First of All, Pray: Blog
Bringing Biblical Truths to Daily Life
Not a victim—Easter Series Part 7
He was oppressed and viagra online order online He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. Isaiah 53:7
Way back toward the beginning of His ministry, Jesus stirred the ire of religious strategists and the leadership of His day. Multiple references describe the wrath consuming these men when confronted by His power, teaching, authority, and independence from their control. (See Matthew 12:14 and 22:15; Mark 3:6 and 12:12-13; Luke 11:53-54, 20:20, and 20:26; and John 11:53.) They sought to entrap Him and plotted His death. Eventually, they had their way.
But this Man was not a victim.
When they converged upon Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, He did not resist them. Peter sought to protect Him and sliced off the ear of one of the servants apprehending the Lord. Jesus responded, “Put the sword into the sheath; the cup which the Father has given Me, shall I not drink it?” (see John 18:10-11). He did not want to be defended.
He was brought before the Sanhedrin. False accusers were a dime a dozen, but none of their accusations were able to stick (see Matthew 26:60). Two witnesses then accused Him of declaring that He could destroy the temple of God and rebuild it in three days. When He was confronted about this, He did not open His mouth. Then the high priest said to him, “I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Messiah, the Son of God” (see Matthew 26:63).
And then Jesus replied, “You have said so. But I say to all of you: From now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven” (see verse 64).
At this, the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, you have now heard the blasphemy; what do you think?”
His colleagues answered, “He deserves death!” Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, “Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?” (See verses 65-68.)
Neverthless, this Man was not a victim.
He was sent to the governor. Pilate questioned Him, demanding to understand His crime. Jesus remained silent (see Matthew 27:14). Uncomfortable with the prospect of condemning an innocent Man, Pilate gave the gathering mob a choice: Release Jesus or the notorious prisoner Barabbas. They chose Barabbas.
Pilate washed his hands of the blood of this Man before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this Man’s blood” (see Matthew 27:24); however, the crowd shouted in response, “His blood shall be on us and kamagra recept duitsland on our children!” (see verse 25).
Yet this Man was not a victim.
Matthew 27:27-30 describes what happened next.
27Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. 28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. 29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.
But this Man was not a victim.
“Behold the Man,” Pilate announced to the throng as the Son of Man stood, crowned with thorns, His naked, battered, and bleeding body draped by a robe (see John 19:5). After this, they took the robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him (see Matthew 27:31).
Nonetheless, this Man was not a victim.
He bore His own cross until another, Simon the Cyrene, was pressed into carrying it for Him (see John 19:17; Luke 23:26) until they came to Golgotha. There they nailed His hands and feet to the cross and raised Him up on it, crucifying Him between two thieves.
Yet this Man was not a victim.
Jesus had undergone false accusations, mockery, public humiliation, mob mentality, beatings, flesh-tearing scourging, and then, crucifixion, but like a lamb that is led to slaughter, He did not utter one word in defense. He did so on purpose: to pay the penalty for man’s sin, thus satisfying justice, and to redeem lost humanity back to a holy God. This was why He came.
He was not a victim; on the contrary, He accomplished the mission He came to fulfill.
And because of Him, Heaven’s gates have been opened wide.
Dorothy
I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10:11
No one takes [My life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father. John 10:18, NIV
Gone astray—Easter Series Part 6
All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. Isaiah 53:6
In the middle of this chapter about the suffering Servant and His agonizing passion on our behalf, focus shifts momentarily to you and レビトラをオンラインで購入する me. And it’s not flattering.
All of us like sheep have gone astray…
This statement sums up the whole lump of humanity: Every last one of us is exactly like a sheep that has wandered off on its own. It doesn’t matter if you are educated, brilliant, a prodigy, street smart, wise beyond your years, or just a smart cookie—every single one of us is like a grazing sheep, oblivious to the dangers we’re munching our way toward. Not one member of our race is excluded—concerning the things of God (the way things really are), all of us come into this life as dense as…well…a planet full of bleating sheep!
… each of us has turned to his own way…
Every one of us is fearfully and wonderfully made (see Psalm 139:14), and we all have a set of gifts, talents, skills, and interests that distinguish us one from another. Although God created us to be unique, this verse is not referring to the diversity of individuals. When Isaiah stated that each of us has turned to his own way, he was writing about the conundrum of sin within each wonderfully-made individual. Sin is the “force” within all of us that plays havoc with conscience and draws each one toward every kind of concern but God. Even religiously-inclined individuals seek to “save” themselves—which is itself just another dead-end. Since the garden, the truth has been that each of us has turned to his own way.
