Looking at Isaiah

“He was despised, and we did not care.” “… he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.” “…the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.”  “… treated harshly, yet he never said a word.” “… he did not open his mouth.”  “Unjustly condemned, he was led away” – Isaiah 53

            I believe a man like Jesus Christ was despised because he made sinners very uncomfortable. What was sad was that the religiously inclined among the citizenry “did not care” that he was despised. He was physically beaten, yet he had done nothing wrong according to the laws of the day. This was God’s plan. It seems perhaps harsh to say this, but perhaps those who suffer a tragic loss should read the Passion of Christ to understand that they are not alone. God willingly gave up his only Son and that Son willingly followed his Father’s will so that we could live as if we’d never done anything wrong. That is a tremendous gift. The descriptive words still don’t do his punishment justice. They make you wince at the sound of them … pierced, crushed, condemned! This prophetic book shows it in the past tense as if it had already happened, because to God who sees all and knows vividly what will take place before it ever takes place sees his redemptive plan as already finished. To him it was.

            Think about the heaviest weight you’ve ever lifted. Now consider what all the sins of every human soul would weigh on a person’s heart. It is unthinkable. It would be impossible for any mortal man to withstand such weight. I would imagine their heart would burst. Christ, being God, could undertake such pressure and win. The constant negative verbal pounding also takes a toll on a man, yet Christ remained silent. He didn’t utter one solitary word in his own defense. He knew what must take place, so he endured to the point of death.

            If we think about it I think we can all agree that this life is filled with far too much injustice. Innocent people treated as if they are guilty before they’ve had due process. The Jewish leaders wanted him dead. It wasn’t good enough to shoo him off to another region … Jesus must die! We shall continue in chapter 53 next time. Until then, walk with the King and be a blessing!  rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.