Scripture: Isaiah 53 v 3 - 12:
" 3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors."
The Holy Spirit spoke through the mouth of Isaiah this profound prophecy of the death of a Man who bore every man's sins, who opened not His mouth to them that accused Him, and with His stripes we are healed.
This is one of 333 Old Testament prophecies pertaining to every aspect of the conception, birth, birthplace, life, teachings, betrayal, arrest, judgment, death of Jesus Christ.
Because the Jewish Rabbis do not believe that Jesus resurrected from the dead, but that His disciples removed His Body and buried it in an unknown grave, they have blocked this chapter of prophecy from ever being read in a synagogue. They cannot understand nor explain it unless they believe that Jesus is their Messiah.
John 1 v 6 - 11: "There was a man sent from God, whose name was John.
7 The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe.
8 He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.
9 That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
10 He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.
11 He came unto his own, and his own received him not."
Jesus came to the chosen people of God, the Jews in Israel, the Promised Land, and they rejected Him. When He entered Jerusalem on a donkey on Palm Sunday, they proclaimed Hosanna to the King! A few days later that same crowd cried, Crucify Him! About 6 weeks later the same 3000 people cried out to Peter, What must we do to be saved!
Acts 2 v 36 - 38: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.
37 Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."
And they did!
This is what Jesus our King died for! That the souls of men would be converted to God, forgiven, made into new creations - part human part divine, worshipping and glorifying God in the highest. Their names are all written in the Lamb's Book of Life, our passport to eternity.
Revelation 21 v 25 - 27: "And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there.
26 And they shall bring the glory and honour of the nations into it.
27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life."
Words uttered by Jesus while He was dying: Father, forgive them, they know not what they are doing.
Jesus became one of us so He could accurately assess what we are going through. He knew that the enemy controlled us through sin. Our only hope was Grace. The unmerited forgiveness of sin.
Pontius Pilate insisted they put a sign above Jesus' head that said King of the Jews. The Pharisees objected vigorously to this and tried to get him to change it to, He said He was king of the Jews, but Pilate refused. He, like us, finally knew the truth. The King died that day.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, You sent Jesus to die so that any who believed in Him as Your Son and our Saviour, would be forgiven their sins through the shed Blood of Jesus. On this day nearly 2000 years ago our King died. Rejected, beaten, mocked and killed. We will never forget what was done for us in the greatest act of love ever seen on this planet.
Father, forgive us and bless us with peace. In Jesus' name. Amen.