Due to the wayward condition of our race, a huge gulf existed between God and man. Despite His great love for us, God couldn’t just “get over it” and let us enter eternal life as fallen beings. He knew that His holiness would consume sin in His presence—the two cannot co-exist—and His holiness would destroy us if we stood face-to-face before Him. Therefore, as things stood, unless He stopped being holy, we would be forever separated. But He could never and would never cease to be holy. And men would always be sinful…
This was unacceptable to God.
Because you and I were like sheep, munching our way off the edge of the cliff; because you and I couldn’t help but blindly careen down our own path into oblivion; because sinful men and women cannot co-exist in eternity with a holy God (no matter how loving He is), God developed a plan to counteract and overturn all of that.
…but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.
Sin. Because of it, no man or woman can see God, let alone live forever in His presence. That’s why God chose a Substitute from before the foundation of the world to bear the iniquities of us all. If a Man could live an entirely sinless life and be willing to take on everyone else’s sins and the punishment for all of it, then humans, through faith invested in that Man’s sacrifice, could be cleansed of unrighteousness and receive a new nature, qualifying them to enter into fellowship with God—as His sons and daughters.
The problem was this: every human being was sinful. Therefore, as Isaiah prophesied, “Behold, a virgin will be with child and bear a son, and she will call His name Immanuel” (see Isaiah 7:14). Matthew explained this further when he wrote, “Behold, the virgin shall be with child, and bear a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel, which is translated, ‘God with us’” (Matthew 1:23). Jesus, the sweet Baby of Bethlehem, was conceived by the Holy Spirit for the express purpose of being the sinless One upon whom the Lord would place the iniquity of us all.
God in the flesh—in the Person of Jesus Christ—came to earth to do the job.
God caused our iniquity to fall upon the suffering Servant, His Son. In this way, without ceasing to be holy, God dealt with the sinful condition of mankind by taking it on Himself in the body of Jesus as He hung on the cross. And as He bore the judgment for every bit of our sin, He opened up the way for all of us to enter into His presence and be restored to fellowship with God.
That day eternal life was opened up for all of us.
Dorothy
These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life. 1 John 5:13
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. 1 John 5:11
All for our well-being—Easter Series Part 5
But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
According to the prophet Isaiah, the suffering Servant bore our sicknesses as well as our griefs; He carried our pains at the same time He carried our sorrows (see Isaiah 53:4).
But here Isaiah, prophesying more than seven hundred years before the birth of Jesus, described the torturous death of the Servant, complete with piercing—indicative of crucifixion. Interestingly enough, crucifixion was not used by the Jewish people as a form of execution; it was considered by them to be “one of the most horrible, cursed forms of death (Deuteronomy 21:23)” (see http://christianity.about.com/od/goodfriday/a/crucifixionhist.htm). In fact, the cross was rarely used as a means of capital offense until the time of Alexander the Great, four hundred years after Isaiah’s prophecy (ibid).
But He was pierced through for our transgressions…
The suffering Servant bore our diseases and griefs and carried our sorrows and pains; but He was pierced through for our transgressions. When those nails penetrated the Messiah’s hands and feet, fastening Him to the cross of His execution, it was due to our transgressions and rebellion. Jesus was the Lamb slain from the foundation of the earth (see Revelation 13:8b), and crucifixion was the manner by which God had foreordained this redemptive act to take place on our behalf.
He was crushed for our iniquities…
Just as He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities. Whereas “transgressions” implies outward, willful wrongdoing, “iniquities” refers to the inward condition of “perversity, depravity, iniquity, guilt or punishment of iniquity” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H5771&t=KJV ) which is the condition into which all people are born. The piercing was external for our outward acts of rebellion; He was crushed within under the weight of man’s inborn sinful condition as He bore it on the cross.
… the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him…
Each of us deserves to bear the consequences for our own sin and rebellion, but God provided a way for that punishment to fall upon Someone else—His Son. In exchange for our chastisement, He offers us well-being—the total package that includes completeness, soundness, welfare, and peace (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H7965&t=KJV).
How many times has God been accused of being unfair? The exchange that occurred at the cross of Calvary—your punishment and sin for completeness, soundness, well-being, and peace—is absolutely unfair—with all the benefits heaped up on your side of the deal. In fact, when you were dead in sin and rebellion, the Bible says God made you alive in Christ, having forgiven all of your transgressions (see Colossians 2:13). The certificate of the debt that you owed—consisting of angry decrees against you—He canceled that out. He nailed the pile of compounded offenses credited to your account to the cross, writing across them with the blood of His Son, “PAID FOR IN FULL” (see Colossians 2:14).
