53 Who has believed our message?
To whom has the Lord revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot,
like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,
nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected—
a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.
We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.
He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;
it was our sorrows that weighed him down.
And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,
a punishment for his own sins!
5 But 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.
6 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.
7 He was oppressed and treated harshly,
yet he never said a word.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.
And as a sheep is silent before the shearers,
he did not open his mouth.
8 Unjustly condemned,
he was led away.
No one cared that he died without descendants,
that his life was cut short in midstream.
But he was struck down
for the rebellion of my people.
9 He had done no wrong
and had never deceived anyone.
But he was buried like a criminal;
he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10 But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him
and cause him grief.
Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,
he will have many descendants.
He will enjoy a long life,
and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11 When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,
he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,
my righteous servant will make it possible
for many to be counted righteous,
for he will bear all their sins.
12 I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,
because he exposed himself to death.
He was counted among the rebels.
He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Isaiah 53
Dear God, this is an amazing prophecy. Not only that. It’s amazing that Jesus fulfilled it. Thank you!! THANK YOU!!!
I was talking with a friend recently who relayed a conversation with a friend of theirs that I don’t know, but it stunned them. Basically, this person blamed you for everything. What you created was bad. You created angels and there was an angel war that you sanctioned. You created people and families, and there are almost no good examples of families in the Bible (remember, this is all according to this person my friend knows). Even now, so many families are wrecked. In this person’s eyes, you create bad things. You are bad. And they apparently didn’t used to feel this way.
But I read this and it reminds me of just how loving you are. This person would say you killed your son because you are bad. I would say you did everything you had to do to reconcile us to you, including giving us teaching and examples through this son–YOUR SON. He bore my sins. He intercedes for me. Even now, he intercedes for me. Thank you!! THANK YOU!!!
Oh, Father, Jesus, Holy Spirit, I really do thank you. I really do worship you. In you I put my faith. I put my trust. I am so burdened by the suffering of others. I was at a fourth-grade musical performance tonight at our local elementary school and I was looking around the room at all of the family members there to watch their children. I know there was so much pain in that room. It hurt my heart. I can’t address it all. What part do you have for me? Show me. Reveal to me. And you know the personal prayers I have for my own family. Do something I can’t imagine because right now I feel pretty hopeless. Do all of this so that your kingdom might come and your will will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
I pray all of this for your glory and under your authority,
Amen