Thanks Jesus For Suffering In Our Place

Thanks Jesus For Suffering In Our Place

A HERO’S TALE

The book of Isaiah is tough to read.

As the longest of the Old Testament’s prophetic books, it’s filled with harsh condemnations of sin, shocking imagery of judgment, and frightening predictions of destruction and sorrow. It is God’s final warning, through the prophet Isaiah, to the people of Judah to turn from their sins before he has to punish their rebellion.

As we’ve discussed earlier, the people didn’t listen. Eventually, the powerful Babylonian Empire fully conquered Judah (by 586 BC) and exiled many of the people to distant lands.

Yet mixed in with all the doom and gloom of Isaiah is a message of glorious hope. God promised to restore his people and bless them with a new kingdom of peace, joy, and forgiveness. But after all their sin against God, how was this possible?

Check out Isaiah 52:13–53:12. It’s one of the most beloved passages in all Scripture. In it, Isaiah predicts the coming of a “servant” who will pay for the people’s guilt and sins by his own suffering. This “Suffering Servant” is compared to a lamb (see Isaiah 53:7), connecting him to the Old Testament sacrificial system, where Jewish priests sacrificed animals at the temple altar to atone, or pay for, the people’s sins.

But the Suffering Servant would be a far greater sacrifice than any animal, because his atonement would be once and for all. Never again would an animal’s blood need to be shed, because the Suffering Servant would shed his own perfect blood for all mankind.

He would endure unspeakable tragedy. Isaiah’s prophecy says he would be “despised and rejected” (Isaiah 53:3), “acquainted with deepest grief” (53:3), considered “punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted” (53:4, NIV), “pierced” and “crushed” (53:5), and “so disfigured he seemed hardly human” (52:14).

And he’d do this all for you.

DECODING THE MESSAGE

Do you know who the Suffering Servant is? It’s Jesus Christ!

God’s own Son fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy through his crucifixion on a terrible Roman cross. Jesus endured all that pain and suffering to pay for your sins and make you right with God. Three days later, he rose from the grave, proving that God had accepted his sacrifice forever.

Now, through faith in Jesus, you can receive the blessings of God’s love and forgiveness (instead of his wrath and punishment). For what he did in your place, Jesus deserves all your trust, thanks, and praise!

BATTLE PLAN

Read Isaiah 52:13–53:12 and offer a prayer of thanks to Jesus for the incredible sacrifice he made to pay for your sins.

—Isaiah 53:5, NIV