“Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle many nations.” Isaiah 52:13-15a ESV
Reflection: have you actually looked up at Him who suffered and died for you?
It is so horrible what happened, so grusom of a sight, that we don’t want to see it. The bleeding, suffering, marred beyond recognition, the dying Messiah, lifted up on a cursed tree, so that we all can see Him. If we look up to see Him. But, let me ask you, have you really taken the time to looked at Him, hanging there among criminals, lifted up for all to see? Are we afraid of really seeing, of accepting the cost of our own sin, of our own iniquities?
His suffering is very personal.
It was me, and my sin, that put Him there. Not everyone else’s fault. I cannot blame others for my sins. I have to own up to what I have done, and the cost of my sin, as I look at my Savior who is slowly dying. For me. His beaten, marred, broken body beyond recognition. For me. The blood dripping, from each of the strikes He received, strikes He took, for me. His horrific pain, with each breath taken. For me. As darkness covers the land, the Father looks away from His beloved son. He emptied Himself completely. For me. His gave up everything, His body and His blood, His life. For me. So that I could receive forgiveness, so that I can enter into the Father’s presence, and receive life. This was His plan. To establish and declare
A new covenant, in His own blood.
This was His idea. He took the initiative, to pay the price to save us. We cannot fully comprehend what He did for us. It is so difficult to enter in to this space, to see, to hear, to try to understand the cost of our sin. A debt that we owed, But we must. Our sin, our guilt cause us to look down, in shame. But, He tells us to look up, at Him who is lifted up. To understand His love for us. Jesus said “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.” John 3:14-15 ESV.
Read Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 today, just for yourself. Then take some time on this special day to really and honestly look at Him. Not in a crowd. Just you, standing there below the cross, and Him, dying for you. To give you life. The cost He was willing to pay because He loves you. To save you, to give you life.
