Just two weeks left in the season of Lent. This week, which is the sixth, is typically used one of two ways. It is known as Palm Sunday, so many times the focus is on Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem. But this week can also be referred to as Passion Sunday, choosing to look at the suffering and death of Jesus. The latter will be where our attention is focused.
For our series we have been looking at a
“never again” theme God has revealed in the Old Testament when we understand
Jesus is the Messiah. Today we will be in the book of Isaiah, looking at a
passage that seems to point to the passion of Jesus. But while the wording may
seem like a lament or psalm crying to God for help, these are words of
confidence. Words of confidence for Jesus, the prophet Isaiah, and us.
Isaiah 50:4-9 (CEB):
The LORD
God gave me an educated tongue to know how to respond to the weary with a word
that will awaken them in the morning. God awakens my ear in the morning to
listen, as educated people do.
The LORD
God opened my ear, I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn my back. Instead, I gave my
body to attackers, and my cheeks to beard pluckers. I didn’t hide my face from
insults and spitting.
The LORD
God will help me; therefore, I haven’t been insulted. Therefore, I set my face
like flint, and knew I wouldn’t be ashamed. The one who will declare me
innocent is near. Who will argue with me? Let’s stand up together. Who will
bring judgment against me? Let him approach me. Look! The LORD God will help
me. Who will condemn me? Look, they will wear out like clothing; the moth will
eat them.
This is the Word of God.
For the people of God.
Thanks be to God.
When we consider the context of these
verses, it is amazing. The prophet Isaiah is well before the arrival of Jesus,
so in his writing this he was writing with himself as a prophet. But God
inspired this writing for so much more. As we look at these verses, we will
both the writer’s intention and God’s “never again” message linked to salvation
through Jesus.
Verse 4 says, “The LORD gave me an educated
tongue to know how to respond to the weary with a word that will awaken them in
the morning.” Isaiah is talking about having intimacy with God where God gives
Him words to share that are just what an exhausted and wounded heart need to
hear. This does not come about as an accident, but from Isaiah’s heart being
yielded to God. His heart is regularly seeking to hear from God, and God
illuminates Isaiah’s heart with what to say when it is the right time to say
it. God gave Isaiah the power to practice his faith.
In the Gospel of John, Jesus says, “My
teaching isn’t mine but comes from the one who sent me.” (7:16) Again, this is
not an accident. Jesus regularly made time to spend time with God. But His life
was more than a morning devotional time, Jesus made intimacy with God part of
every moment of His day. God gave Jesus the power to practice His faith.
Verses 5 and 6 say, “The LORD God opened my
ear; I didn’t rebel. I didn’t turn back. I gave my body to attackers, and my
cheeks to beard pluckers. I didn’t hide my face from insults and spitting.” One
would think a prophet would be revered and respected, but the Old Testament
paints a much different picture. Isaiah, along with the other prophets, would
face enemies among God’s people who would mock, imprison, and attack them.
Spitting in this culture was the ultimate sign of disrespect. But Isaiah
remained faithful to God and His call, facing that opposition. God gave Isaiah
the power to persevere in his faith.
The Gospels share how Jesus voluntarily
endured all those same things for our salvation. All the pain physically and
emotionally was real. His cry on the cross was out of real agony. But God gave
Jesus the power to persevere in His faith.
Remember I said that this passage
collectively is one of confidence, not lament or desperation prayers for help.
If we stop at verses 5 and 6, we will not see what is revealed in verses 7
through 9. Despite all the opposition, Isaiah knows the God He serves is
greater than the suffering he is enduring for God’s cause. The prophet knew
that if it was God’s cause, God would prove his faith before enemies and all
the naysayers. It was not Isaiah’s faith that proved God true, it was Isaiah’s
confidence that God’s power would vindicate him.
Jesus submitted His entire life to the will
of God. And as His disciples turned and fled from Him, Jesus knew God would
vindicate Him. As the Romans beat Him to a bloody pulp, with every crack of
that whip, Jesus knew God would prove His power through His faith. When the
nails were driven through His hands and feet and the crowds heckled, Jesus knew
God would vindicate Him. The story of Jesus was not finished on Friday, the
story of sin was. Jesus rose again, and His resurrection was God’s power proved
His plan for our salvation and Jesus as His Son who He sent as our Redeemer.
What does this have to do with us? How does
this connect with “Never again”? The passion of Jesus, predicted by God through
the prophet Isaiah, says that never again do we have to wonder how much God
values us. God loves us so much that He sent Jesus, His One and Only Son, to
suffer and die for the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus was no passive bystander
in God’s scheme, He faithfully surrendered Himself to suffer so sin would no
longer have any grip on us.
As amazing as that is, we miss what Jesus
demonstrated to us in all that. God values us so much; He wants you and me to
have the same relationship with Him that Jesus has. Jesus in His ministry was
not trying to prove that God existed, He lived knowing that He did. His faith
in God allowed God to prove His power through Christ’s surrender. And we cannot
think for one second God would do anything less for us. God values us so much
that He never asks us to prove His existence, but that if we live like God is real
as our fundamental assumption, living for His purpose and His kingdom, then we
can have the confidence that God will demonstrate His power in us and through
us.
How do we do that? “The LORD God opened my
ear; I didn’t rebel; I didn’t turn back. I gave my body to attackers, and my
cheeks to beard pluckers. I didn’t hide my face from insults and spitting.” We
recognize how much God values us, then give our lives to seeing others come to
the same knowledge. Even if that means we suffer at their hands, we are willing
because Jesus did it for us.
Do you know today how much God loves you? You are like a lost coin and lost sheep that He desperately seeks to find. Like a prodigal child, God watches for you to come down the road home so He can greet you with a warm embrace. Turn to Him. Maybe you know God values you today. But do you have the faith to live as one valued by God? You never again have to wonder your value, Jesus showed you the cost God was willing to pay, but are you willing to give your life to His kingdom cause?
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