Last night I had these verses in my mind as I slept. I suppose after hearing all of the anxieties from people in this Corona virus world I was reminded that there was a prophet named Isaiah that was given the word of the Lord many years before the birth of Jesus to provide comfort of what the coming Messiah would bring to a suffering world. To realize that through the death and resurrection of this Messiah that death sorrow and pain would forever be removed and that this Messiah would bring comfort to all of those who are suffering. Even in the absolute worst of times Jesus is there.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
Isaiah 53 New International Version (NIV)
53 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.[b]
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[c] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
by his knowledge[f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. In Your Name. Amen.[20]
You may be thinking about the uncertainty of your financial future with the crumbling of your 401 K, or other investments. You may be wondering when you might be working again, or how you're going to pay the bills. You may be so stressed at this point that it is creating problems with your heart, or pain in your joints. If this is you, the good news is that this Messiah that was frequently mentioned in Isaiah 53 wants to come into your life if only you would open up that door from the inside and let him in. Jesus Christ will come in with a simple prayer you can say right now.
If you said this prayer with a sincere heart then welcome to the family of God! The next step in the process is to learn all you can about your Messiah. I encourage you to get a bible and begin reading the first 4 gospels- Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. In fact, like I did, you may want to begin reading the Gospel of John. The next step is to find a Church where you can hear messages on line, since the corona virus is preventing at this time the assembling of Christian believers. You may want to consider a on line life group. Many small groups are meeting on line using Zoom or other video conferencing device. Lastly, I encourage you to join me by listening to the sermon messages at the church my wife and I attend at this link:
Footnotes:
Isaiah 53:8 Or From arrest
Isaiah 53:8 Or generation considered / that he was cut off from the land of the living, / that he was punished for the transgression of my people?
Isaiah 53:10 Hebrew though you make
Isaiah 53:11 Dead Sea Scrolls (see also Septuagint); Masoretic Text does not have the light of life.
Isaiah 53:11 Or (with Masoretic Text) 11 He will see the fruit of his suffering / and will be satisfied
Isaiah 53:11 Or by knowledge of him
Isaiah 53:12 Or many
Isaiah 53:12 Or numerous
Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
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