Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that made us whole, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief; when he makes himself an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand; he shall see the fruit of the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous; and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53:4-12 RSV)
Happy Wednesday, dear Friend! I pray the Lord make this a wonderful Wednesday for you and yours! Cast your burdens, worries, anxieties unto the Lord and trust that He will deal with them in His way! We continue to pray for those along the flood waters of recent rains, for those still digging out of hurricane ravages, and for those families who have lost loved ones because of weather; may the Lord comfort them. Pray for one another; pray for yourselves.
The prophet, inspired by the Spirit of God, spoke and recorded the powerful words of today's passage. Did he know that his words would come true many years after he first received them? The answer is probably not; but he was called by God to speak God's words, and so he trusted that God would fulfill what he was writing down. The words could easily be applied to the scene on Golgotha by the crowds witnessing the crucifixion of Jesus. The believers did not yet know that Jesus was carrying our griefs and our sorrows, nor did they know that Jesus was wounded because of our transgressions and iniquities; all they could see was a man being brutally tortured, then murdered, because of us. The eyewitnesses may have thought, "Why is God causing or allowing this for this poor man?" not knowing that it would be in reflection that the impact of that event would bring revelation of God's grace and love to humanity.
The prophet writes a truth when he says, "All we like sheep have got astray; we have turned every one to his own way." Yet, he also writes a more powerful truth, "and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." The list continues, "By oppression and judgment, He has taken away" our sins. There was no fault found in Him, yet He borne our faults to the cross. Once dead, the prophet's words ring true, "And they made His grave with the wicked (the two thieves by His side) and with a rich man (Joseph of Arimathea) in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth." All for the glory of God.
The man in the prophetic description is our Savior, Jesus. On Him we can cast our sins and iniquities, and He has already paid the price for them. Through Jesus' suffering, we are made new and whole, clean and pure. And He continues as our intercessor even for our transgressions.
Dear one, if it has been some time since you have confessed your sins to the Lord; now is the time to do so again, or for the very first time. You don't have to say them out loud, just think them before the Lord and know that He will take them away from us and grant us pardon and release from the jail of the guilt we have been carrying for all this time. Your Wednesday will indeed be a wonderful one if you do that!
PRAYER: Heavenly Father, hear the prayer of this dear reader, as they confess their sins and iniquities to You. Grant them release and freedom! Let them know that they have been made new and whole, pure and clean. Make the moment be a special one of new life and freedom. This we pray in the name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, amen!
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Show someone the Way that you have found in Jesus!
Eradio Valverde
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