Isaiah 50
It is rare for someone to honestly consider his guilt and to take responsibility for his own sin. We search for reasons that would justify our rebellion against God’s law, and our distance from the One who has drawn near to us in love. If we consider the discipline that we face from the hand of God, we must acknowledge that any trouble that we face is not because God has done something wrong. Any fault is ours. We should acknowledge that fact before God with humility. The covenant people of the Old Testament were at fault before God. They were sold for their iniquities.
When we face difficulty it is an understandable impulse to search among our own number for someone who will be able to get us out of our mess. Who do we know who can fix all our problems? In the case of
But what if the problem that must be solved is not a pursuing army? Our deepest problem is not from flesh and blood, but from our own guilt. What if the enemy who is justly pursuing us is our righteous God Himself? If the One who is a consuming fire of holiness is coming against His people, will God save us against God? This is the wonder of the gospel. God in His justice comes against God in His mercy. Not that the Father could ever despise the Son in whom He is well pleased, but there is One who willingly serves. His tongue brings life. His ear listens to the voice of the Lord morning by morning. He is the Lamb of God. He is God the son. He stands on the side of the covenant people, and He never turns back from His mission to love God and to face the penalty for our sin which we cannot bear.
He was willing to suffer according to the need. What did it mean for Him to be the Servant of the Lord and the only redeemer of God’s elect. He would give His back to those who would strike Him. He would give His face to those who would spit on Him. Consider the outrage of this plan of redemption. The Holy One comes as the Servant of the Lord and faces the hatred of men. They spit on the One who is their only hope.
How can He do this job of suffering love? He knows where He must turn for strength as a man of God. Jesus is God, but He is also a man, the godliest man ever known. This godly man is helped from God, and therefore will not be turned away from His mission. He would set His face like a flint toward
The cross is a place of shame, yet it was our shame that our Lord faces there. The disgrace of that day would have to give way to the vindication of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. He would be definitively declared to be the chosen and beloved Servant of the Lord, and the victorious Savior of Israel. The adversary who accuses us was defeated. No one will declare Jesus guilty. His victory is overwhelming.
Now is the time for all who fear the Lord to see the cross, consider the resurrection, and follow the Servant of the Lord. It is time for us to trust in God and to obey the voice of the Servant of the Lord. It is a long way from the humiliation of the cross to the exaltation of the Great Commission. The indignity of soldiers who cast lots for your garments and spiritual leaders who dare to scoff against the One who gave sight to the blind has now been completely overtaken by the Great Commission of the resurrected Davidic King. It is ours now to do everything that Christ has commanded.
He is the light of the world, and in Him we are granted the great privilege of sharing His title, so that we too are now the light of the world. The light of any other way of peace with God does not lead to peace at all, but to disaster from the fury of the Lord. Our victory is won in Christ alone. Let us have the sense to side with the risen King, the great Servant of the Lord. We were chosen for whatever suffering we may face today, just as our loving Lord was chosen to suffer for our sake. Like Him, we look to God again for strength and listen to His voice.
posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM
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