Isaiah 53:3-4
The Message (MSG)
2-6The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We're all like sheep who've wandered off and gotten lost.
We've all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we've done wrong,
on him, on him.
Jesus, forgive me for only barely understanding all that it is you did for me. That you not only carried my sins, but the whole worlds. I cannot even begin to imagine how horrible and heavy, thick and rancid, emotional and overwhelming that must have been. When I'm carrying my own sin around it distorts my vision, creates physical presences such as headaches and muscle's hurting, can give gloom to my day and my being. It can cripple me at times. And left to linger it eats away at me. Oh, the disgusting thought that you must have felt similar things....while baring the sin of not just one man....but all mankind....and not just one sin, but a lifetime of sins. And none your own. You had never known the horror and separation it brings from life, from God. You had never sinned. And yet our sin separated you from God the Father...because that's what sin does. It separates. It divides.
You continued to bare our sin even when people mocked you. Put thorns on your head. Beat you. Humiliated you. You could have changed your mind at any time. These weren't your sins to carry. You could have called the wrath of God down on those who hurt you, who despised you. You could have asked the angels to attend you. But you didn't. You continued on to the very end....so you could say, "It is finished." So the curse could be BROKEN. That we could have the opportunity of being freed from the curse of sin and death. Something we could never do on our own.
I am overwhelmed at what you did for me. For all of us. Thank you. Thank you.
I desire to live my life for you. I truly do. And at times I find hard. And much of the time I find I am distracted by the world around me. But I want to live for you. Please help me. Help me to lean on your Holy Spirit. Help me to be focused and intentional about how I live me life. And when my emotions blind me, give me clarity. I am Yours, and I desire to live for You.
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