The Suffering Servant

Isaiah 53:5-7

“5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities;

upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.

6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth,like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.”

God told Isaiah that the long yearned for, long awaited Messiah would be rejected and would suffer.  He would be led as a sheep to the slaughter but he would say nothing in his defense.

God told Isaiah that this was all part of his plan for the redemption of humankind.  He would lay all of humankind’s sins on Him,  so that His suffering would be for us all.

The Messiah did not come to this earth for fame, or to be crowned King and live in luxury in a palace.  He came to serve, to be rejected, to suffer, to die, and to rise again.

For us.   For our sins.

For our salvation.

May the love of Christ be with you,

Rev. Eric Lanier (Retired)