A Humble, Suffering Servant - Isaiah

He was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be 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.

Isaiah 53:5-6

Arthur H. Rostron, the skipper of RMS Carpathia, was asleep the night of April 14, 1912, when one of his crew burst into his cabin to inform him of a distress signal from the RMS Titanic. The celebrated ship had struck an iceberg and was in trouble.

Rostron, one of that awful night’s true heroes, raced at nearly full speed toward the Titanic’s last reported location. As a devout man of faith and prayer, Rostron never hesitated but issued orders for the Carpathia to head toward the iceberg-infested waters some sixty miles away—the Titanic’s last known position. At 4:00 AM, the Carpathia reached the Titanic and rescued more than seven hundred people from the icy waters.

Rostron gave everything at his disposal to save others.

As a man, Jesus Christ was the perfect example of that kind of giving. From the moment he entered the scene in the little Mediterranean land of Palestine two thousand years ago, Jesus began giving.

He hasn’t stopped.

The prophet Isaiah, who lived and ministered almost eight centuries before Jesus’ birth, saw this humble, suffering Servant from his own time. Isaiah depicts a man who willingly subjected himself to unspeakable suffering on behalf of others in love, humility, and self-sacrificial giving.

Knowing what Jesus has given you, what can you give back to him and to those who also serve him or need to know him?

How does Jesus’ selfless giving motivate you? When Jesus saved you, he reserved a place for you in his eternal Kingdom. He also set you on a new life course of humble giving to him and to those he has placed in your life. You bless him, bless others, and bless yourself when you make it your goal to give as he gave to you.