GOD’S WORD FOR APRIL 12
GOD’S WORD FOR APRIL 12~ ~ Isaiah 52:13-15 ~ ~ “Behold, My Servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were appalled at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred beyond that of a man, and His form beyond the sons of mankind.
So He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him;
For what they had not been told, they will see and what they had not heard, they will understand.”
In these verses, Isaiah goes back and forth from describing the Glorious Second Coming of Christ, to His excruciating crucifixion, and back again to Glory. He is contrasting the unimaginable Glory of the Conquering King with the humble servant, Whom was beaten by sinful men—-men whom He created!!!! Men whom He is suffering for!!! And indeed they are connected, and one in the same. The crucifixion was at the same time the saddest time and the most victorious time, because Jesus, “ When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through the cross.” Simply put—-He stepped all over satan and took His power away against the people who cling to Him.
Most of us live our lives somewhere in the middle of these two extremes of Jesus. Many unsaved people know He died on the cross for their sins, but they don’t REALLY KNOW IT! They assume they’re saved just because they haven’t murdered anyone. They don’t understand that they must make a radical, perhaps some might say, extreme, decision to make Him THEIR LORD, letting Him guide them through the Holy Spirit. The pharisees, and teachers of the law, read scripture in the Temple daily, but the verses in Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, which we will be studying the next few days, they passed over. They didn’t want to think of a Messiah who would appear weak. They wanted a powerful political leader. They wanted Him to fit into their design. This is what the world does. That’s why we are not citizens of this world, but of the Kingdom of Heaven.
Those of us who name the Name of Jesus, how much do we think of those two sides of our Savior? Do we want Him to be a certain way, instead of submitting to the entirety of Him and the Father in the Trinity? Do we “pass over” certain aspects of His character, such as Justice, Chastisement, or an undesirable situation within His will? Do we take time to really study His Word and speak to Him personally, in order to really know Him and hear from Him?
It is good for us to ponder these things. When we’ve known Him for years, it is possible to slip into too much of a casual relationship. While He desires the personal relationship, and values it greatly, we need also to see the varied ways that He deals with humanity. We need to speak to Him about what He went through as a man, knowing that in the spirit, we were there with Him in the Spirit, but He took the suffering upon Himself, so we will never have to endure it,. Pondering what He went through AS US will bring us that much closer to Him.
On the other side is His coming back as Lord of Lords, King of Kings, Alpha and Omega, Mighty Conqueror ………..sweeping up His own, and taking us to Glory, to be with Him forever!!! Now, there is a lot of food for thought and prayer!!!
Jesus, please help us to see You in the light of Your numerous Names and positions. Help us to fully know that we were there with You on both sides, which is a mystery that only You and the Father will maybe explain to us someday. Show us the victory which will be made visible in the future, help us to hold onto that when things get hard, knowing You are here. You always will be here, in ALL YOUR FULLNESS, AND THE FULLNESS OF THE GODHEAD. We praise You, although we are incapable of praising You as you deserve……We submit our lives anew to You. For your Glory………….Amen
Live in the Light of Our Lord 