… and by His scourging we are healed.
As if all of that was not enough, the God who is more than enough added this clause: “by His scourging we are healed.” He had borne our sicknesses and carried our pains, had been pierced through for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities, but not one moment of His passion for us that dark Friday was wasted. Early after His arrest, He was scourged—beaten with a cruel Roman flagrum. (For an explicit description of this form of punishment, see http://truthmagazine.com/archives/volume44/v440106010.htm [David McClister, Truth Magazine, 2000].
This brutal flagellation was for our healing. Every vicious tear into the flesh of the Lord made life-giving virtue available to you and me—by His scourging we are healed.
This is the Man who beckons you: Follow Me. This is the One to whom you can run and be safe. This is Jesus—the Way, the Truth, and the Life.
This is Jesus. He died for you so that you could live through Him.
Dorothy
…and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows—Easter Part 4
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Isaiah 53:4
Surely our griefs He Himself bore…
Not only was this One acquainted with human grief (see Isaiah 53:3), but He also bore our griefs—our very real and personal griefs. FreeDictionary.com defines “grief” as a “deep mental anguish, as that arising from bereavement; a source of deep mental anguish.” He took on all of that, surely. However, the Hebrew word for “griefs” is choliy, and shockingly, this word quite simply means “sickness” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H2483&t=KJV).
When Isaiah wrote “our griefs He Himself bore,” he was prophesying that the Suffering Servant would bear our sicknesses and not just those things that bring deep mental anguish. Since some folks have difficulty with that interpretation, take a look at three other verses which use the word choliy:
- Moses taught the Israelites concerning the promises of God for obedience: “You shall be blessed above all peoples; there will be no male or female barren among you or among your cattle. The Lord will remove from you all sickness; and He will not put on you any of the harmful diseases of Egypt which you have known, but He will lay them on all who hate you” (Deuteronomy 7:14-15). “Sickness” in verse 15 is choliy. The suffering Servant bore our sicknesses.
- The widow of Zarephath who fed the prophet Elijah during a time of severe drought had a son who became mortally ill. “And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him” (1 Kings 17:17). “Sickness” in verse 17 is choliy. The Messiah bore our sicknesses.
- King Asa was a good king who sought God throughout much of his reign. Until the thirty-fifth year of his reign, there was no war (see 2 Chronicles 15:19). However, after this, Asa began seeking out human counsel and not the counsel of the Lord. Chaos and war ensued. “In the thirty-ninth year of his reign Asa became diseased in his feet. His disease was severe, yet even in his disease he did not seek the Lord, but the physicians” (2 Chronicles 16:12). “Disease” in verse 12 is choliy. Jesus bore our diseases.
He bore our sicknesses. The Hebrew word for “bore” very graphically describes this act of the Servant. “Bore” is nasa’ and means “to lift, bear up, carry, take”. The Servant bore our sicknesses—He lifted them up, and carried them away. Is it a coincidence that the USA’s National Aeronautics and Space Administration is called NASA? For decades Americans watched as NASA’s rockets were launched into the stratosphere and beyond. Very few things are as spectacular to view as a spaceship taking off: five…four…three…two…one…zero…ignition…LIFT OFF!
According to Isaiah’s prophecy, the day our Messiah bore our griefs was “lift off day” for our sicknesses. How far did He remove your sins? As far as the east from the west (see Psalm 103:12). How far away did He carry your sicknesses? If you can picture a NASA blast off, that’s how far away He bore your sicknesses.
… and our sorrows He carried…
“Sorrows” refers to pain, both mental and physical (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H4341&t=KJV). The Servant of God was a Man of sorrows (see verse 3), and He carried our sorrows—every sorrow and pain experienced by the human race.
Cabal is Hebrew for “carried”, and indicates the heaviness of the sorrows He carried, for it means “to bear a load or drag oneself along” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H5445&t=KJV). You can witness the heaviness of our sorrows and pains piled upon Jesus as you envision Him shouldering the cross, struggling under its weight, and dragging it up to Golgotha.
…yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
More than once Isaiah contrasted the wholehearted commitment of the Suffering Servant to the clueless, self-absorbed assumptions on the part of those He died for. The media of our day, instead of seeking for facts, so often polls for opinions. What people think about what happens far too often trumps the naked truth in our culture. Guess it wasn’t much different in Jesus’ day.
