The birth, life, and passion of Christ were all foretold in the Old Testament, hundreds of years in advance. All of this last week before we celebrate Easter we will focus on the most arresting of those prophesies, Isaiah 53, a description of his passion. The book of the prophet Isaiah was written at approximately 650 B.C., making its clarity all the more amazing.
“Who has believed our message? To whom will the LORD reveal his saving power? My servant grew up in the LORD’S presence like a tender green shoot sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with bitterest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way when he went by. He was despised and we did not care.” Isaiah 53:1-3
“Tender green shoot…root…dry and sterile ground.” Indeed, from the root of Jewish faith Jesus came as God’s new shoot of life…but into a Jewish faith that had grown dry and sterile, lost in rules-keeping and endless ceremony. As he came into that environment it was appropriate to ask, “Who has believed our message?” for many of them heard the message, but would not believe. Was he despised and rejected? Yes. Was he a man of sorrows, acquainted with the bitterest kinds of grief? Yes. And did we turn our backs on him? Yes.
We continue to do the same today. If you have heard me speak, you have heard me say that we approach our faith new each day. Each day we must make a new commitment, for that day, to follow God. We don’t always succeed in that commitment, and sometimes we turn our back on him and look the other way.
In this week before Resurrection Sunday I ask you to make a conscious decision at the start of each day to fully surrender that day to Jesus. What will that mean…where will that take you? That’s up to him. Our job is to make our hearts soft and to surrender to him…to believe his message and honor his messenger.
“Lord Jesus, come into my heart. You are honored there. I believe your message and I will not reject you. I pray that I will cause you no more sorrow or grief. Come into my heart. Come in to stay. Amen.”
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