the sake of his
gospel of salvation, because they are laying down their lives in order to see
others go free.
They are sacrificing their own
reputations, and they are putting themselves in harm’s way by the very fact
that they are doing what Jesus did in telling people the truth about their
sins, and by calling people to repentance, and by not conforming themselves to
the ways of this sinful world.
It Was God’s Will
Isaiah 53:10-12 ESV
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put
him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see
his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be
satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to
be accounted righteous,
and he shall
bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall
divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was
numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes
intercession for the transgressors.
Yet, it was the will of God
that Jesus Christ, our God and Lord, should have to suffer and die on a cross
for our sins. Why? Because when we are born into this world we are born with
sin natures, separate from God, without hope, and destined for hell and eternal
punishment. We can do nothing to earn or to deserve our own salvation, too,
because we can never be good enough.
So, God’s plan for putting
our sin to death and for setting us free from the curse of sin was to send his
Only Begotten Son to the cross to die for our sins. Jesus Christ was the
perfect Lamb sacrifice to take away our sins. His blood shed on the cross for
our sins bought us back for God so that we can be reconciled with God, forgiven
of our sins, and have the hope of eternal life with God in heaven.
So, when we believe in Jesus
Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, by the Spirit of God we are
crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are resurrected with Christ in
newness of life, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. We
leave our old lives of sin behind us, and we now walk according to the Spirit
and no longer according to the flesh.
Yet, it was not only the will
of God that Jesus should suffer and die for us so that we could be set free of
the curse of sin and our slavery to sin, and it is not only his will that we
should die to sin and live to righteousness, but it is also his will that we
should suffer by being hated and persecuted for righteousness’ sake. For,
through our suffering we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ, we are
learning obedience, perseverance, and patience, and we are growing in our walks
of faith. And, God is using us in the lives of others to see them also be set
free from their slavery to sin.
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September
11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is
falling.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in all
ways.
Trust Him with your life
today.
Make Him your Lord and your
Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow
Jesus.
He will forgive you of your
sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new
within.
Men betraying: Our trust
fraying.
On our knees to God we’re
praying,
Seeking God to give us
answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all
things.
Nothing from His mind
escaping.
He has all things under His
command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently
calling
You to follow Him in all
ways.
Men deceiving: we’re
believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our
future.
For our wounds He offers
suture.
He is all we need for this
life.
Trust Him with your life
today.
Saturday, March 31, 2018,
3:00 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for this teaching from Your Word today. May we
find encouragement in these words.
No comments:
Post a Comment