WATCHWORD:
22 He never sinned, never told a lie, 23 never answered back when insulted; when he suffered he did not threaten to get even; he left his case in the hands of God who always judges fairly. 24 He personally carried the load of our sins in his own body when he died on the cross so that we can be finished with sin and live a good life from now on. For his wounds have healed ours! 1 Peter 2:22-24
1But, oh, how few believe it! Who will listen? The was like a tender green shoot, sprouting from a root in dry and sterile ground. But in our eyes there was no attractiveness at all, nothing to make us want him. 3 We despised him and rejected him—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 didn’t care. 4 Yet it was our grief he bore, our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, for his own sins! 5 But he was wounded and bruised for our sins. He was beaten that we might have peace; he was lashed—and we were healed! 6 We—every one of us—have strayed away like sheep! We, who left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet God laid on him the guilt and sins of every one of us! 7 He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he never said a word. He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he stood silent before the ones condemning him. 8 From prison and trial they led him away to his death. But who among the people of that day realized it was their sins that he was dying for—that he was suffering their punishment? 9 He was buried like a criminal, but in a rich man’s grave; but he had done no wrong and had never spoken an evil word. Isaiah 53:1-9
Meditation:
Friendship with Jesus
We sing, what a friend we have in Jesus, all our sins and griefs to bear, what a privilege it is to carry, everything to God in prayer! We sing it, but do we practice it? What stops us? Throughout scripture we are encouraged to bring it all, our discouragement, our sadness, our victories, everything to God, and yet…we do very little of that. What is there about surrender that we do so little of it? Is it that we do not want to bother the Almighty with our petty problems?
Do we have a hard time trying to understand Jesus, the Messiah, as a close friend that loves us and has gifted us with the ultimate sacrifice of His own body? That was an act of love. Have we forgotten the truth in the song we learned as children – “Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so…”? Are we disrespecting the Creator God when we fail to respond to His encouragement?
Pastor Allen Jackson has a good take on the love that Jesus has for us, in a recent devotional — “Peter quotes Isaiah 53:9 to remind us that Jesus, the Messiah, was perfectly sinless. Then he says, He himself bore our sins in his body. … “He himself” is a way of adding emphasis to the person being described. Jesus didn’t ask His closest friends or family to share the burden. He didn’t pay someone to take on the difficult task. Jesus took something upon Himself, something that we deserved so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness. Note that what was done to Jesus was not about paying the price for His sin. He was paying the price for our sin—my sin and your sin. I live for His glory, not because of any goodness in me. I live for Him in humble recognition of what He has done on my behalf.
Jesus was punished that we might be forgiven. He died that we might share His life. Yielding and cooperating with Jesus’ finished work and His Holy Spirit will bring us to a place of abundant life. We want to cultivate the desire to know Jesus, and honor His sacrifice on our behalf. That is just stating spiritual fact and part and partial of our faith. Believe it, know it, ACT ON IT! He did it all for us because He loves us. Amen.
Jesus Loves Me, This I Know
… for the Bible tells me so, and that is enough for me!
Prayer from Pastor Allen Jackson:
Heavenly Father, I choose to yield my heart and life more fully to You because of all You have done for me through the Cross of Your Son, Jesus. I want to be a good friend to Him by cooperating with Your Spirit and acknowledging Jesus in all I do. In His name, Amen.