However, despite the erroneous estimation of those in His day or the skewed consensus of today’s popular culture, the truth stands firm: Jesus bore our sicknesses and griefs; He carried our sorrows and pains.
And I love Him for it.
Dorothy
When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” Matthew 8:16-17, NKJV
Like one from whom men hide their face—Easter Series Part 3
He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Isaiah 53:3
This is a picture of the Messiah as He prepared to take on the sins of the world and to rescue mankind from its murderous grip. It’s courageous enough to risk your life to save someone when folks on the sidelines are oohing and ahhing at your heroic bravery. It’s light-years beyond that when you willingly lay down your life for the very ones who scornfully mock, jeer, and abuse you. But that is exactly what our Savior did—one indelible rescue mission on behalf of the entire human race.
He was despised and forsaken of men…
Jesus was despised. He was disdained. He was held in derision. A quick survey of current thought reveals that many still despise Him. He was forsaken by His family and many of His closest friends and was rejected by the world He came to save. Neither you nor I would be able to sustain such blatant contempt or rejection from those we sought to help. Jesus, on the other hand, held tightly to the mission given to Him by the Father from the beginning of time to seek and to save the lost…even when they rejected Him with utter disdain.
…a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief…
Who was this Man to whom lepers, prostitutes, fishermen, tax collectors, priests, and children flocked? How could one Man—so despised, yet so magnetic—draw from such a diverse swath of society? He was not merely kind—although kindness and compassion permeated all that He did. He was not merely powerful—although wherever He went, signs, wonders, and healings followed.
He was, to His core, a Man of sorrows and pain. He was, beyond a shadow of a doubt, fully acquainted with sickness and grief. He was a Man, not only of kindness and power, but a Man who seemed to understand the very depth of each man’s sorrow, pain, sickness, and grief. He never scolded nor demeaned anyone suffering under its cruel grip; instead He stepped in to heal each one with compassion and power. He was not like the religious leaders of the day who couldn’t sympathize with the weaknesses of the people, but He was One who had been tempted in all things just like everyone else—yet without ever sinning (see Hebrews 4:15). There was within Him something so unnervingly deep and unsearchable that made it impossible for His detractors—or His followers—to peg, trap, or figure Him out.
…and like one from whom men hide their face…
Many despised Him and sought to ensnare Him; multitudes followed Him and sought to touch Him. And yet this Man could gaze into each one’s heart and know the thoughts, fears, and dreams within. He read people’s mail; He knew when they were trying to trap Him; He knew when they were lying; He knew their history and the motives of their heart—and that made them uneasy. More than once, Pharisees and Sadducees walked away from an encounter with Him, their heads hanging in silence. Nathanael was awed at the Lord’s ability to read his mail (see John 1:47-48). Zacchaeus the tax collector experienced Jesus’ penetrating insight (see Luke 19:1-6), as did the woman at the well (see John 4:15-19). The rich young ruler, after expressing a zealous desire to follow Him, slunk away, grieved and saddened, after Jesus gently exposed the young man’s attachment to his wealth (Mark 10:20-22). Peter, more than once, was cut to the core when Jesus confronted Him; after he denied the Lord, one look from Jesus made him turn and weep bitterly (see Luke 22:61-62).
Have you ever experienced awkward silence when the topic of Jesus comes up in public? It’s uncanny; even now so many seem to hide their faces from Him.
But this Man’s redeeming work was not merely for those who would embrace Him quickly or for the hesitant ones who would take the plunge after giving it much thought. No, He also died for those who purposefully sought to hide their face—and their heart—from Him. And He died for those who are still in hiding.
…He was despised…
He was loved and He was despised—and often, both love and hatred toward Him raged together within the same heart. It’s still that way for many; men and women battling in the secret places of their souls sneak furtive glimpses His way in the valley of their decision. They sense the truth and long for it; but they resent it as well. The only way they know how to deal with such a Man is to either embrace Him or despise Him. Some of you underwent the same inner warfare—I certainly did—yet despite the tumultuous conflict, the Lord led each of us into the truth. Pray for those still gripped by this war to see Him through the smoke of battle and to find the grace to follow Him to the safety of the cross and the blood He shed for them.
This was why He came: to be high and lifted up onto the cross of judgment. Without His atoning death, no one would see God; no one would inherit eternal life.
In His eyes, you and I and all the rest were worth every agonizing moment of the suffering He endured. But despite this…
…we did not esteem Him.
