As we approach Easter Friday Isaiah 53 which predates the death of Christ by some 800 years gives a poignant account of what the Suffering Servant must go through. The harshness of the imagery in The Passion of the Christ also should give us pause and may we take the opportunity this Easter to re-commit and re-focus on the Lamb that was slain, the new covenant in his blood, that gives us the hope of redemption.
Isaiah 53 vs. 1-7 – Like A Lamb To The Slaughter
Who has believed our message? To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.
Jesus came to this earth not in majesty but in a manger and was instantly at harm
Herod did not want competition and sought out newborn boys his worry was deep and profound
Divinely warned Mary and Joseph left Bethlehem to Nazareth where all was calm
Jesus grew in stature and wisdom and in favour with God and men, his belief in God was sound
Yet he kept below the radar, a carpenter, an ordinary man who did not swear or say darn
For 30 years he grew in favour with God and his love for him when the Spirit came did resound
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 deepest grief.
Jesus knew what he was called to and demonstrated his Father and spoke of his kingdom
People saw him do mighty acts, were amazed by his oratory hoping he would give relief
From their oppression by the Romans, that they would be free and that it was not a whim
On Palm Sunday they thought he was to be a conquering king, Friday he was hung by a thief
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
On the cross he hung weeping for a people lost in sin, he did take their sin and he did it bear
At the end he cried out “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” he was down
He was sad for his Father could not intercede for him, Jesus had to our sins take and bear
In order that victory over Satan could be won Jesus had to die on the Cross and be down
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole.
Jesus endured more than we could imagine, yet he was without sin and died sad within
Separated from his Father, nevertheless he said “ Your will be done”, even though deep in his soul
He wished the cup of death could be taken away, he died a horrible death for our sins
Not because we deserved it, rather that we might from sin be set free and be complete, whole
He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.
We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
He loved us so much he sent his Son to free us from sin, so over it us it wouldn’t hold sway
We are not deserving of such love, such grace so amazing demands our love, our all
Yet so often we fail to give to him our worship, we fall and from his love we drift away
Jesus paid the price, he died for us nailed to cross the LORD laid on him the sins of us all
He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb
To the slaughter, and as a sheep is silent before the shearers he did not open his mouth.
He could have done many things to prove his Lordship, his critics did him verbally slam
They mocked and whipped him, they stood around him, much of what they said was uncouth
They will meet him on the day of Judgement and they will bow and worship the holy lamb
Today the choice is yours will you worship the Lord? Will you sing will you open your mouth?
Sing praises to him, at his name every knee will bow, every tongue confess worthy is the lamb
For he has redeemed us and we are free from sin, let us praise him with him all our youth
Mark Maffey, September 2008
(NLT)
Isaiah 53 vs. 8-12 – The Cost of The Cross
Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants,
That his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people.
He did not protest the crowds shouted free Barabbas, the roar from them was ascendant
Pilate washed his hands of the situation he knew Jesus was innocent but heard the people
Jesus was whipped and mocked in front of a regiment, of him they were condescendant
They put a crown of thorns on his head, and a purple robe, mocked him a king of people
Yeah right I can hear them say, King of the Jews, to us you are lowly, your life on us dependent
So they led him to the place of the skull, Golgotha, nailed him to a cross in front of many people
He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal
He was put in a rich man’s grave but it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief.
As Jesus’ life came to an end on the cross, he died a horrible death that he might free us all
From sin and diseases, that we might not perish, but have eternal life, if we in him place our belief
He cried out at the end, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” He died for us all
To be separated from his Father was so painful, he took on him all sin, and it caused him grief
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
For God chose to raise him from the dead and he over death was ascendant
Nothing could hold him down he rose on the third day and walked over the land
He instructed the disciples who grew the church which now has many descendants
He is the Lamb upon the throne, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands
When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied, and because of his experience,
My righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
For we cannot be made right without his death on the cross, for our sin nature is with God at variance
We all have sinned and turned away, only through his death can we be saved from all of our sins
He calls each of us by name and is acquainted will all our ways and desires that life in full we experience
I came that you might have life in all it’s abundance, will you trust me for I have borne all your sins
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Even now he is intercedes for us understanding the pressures and loads we are beneath
He counsels us to come to him with our loads, put on his yoke and he will our fears quell
For he is worthy, worthy of our worship, lamb upon the throne, he has conquered death
At his name every knee will bow, every tongue confess, he is Lord, will you of him tell?
Mark Maffey, October 2008
(NLT)
