Read
What God's Servant Did
1 Has anyone believed us
or seen the mighty power
of the Lord in action?
2Like a young plant or a root
that sprouts in dry ground,
the servant grew up
obeying the Lord.
He wasn't some handsome king.
Nothing about the way he looked
made him attractive to us.
3He was hated and rejected;
his life was filled with sorrow
and terrible suffering.
No one wanted to look at him.
We despised him and said,
“He is a nobody!”
4He suffered and endured
great pain for us,
but we thought his suffering
was punishment from God.
5 He was wounded and crushed
because of our sins;
by taking our punishment,
he made us completely well.
6 All of us were like sheep
that had wandered off.
We had each gone our own way,
but the Lord gave him
the punishment we deserved.
7 He was painfully abused,
but he did not complain.
He was silent like a lamb
being led to the butcher,
as quiet as a sheep
having its wool cut off.
8He was condemned to death
without a fair trial.
Who could have imagined
what would happen to him?
His life was taken away
because of the sinful things
my people had done.
9 He wasn't dishonest or violent,
but he was buried in a tomb
among cruel, rich people.
10The Lord decided his servant
would suffer as a sacrifice
to take away the sin
and guilt of others.
Now the servant will live
to see his own descendants.
He did everything
the Lord had planned.
11By suffering, the servant
will learn the true meaning
of obeying the Lord.
Although he is innocent,
he will take the punishment
for the sins of others,
so that many of them
will no longer be guilty.
12 The Lord will reward him
with honor and power
for sacrificing his life.
Others thought he was a sinner,
but he suffered for our sins
and asked God to forgive us.
Reflect
Nothing costs more than sin.
When Adam and Eve rebelled in the garden, death invaded their bountiful life. The seed of their sin passed to each successive generation, thwarting God’s plan for abundant life – a close relationship with himself. In his mercy, he arranged a way for people to pay their sin-debt and find forgiveness – but it meant a costly sacrifice.
In many Eastern countries, livestock have always been vital to survival. Each lamb means milk for a child, clothing, meals and provision for a family. Before Jesus Christ, each Divine Law broken meant one of the family’s best animals must be sacrificed in substitution for the sinner. Each sacrifice meant the decrease of a family’s wealth or the increase of a family’s poverty. But every drop of spilled blood foreshadowed the coming, ultimate sacrifice, the one which would end sin-sacrifices forever.
As a child troubled by my own rebelliousness, I learned that God, in love, had centuries earlier peered down the ages into my heart and yours. That he provided a perfect lamb to die in our place. That his own flawless Son, Jesus Christ, willingly died on a cross-shaped altar strung like a bridge between earth and heaven.
Sin’s seeds, along with its incalculable costs and consequences, continue to multiply. But the debt piled through the ages has already been satisfied by the blood of Jesus; a payment that exceeds all sin and all guilt for all time. All that remains is for those with sin-weary, troubled hearts to accept his sacrifice, receive his forgiveness and with God’s help, leave sin behind.
How Deep the Father’s Love for Us https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=11&v=SKDujmtyAVk
Respond
Father, I have no adequate words to express my love and gratitude. Through your Son, you have erased by sin-debt forever and chosen to remember it no more. I have nothing to give in return except myself. Teach me today the sacrifice of praise. Amen.
Kathleen Gibson
Kathleen began following Jesus at six. The Word and words have captivated her ever since. Her career has included time as a freelancer, columnist, broadcaster, conference speaker, workshop leader and magazine editor. She has authored two books and currently works full-time as constituency and communications assistant for a Canadian Member of Parliament. Kathleen and her husband, Rick, spent thirty years pastoring churches across Western Canada. They have two children and six grandchildren. Publications: Practice by Practice, the art of everyday faith, 2010, Word Alive, Winnipeg; West Nile Diary, one couple’s triumph over a deadly disease, 2009, BPS Books, Toronto; Sunny Side Up, Faith and Life newspaper column, published weekly since 2001. (Also posted weekly at www.kathleengibson.ca/sunnysideup); 90 second inspirational radio spot, Simple Words, airs on a syndicated program in over twenty countries