In The Word
Read: Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
The Exalted Servant
13 Behold, My servant will prosper,
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14 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.
15 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.
The Suffering Servant
53 Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 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.
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.
4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.
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.
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.
7 He was oppressed and 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.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
Walking In The Word
There is a song that proclaims the person of Jesus, “Oh what a Savior… Oh what a Friend!” As we read today’s scriptures we can see the truth in those lyrics. Leaving behind the splendor and glory of heaven, Jesus was born in complete obscurity, without fame or comfort. The Messiah of God freely gave up His unmatched power to come to earth and rescue us from our own bondage. Our grief was placed on Him, our sorrows He bore; He was pierced for our transgressions, and crushed for our unrighteousness. All that we maybe made whole.
And yet we did not acknowledge Him. It was in this obscurity that Jesus Christ did His greatest work. It was in His time of being downcast that we gained the greatest gift of salvation. In all this, it pleased the Lord to crush His only Son. Why?!
Because the Father knew that the Son’s obscurity would not last forever. “Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. (Isaiah 52:13)” He knew Jesus would be triumphant over all the works of Satan and the restoration of humanity to Himself would finally be established.
For many today, we feel like we serve God in the same obscurity. If that is you, be encouraged, because like Jesus, our greatest achievements are done when the world does not see us. Our greatest gifts to those around us are given when we never get the fame. However, it will be in those times that we hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” God is aware of you and what you go through for His will. Just keep working, and in His season, you will move from obscurity to exaltation.