God loves you so much that He sent His son, Jesus, as a man, to die so you can be whole and have life now and eternally. Read about how much God loves you in this Message translation of the Bible.
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause us to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was our pains he carried—
our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was our sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!
He took the punishment, and that made us whole.
Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost.
We’ve all done our own thing, gone our own way.
And God has piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong,
on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Give thanks this Easter for the life He has given you. You can be completely whole in spirit, mind and body because Jesus died for you.
Dale,
In another passage in Isaiah it says “I will call your seed from the east and gather them in the west.” Although it’s where the spiritual seeds will be gathered, Armageddon, it also means he begot one seed in the east and many in the west.
Nature Boy,
What I believe the author of Isaiah is talking about in verse 10 when he write “Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant, will make many “righteous ones”” is that because Jesus died on the cross for us, all who believe in Him will become righteous and will be His children. Not children out of childbirth, but children when they are “born again” after they accept Jesus into their hearts.
Although that is preached about being Yeshua ha’meshiach, it is not. Look down at verse 10 and you will see that he has to have seed (children) which he sees after his resurrection, Yehsua did not have any according to the Bible.
Rick,
Thanks for sharing your heart.
My prayer is that deep in your spirit you’ll gain this new level of amazement, joy and acknowledgment. I have found that as I spend more and more time in His presence, that is what happens to me….. especially the rich joy that comes from spending time with Him!
Dale
Dale,
I was talking to my wife this weekend about the death and resurrection of the Messiah. In my life, now, I find my faith in Jesus the Incarnate One is a gift that I treasure, and faith in His rising from the dead is alive but in need of a new sense of amazement and joy and acknowledgement of the power Jesus has over death. Easter will be a time for renewal for many, I hope and pray, and thanks for being part of that process.
Rick