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OUR JUSTIFICATION Isaiah 53 Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 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 everyone 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 opened 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. Yesterday the world celebrated two significant days: Passover and Good Friday. I don’t know how often that occurs, but I find it significant for people everywhere. God wants unity among his people. He wants you to know Jesus’ death was not in vain, or an accident. Nor was it the fault of Rome or Israel, but it was God who determined Jesus’ death on the cross. Rome was an instrument and Israel are his people. Isaiah’s prophecy regarding Jesus’ death on the cross occurred 600 years before Jesus’ birth. Yet he detailed Jesus’ life and death in detail. He grew up as a tender plant. All children are tender plants who need care and attention to grow into an accountable person. He had no comeliness or beauty. Jesus was an ordinary looking person. He didn’t stand out from the crowd. He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Throughout the gospels you see evidence of rejection, not only from the common people, but the Pharisees, Sadducees, and those in authority among the Jewish people. They were the ones who plotted his death. He was wounded for Our transgressions and bruised for OUR iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was on him and by HIS stripes WE are healed. Jesus did no wrong. It wasn’t because of anything he did that he was accused, but because of our sin, our transgression. People will look for someone else to take the blame for their wrong-doing. They will look at everything a person does and construe it to their own ends, so the other person will look guilty and worthy of punishment. When Jesus was accused, they looked for witnesses who could find fault with him, yet they couldn’t find two people to witness against him. Jesus was put to death because he is the Son of God and declared it to the chief priest. Matthew 26:59 Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; 60 But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, 61 And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. 62 And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answer thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? 63 But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. 64 Jesus said unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. 65 Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? Behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. Isaiah said in the first verse – Who hath believed our report? God’s own people would not believe Jesus was their Messiah and considered his testimony as blasphemy. There was one punishment for blasphemy, death. Jesus was wounded. Pilate had Jesus scourged with whips, the ends of which had shards of glass and metal that would tear the skin to ribbons of flesh. Jesus’ blood was poured out before he was nailed to the cross, as well as on the cross. Not only were we healed by the blood of Jesus, but so was the ground God cursed when Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden. Jesus’ blood heals and restores all life. He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death. Jesus was crucified between two thieves, and later laid in a rich man’s tomb, the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. He did no violence, neither was deceit in his mouth. Jesus was sinless, perfect in every way. Yet it pleased God to bruise him. 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. Jesus, God’s Son, was the offering God needed for OUR sin. Only a perfect, guiltless person could satisfy sin. Jesus is our justification. He is our salvation. Therefore, God was pleased with the sin offering made on Calvary on Passover. With his justification, God can look at us as though we had never sinned, because we are covered with the sinless blood of Jesus Christ when we accept him as our Savior and Lord for the sacrifice he made on our behalf on the cross. Are you justified by the blood of Jesus? Have you accepted his sacrifice for your sin? Let’s pray: Father, thank you that it pleased you to put your Son, Jesus to death on a cross for my salvation. Thank you that I am justified by his blood, and you see me without stain or guilt because I believed the report. Help me show your love to everyone I encounter. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 31 March 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay