September 28
Isaiah 51-53
Psalm 107:10-16
Proverbs 23:29-35
I Thessalonians 5:1-11
The Gospel According to Isaiah
“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. 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. 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 its shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth.” Isaiah 53:5-7 NIV
Isaiah lived 700 years before Jesus. In chapter 53, Isaiah describes the life and ministry of Jesus in great detail. He describes His early life, His appearance, and His rejection by the people of Israel. He then goes on to foretell the events leading up to His death and lays out the gospel message in a clear and understandable way. The book of Isaiah was available before Jesus ever took His first breath on Earth. Looking back on it now, it seems like this chapter could have been written by Luke or John to tell us about Jesus’ ministry and sacrifice. Or it could have been written by Paul to explain the meaning of His death and resurrection. But that is not the case. This chapter was written at least 700 years before Jesus was born. God inspired Isaiah to put these details in his book to tell us what to expect and as proof that Jesus was indeed the long-awaited Messiah. We can clearly see that this chapter is talking about Jesus, but at the time I doubt that even Isaiah understood what he was writing. The Jews expected the Messiah to come as a conquering hero, not as a suffering servant. Only God could have inspired him to write this description. Isaiah could not have guessed the events that were to transpire with such accurate detail.
Not only does chapter 53 describe the events of Jesus’ life accurately, but it also lays out God’s redemptive plan and explains the purpose behind the plan. We all, individually and collectively, have gone astray. We have each chosen to follow our own path and wandered away from His perfect plan. Instead of following our loving, protective Shepherd, we have chosen our sin and selfish desires. Jesus humbly and willingly accepted the punishment for our sins. He remained silent before His accusers to pay the price for our redemption. He was pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. We can have peace with God because He took the punishment that we deserved. He was spotless and pure like a sacrificial lamb, but He chose to be numbered with the guilty. He not only suffered the physical pain of death, but He also willingly accepted the humiliation and emotional agony of crucifixion. Jesus knew that this was the plan from the beginning. He was motivated to follow through with the plan by His love for us and His commitment to obeying His Father’s will.
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