Verses for Vessels

Easter Lights... 4

"Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted." - Isaiah 53:4

So we continue in our reflections on the suffering Prince.

Grace

One of the most beautiful things about the gospel is the focus and effectual demonstration of the grace of God. Grace, is often described as unmerited favour from God. In grace we get what only he deserves, and he in turn, gets what we deserved. We get peace, he gets judgement. We get healing, he gets bruising. We get glory. He gets shame. At no other point, and perhaps from no greater point in God's history with his people, is this shown more clearly than at the Cross of calvary. Isaiah is understood to be speaking of God's anointed One who was yet to come. One would have thought that given the dismissive spite with which we had treated him thus far in the passage, he would have other considerations towards the people of God and humanity in general. But the prophecy continues in context with today's text: 'surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering'. In spite of our attitudes and unbelief, he still took up our pain and suffering... This is Grace.

Resolved

Surely! Without a doubt. With full resolve. With total commitment to see it through. He took it up. But wait a minute... Who is this again? Would it not be the One whom we have despised? Would it be the same One who we hid our faces from... whose testimony we lightly regarded, even rejected? Is this the One from whose appearance we fled and still flee? We now know that only one man fits this prophecy. Would it be the Jesus whose message of a coming kingdom many have mocked and still mock, and whose call to repentance and surrender others have vilified and can barely stand? ...Yes indeed. It is the One and the same Jesus Christ of Nazareth. But Isaiah says, 'Surely' ! Given how we have treated him, he had good reason to change his mind about suffering like this, but ...surely! Given the rejection and shame, the insults and wilful denial of our knowledge of him, he may have been justified for letting us have all that was our due...each man to his own.. But, 'Surely!'. Glory to God! I thank God that in the face of pain, rejection and shame, the suffering Prince still stood 'sure' about his love for me. In the presence of alternatives, he remained confident in his choice to die for you; that we were worth the price. In the midst of his fire,  he was praying for our forgiveness. Surely! Lord you took it up, surely you did! !Oh what love, what love, what unwavering love!

Pain and Suffering...

He took up our pain and bore our suffering. It could be said that these are two things most despised about our mortality on this earth- pain and suffering. They make life unbearable, unworthy, and meaningless for much of humanity even to this day. We continue to ask that worn out question about God: If there is a God why would he let innocent children suffer?, why would he let wars happen? Why would loved ones die? Why do natural or man-made disasters happen in the first place? Why doesn't he intervene, if he really cared so much? Where is he when good men and women die young? Where is he when lone gunmen or terrorists take away the lives of free law abiding innocents? What God would give a soul a body they hate, a genetic dysfunction, an immunological disease or even a sexual inclination that others may consider an aberration? How could he let any of his creation suffer so much pain, for so long? Families breaking down; finances in disarray; friendships dissolving; loyalties abandoned; fidelity forsaken; businesses lost; economies collapsing; governments failing; tribes and nations at war with each other; and the poor and destitute left to bear the brunt of humanities endless quest for alternative realities. Pain and suffering: something the good and evil can both claim as their own. Pain and suffering: something that the rich and the poor must both endure. Pain and suffering: exclusive to none; common to all. Rather than provide a theological explanation for the cause(s) of evil, he chose to take care of it once and for all. He took it up... for ALL OF US.

Well deserved...?

You would think that this singular act of selfless sacrifice would inspire faith and devotion in everyone. The prophet didn't see that. Jesus didn't witness that in the aftermath of his crucifixion. In fact his death was repugnant to many, and unbearable to his own disciples. They were devastated, terribly disappointed. Hope was dashed and dreams faded fast. Here was the One who lifted hearts and spirits alike. Here was One who embraced the poor and the desolate. Here was One who offered hope of a new beginning and a Kingdom where in he would be king of righteousness... Here was he, hanging, bleeding, helpless, hopeless, and with a reputation so tarnished among Jews and gentiles alike, no one in their sane mind would dare want to be associated with such a disgrace. To manage this enigma, many decided, that he deserved it! It was his punishment from God, by the hands of the Romans, urged on by the religious leaders of the time. Even today, many are still try to manage their disappointment in Jesus by the same token. It must have been well deserved, they argue. The punishment was only reserved for rebels and terrorists. Therefore, if he was so punished, it can only be reasonable to conclude that he, Jesus of Nazareth, must have been one himself!- they say. We considered him stricken by God and afflicted, yet all the while, it was Our suffering and Our pain that pinned him there...

Look again

Can I invite you to look up that tree... one more time?. Can I invite us to behold the battered body of the misunderstood? Can I welcome us into his unwavering resolve at a great and immeasurable cost to himself? Yes he was betrayed. Yes he was lied upon. Yes he was wrongfully condemned and brutally executed. It was murder at the hands of justice! But it truly was, as Isaiah here declares, for US that he so painfully suffered. As you watch the blood drip down from the sides of his head. As you behold the battered body bruised by Roman stripes. As we look on those nails driven through the hands that still beckon every soul; do you see YOUR PAIN and YOUR SUFFERING? Yes... everything that every human, and all creation, has ever suffered or would ever have to suffer; every pain that every human, and all creation, has ever endured or will ever have to endure... It was all on him. Look again at how resolute and unrelenting the judgement of God is. Look also at how resigned and committed the suffering Prince remains in the heat, ...for us. It must have been horribly excruciating; but it was my pain and yours that he bore. It must have been terribly humiliating and enduringly exhausting; but it was our suffering that was on him. Do you see it yet? Have you seen it yet? I invite you to come; look on him whom they have pierced. For us he suffered so...

PRAYER: Dear Jesus, today I come to you with all my heart. I see you now. Lord, I thought it was your suffering; now, I know it was mine you bore. Thank you for taking my place in God's judgement. Today, and everyday of my life, I receive the life you offer in exchange for my sins. I receive your peace and your healing. In Jesus name, amen