Many still do not esteem Him. However, the fact remains that this Man took our place that day two millennia ago to free each of us from our captivity to sin, self, and sorrow.
And He never once regretted it.
Dorothy
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2, KJV; emphasis added
Who has believed our message? Easter Series Part 2
Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. Isaiah 53:1-2
Centuries before Jesus was born, God was preparing His people for the Coming One and the new thing which He was about to do in the earth.
Who has believed our message?
What message? It was the message revealed throughout Scripture, particularly in the Messianic prophecies; and up close, Isaiah was referring to the message about the Suffering Servant introduced in chapter 52—the Servant who would be high and lifted up and greatly exalted (see Isaiah 52:13 and http://www.firstofallpray.com/?p=6250).
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
This was the next question asked by Isaiah. It is safe to say that the arm of the Lord is revealed to those who have believed the message. After all, the New Testament declares that we have obtained our introduction by faith into this grace in which we stand (see Romans 5:2; emphasis added). In other words, because you believe, God has introduced you to His grace and has revealed His arm to you. What you believe is of utmost importance; your eternal destination depends upon it. Both the Old and New Testaments agree concerning this.
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot…
Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man (see Luke 2:52, NIV). But Jesus mainly grew quietly, in the secret place, before God.
…and like a root out of parched ground…
Prophetic voices had ceased in the land ever since the days of Malachi, over four hundred years prior to the birth of Christ. The very time into which Jesus was born was parched and obscure. The Galilean region where Jesus was raised was under Roman occupation; it held no mystique or glory. His family—Joseph and Mary—were of humble means; although both could trace their lineage back to King David, the mundanity of the ensuing generations had leached the glamour out of the more recent branches of the family tree—Joseph was but a lowly carpenter and Mary was merely a young mother. And Jesus was but a Boy growing up in an obscure time, in a parched region, to a nondescript family.
He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him…
As the people of God awaited the advent of the Messiah, they envisioned that He would appear on the scene as a glorious King, arriving in the regal power of majesty and commanding instant respect and acquiescence. Surely, only such a Man could put Israel back on the map and bring recompense upon all of her detractors. A young Man from a tiny village and straight out of the carpenter’s workshop was the last One they were expecting. Although their Scripture clearly stated that the Messiah would have no stately form or majesty that they would look upon Him, nevertheless they expected Him to be more impressive than the young Man who had just started preaching around Judea…
…nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.
Recently I read an entertainment article about the dashing good looks of the actors who had played the role of Jesus on stage or screen throughout the years. A photo-essay accompanied the article, and indeed, those men were quite the heartthrobs.
And yet Scripture is clear; you’d never peg Jesus to be the Messiah from His yearbook photo. As a matter of fact, His appearance lacked the “it” factor so valued in cultures—including ours—throughout the ages. The attractive quality that first drew Israel and then the world to Jesus had nothing to do with His looks; it was not on the basis of a law of physical requirement, but according to the power of an indestructible life (see Hebrews 7:16). It was the life of God flowing through Someone who otherwise seemed absolutely unremarkable. This is what attracted the multitudes to Him.
Jesus emerged from a quiet, hidden upbringing during an obscure time, in a parched region, from a nondescript family, with an unimpressive resume, and bearing an unexceptional appearance. And this was the perfect will of God.
As you live your life, don’t dismiss the plain, the common, and the everyday. God delights in using unremarkable people, places, and situations.
Jesus proved it.
Dorothy
For consider your calling, brethren, that there were not many wise according to the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble; but God has chosen the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, and God has chosen the weak things of the world to shame the things which are strong, and the base things of the world and the despised God has chosen, the things that are not, so that He may nullify the things that are, so that no man may boast before God. 1 Corinthians 1:26-29
The Suffering Servant—Easter Series Part 1
Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand. Isaiah 52:13-15
As I was researching the prophecy in Isaiah about the sufferings of the Messiah on behalf of mankind, I discovered something I never knew before. I learned that there are four sections in the book of Isaiah commonly known as “The Servant’s Songs”. They are:
- Isaiah 42:1-4 about the chosen Servant
- Isaiah 49:1-6 about the mission of the Servant
- Isaiah 50:4-9 about the steadfast, obedient Servant
- Isaiah 52:13-15 through Isaiah 53:1-12 about the suffering Servant
Jesus was that Servant. He was the chosen Servant (see Isaiah 42:1). He was the Servant given the mission to redeem Israel and all the nations of the earth (see Isaiah 49:6). He was the obedient Servant even in the face of being struck and having His beard pulled out (see Isaiah 50:5-6). And He was the suffering Servant, submitting unto death, even the death of the cross (see Philippians 2:8).
