Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Thoughts During Holy Week




“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hid their faces he was despised and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.” Isaiah 53: 3-5 (NIV)

As we reflect upon the last week of our Lord’s earthly life, we read of His last week on earth. We hear again the story of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem. The people regaled Him as a conquering hero, a reigning king. But the fickleness of the crowd turned them into an ugly mob.

The prophet Isaiah describes Jesus as one who was “despised and rejected by men” The chief priests and those who taught the Mosaic Law plotted His demise because He revealed the shortcomings of their practices to the masses.

God’s Son was “familiar with suffering,” He endured a death reserved for the most heinous of criminals. The practice was after the criminal had died, the soldiers broke the person’s legs in order to insure that the process was complete.

Before they placed Jesus on the cross, he endured scourging and beatings to the place He most likely looked grotesque. The rebel rousers-aka, the religious leaders, brought the onlookers to such frenzy that, except for His closest followers, they didn’t care about Him.

We often ask, “Why?” Jesus, God’s Son “took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows,” we don’t fully understand unless we study God’s word. Early on in our relationship with Jesus, we wonder why God allowed this horrific event. Friends, the prophet Isaiah spells it out for us;

“. . . he was pierced for our transgressions.” The message of the movie, The Passion of The Christ that our sins put Jesus on the cross, makes it personal for me. I believe that Christ died for each misguided thought I had, every unkind word I ever said, each careless action I ever took.

“he was crushed for our iniquities;” The wickedness of our collective sin caused our Savior to cry out to His Father, “Why have you forsaken me?"

“the punishment that brought us peace was upon him.” Don’t you find it strange that Jesus’ punishment is what brought peace to us? This was God’s plan from the beginning. I am thankful God had this in mind. Where would we be had he not?

6 comments:

  1. It seems all backward, doesn't it? Punishment and peace, familiarity with suffering by - a King!

    It makes no sense, humanly speaking. But from His point of view, it makes such lovely sense.

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  2. I just now came back from a neighborhood prayer group..and we were talking about the same kind of things in your post. I just can't wait for Easter...I know it is coming. Happy Holy Week. I am your newest follower..pls follow back if you can.

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  3. Rhonda:
    Thank you for stopping by. Yes, it does seem backward. We have to experience His grace and love before we can understand it. I pray you are feeling better.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Momto 8:
    Thank you for your thoughts. Thank you also for your decision to follow my blog. I post here usually on Monday, Wednesday and Friday. But this week is SPECIAL. So I will have posts the rest of the week.
    Stop in when you can.

    ReplyDelete
  5. It does seem odd - punishment for peace, but I am so glad God offers us this gift.

    Blessings,
    Karen

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  6. Karen:
    Thank you for your thoughts. We are all thankful for what Jesus did on that cross for us. Praise the Lord.

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I would be honored to hear what you think about this.

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