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The Sacrifice

Read

What God's Servant Did for Us

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.

Contemporary English Version, Second Edition (CEV®) © 2006 American Bible Society. All rights reserved.
See this passage in other languages or Bible versions

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

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