Behold, My servant will prosper…
God’s Servant would prosper. This kind of prosperity had far more to do with prudence, wisdom, and spiritual impact than it did with acquiring great wealth. However, as you view the span of twenty centuries since Jesus’ death and resurrection and consider all of the souls He has since rescued from a fiery, destitute eternity—millions upon millions of us—possibly billions—each one of us is a bounty credited to His account. His scale tipped over a long time ago, and more and more souls are still being heaped up upon it every day. He has indeed prospered.
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
This verse speaks of the honor and exaltation this Servant would so richly deserve. Ironically, it also speaks of the manner by which He would die—high and lifted up on the cross at Calvary. “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up” (John 3:14; see also Numbers 21:8-9).
Just as many were astonished at you, My people…
This indicates both the historical hatred toward the nation of Israel and God’s miraculous intervention time and again—in the face of that hatred—on their behalf.
…so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.
Like the race to which He was born, Jesus would be hated. His appearance, or visage, would be marred more than any man to the utter disfigurement of His face. His form—His shape, outline, or figure (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H8389&t=KJV)—would likewise experience disfiguring beatings to a far greater extent than that sustained by any man. And all of this took place after His arrest and before He even reached the cross.
Thus He will sprinkle many nations…
This was His mission. His blood was shed on behalf of many nations—for Israel first and for the rest of the world as well—for whosoever would believe on Him.
“Sprinkle” is an interesting word. The word used here is not a gentle, delicate thing such as I received when I was “baptized” as a seven-month-old—a bit of water was sprinkled on my forehead as I grabbed at the minister’s black-rimmed glasses. No, the Hebrew word is nazah and means to spurt and spatter as well as to sprinkle (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H5137&t=KJV). Think opened arteries. They don’t sprinkle. They spurt. Opened veins ooze—not a little, but copious amounts of blood.
As Jesus’ blood spurted and spattered throughout His agonizing trial and crucifixion, nations were being sprinkled by His blood. The way was being inaugurated for whosoever would believe in Him to enter through the veil—that is, His torn flesh—to be cleansed from their sin and receive everlasting life (see Hebrews 10:19-20).
…kings will shut their mouths on account of Him…
The day will come when every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (see Philippians 2:10-11). On that day, man’s agendas will cease; man’s wisdom will be silenced; kings will shut their mouths. Everything will be summed up in Christ (see Ephesians 1:10).
… for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand.
This gospel must be preached to all the nations (see Mark 13:10). There may be individuals among the nations who never hear; others will be among those of whom Jesus spoke: “Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand” (Matthew 13:13, NIV); the truth just doesn’t register with them. But a third category of humanity is the group spotlighted in this verse—those who did not know the gospel, but upon its entrance into their lives, they both see and understand the good news of salvation. Many of us are in that group.
Every man, woman, and child who has ever lived throughout the earth’s long, rolling generations, will one day see and understand the truth about the Servant who came to suffer and die for them.
May God help those of us who are privileged to know this truth to live our lives with one main purpose in mind—that multitudes more will see and understand the message of the Suffering Servant—Jesus—on this side of eternity.
Dorothy
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life. John 3:14-15
James 4:17—The sin of omission
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it, to him it is sin. James 4:17
Remember when James wrote in chapter 2, “For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law”? He was referring to two of the more recognized “sins of commission”, adultery and murder. The base word of “commission” is “commit”. The sins of commission are, therefore, “action” sins—sins you commit. Very often, the discussion of sin focuses on the sins of commission.
However, James refers to the “sins of omission” in verse 17. The base word of “omission” is “omit”, which means to leave something out, to neglect to do something, or to leave something undone. When I told my pre-algebra students to do numbers 1-20 for homework, but to omit #s 16 and 17, they reveled in that omission. They loved the word “omit”.
Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do and does not do it…
If my students knew to do 1-20, omitting 16 and 17, but instead did 1-15, omitting not only 16 and 17, but #s 18, 19, and 20 as well, they did not get a pass. Their unauthorized omissions were counted against them. No excuses, no questions asked. You see, they knew to do those problems, but chose not to do them. I never said, “Oh, honey, you meant well; that’s OK.” Because it wasn’t.
James wrote very clearly: Anyone who knows the right thing to do and yet doesn’t do it…
…to him it is sin.
This greatly expands our view of the field of sin. How about that Scripture that keeps nagging at you, shining light on something you need to attend to or adjust? If you blow it off, you’ve sinned—the sin of omission. No excuses. No questions asked. Ever sense the leading of the Holy Spirit tugging at your heart to give a certain amount of money to a friend in trouble? Again, if you dodge it, you’ve sinned. No excuses. No questions asked. What if you’re in on a conversation among Christians and the topic of another believer comes up—and the expertly sharpened tongues come out? You know you need to step in to stop it, but you don’t. You’ve sinned. No excuses. No questions asked.
And you walk away each time a little less confident, a little more dejected, feeling weighed down by the load of your omission. Join the club of the redeemed who’ve blown it—we’re all members. It’s at times like this that we so desperately need to go before the Lord for mercy.
Simon Peter opened the door to denying the Lord by shrinking from declaring what he knew to be true about Him after Jesus’ arrest. He was snared by the sin of omission. You’ve heard the story. Here’s the tail-end of it:
But Peter said, “Man, I do not know what you are talking about.” Immediately, while he was still speaking, a rooster crowed. The Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how He had told him, “Before a rooster crows today, you will deny Me three times.” And he went out and wept bitterly (Luke 22:60-62, emphasis added).
That was the best thing that could have happened to Peter under the circumstances—to meet the gaze of Jesus. When you feel disappointed in yourself, deflated, and embarrassed about your omission, that’s when you’re catching the Lord’s eye. Through your sense of conviction, He’s helping you to acknowledge the omission and is leading you to repentance. This is what was going on in Peter when he went out and wept bitterly.
But God didn’t leave Peter in that bitterly remorseful state. After Jesus rose from the dead, an angel instructed the women at the tomb, “But go, tell His disciples and Peter, ‘He is going ahead of you to Galilee; there you will see Him, just as He told you’” (Mark 16:7, emphasis added). Peter’s omission had left him feeling disgraced and isolated, unworthy of the Lord he had denied. But here, the singling out of Peter was for honor, not shame. As for you, when you acknowledge your omissions to the Lord, He will lift you up from your place of defeat as well.
Be proactive. Practice yielding to those inward promptings of the Holy Spirit. Apply those Scriptures the Lord lays upon your heart. Do that right thing you know to do, and do it with all your heart. You will grow in wisdom and the fear of the Lord, and those sins of omission will become fewer and further between.
You will never regret omitting the omissions!
Dorothy
Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them, may be compared to a wise man who built his house on the rock…Everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. Matthew 7:24, 26
If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. John 13:17
James 4:13-16—Boasting
Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.” Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.” But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil. James 4:13-16
Our generation is probably the most calendar- and clock-driven generation to ever exist on the planet—and things don’t look like they’re changing any time soon. Because of this, I wonder how James would write this portion of his letter if he were alive right now.
Whenever I leave the house I think about this section of James as I tell my cats when I’ll be back—not that they can tell time, mind you. “I’ll be home in two or three hours, by the grace of God,” I say to their whiskery stares, adding something like, “And you know how gracious He’s been; He’s not about to change now!” I say it this way because I believe that it is His will for me to return safely home; He’s been so good about protecting me in potentially disastrous situations in the past, and I actively trust Him to continue.
But James wasn’t writing about that. The key to understanding his thought process concerning these four verses is in verse sixteen: “But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.” He was not directing believers to avoid making advance plans; he was simply letting them know that he was being knocked over by the stench of the fleshly, boastful arrogance oozing from their conversations about those agendas.
Have you ever found yourself in a “testimony competition”? You know—the kind where one person shares what God did, and then another pipes up with a “Well, yeah; but get this!” and proceeds to outdo their neighbor’s story of blessing? It can go on and on without anyone realizing they just dismissed someone’s encounter with God as trivial. Something which on the surface appears to be a glorious conversation turns into vying for bragging rights—about God, of all things!! When that competitive nature kicks in, watch out! Wonderful testimonies can quickly deteriorate into a showy “flesh-fest”.
I’m not saying don’t share your testimonies—absolutely not! What I am saying is this: before you share, savor your neighbor’s blessing from God. The Lord came through for them. That’s worth valuing! And then check your heart. Are you hoping to top them? Then hold your thought. A well-timed testimony is like apples of gold in settings of silver (see Proverbs 25:11); on the other hand, a testimony shared to pump up your “spiritual resume” is the same as seeking your own glory—which really isn’t glory at all (see Proverbs 25:27).
This kind of testimony competition is similar to the situation to which James was referring; however, instead of boasting about past victories, these folks were bragging about their future.
James gave his readers an example of their arrogant boasting when he said, “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’” He didn’t mean for them to stop traveling, to quit doing business, or to cease making a profit; nothing is wrong with those things. What James sought to expose was this: They were showing off. They were focusing on what big shots they were.
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away. Instead, you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and also do this or that.”
I do not believe for a second that James was instructing believers to be morbid about their life-expectancy, either. I do believe, however, that his aim was to jolt them out of their habitual boasting with the stark reality of the unpredictability of life. He intended to refocus their sights—off of their self-perceived awesomeness and on to finding out what God had to say about things. Instead of boasting, he was saying, ask the Lord what His will for you is.
But as it is, you boast in your arrogance; all such boasting is evil.
Whether it’s about your plans, your abilities, your status, or anything else you may use to one-up others, James pegged it all as arrogant boasting. All such boasting is evil.
Be very aware of your motives. Let the Holy Spirit shine a light on what’s rolling around on the inside of you when you start to get competitive while talking with others. Ask Him for help with your part of the conversation—what you should share, when you should share it, and with whom you should share it. He will surely train you in the fine art of listening to Him when conversing with others, and He will help you to stay on top of those unruly motives.
Dorothy
It is not good to eat much honey, nor is it glory to search out one’s own glory. Proverbs 25:27
He who speaks from himself seeks his own glory; but He who is seeking the glory of the One who sent Him, He is true, and there is no unrighteousness in Him. John 7:18
James 4:12—Who are you to judge your neighbor?
There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor? James 4:12
The Lord God is the Judge. He is the Lawgiver, and all just laws find their origin in Him. Lawlessness, the refusal to submit to righteous laws, has been at work for centuries according to 2 Thessalonians 2:7. This rebellion seems to be swelling to a crescendo in our time; wherever you look, you’re likely to see its effects.
And because of the prohibition stated time and again in the Bible about judging your brother, all too often the church world feels like it’s been painted into a corner in regards to addressing cultural decay. Christians think they are not allowed to call sin what it is—SIN—for fear of judging someone.
Ezekiel 33:1-9 is clear. Believers, as watchmen, have a responsibility to warn concerning the approach of wickedness. The New Testament urges us to be ready to snatch folks out of the fire, having mercy with fear, hating even the garment polluted by the flesh (Jude 23). God’s standards apply to everybody. And His standards won’t budge, despite shifts in popular cultural thought.
1 Thessalonians 5:21-22 declares, “But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil.” You see, evil is evil; when you are called to refrain from judging others, it’s the person you’re not to judge; you absolutely have the right to discern sinful behavior.
It’s what you do with your discernment that is the issue here.
If you observe your brother stealing, you have the right—and the responsibility—to see to it that the thief and his theft are justly confronted. When you see the decaying morality of the culture creeping into the church—even into your own circle—you have the right and the responsibility to address it.
However, to rail against a brother or a sister is not discernment; it’s judging. When you feel the need to let others know how off someone is; when you desire to bring down the good name of a ministry, a preacher, or an individual Christian; when you’d rather see someone suffer and be disgraced more than you long to see them restored, you have abandoned your place and are assuming the role of judge—a role reserved for God alone.
“Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). The way you respond to perceived sin or error in someone else’s life is huge to God. Due to the fact that you and I don’t know everything about everything, we must be very careful to watch over our hearts when we think someone else is off-base. Have you considered that your discernment might not be fully accurate? Have you reckoned with the fact that you weren’t created to discern every motive of another person’s heart? Have you faced the fact that whether your discernment is accurate or not, your name is not “Holy Ghost”?
What are you doing with your discernment? Each of us must give an account before God for how we handle the perceptions, discernments, hunches, and observations we pick up about others. Each of us, likewise, is accountable for how we guard our hearts and words when faced with someone else’s indiscretions or vulnerabilities.
It has been said that the person who bothers you the most needs you the most. James wrote, “For we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2a). John wrote, “If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us” (1 John 1:10). Anytime you discern error or sin in someone, ask yourself this: How would I want to be treated if others perceived that I was in error or sin? Treat your brother and sister the same way you would want to be treated. If you refuse, remember this: There is only one Lawgiver and Judge, the One who is able to save and to destroy; but who are you who judge your neighbor?
May our discernment be true and our responses pleasing to the Lord.
Dorothy
But you, why do you judge your brother? Or you again, why do you regard your brother with contempt? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God. Romans 14:4, emphasis added
For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. James 2:13