For My Transgressions

“By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

And who can speak of his descendants? For he was

cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions

of my people he was stricken.” Isaiah 25:8 (NIV)

The religious leaders stirred up the crowds, using trumped up charges, of all things. Jesus went to the cross because we are so sinful. He died a horrific death so those sins we commit will not count against us.

In the Old Testament, only the appointed priest could go into the Holy of Holies to take the sins of the people and give them to God. This passage into the presence of God only happened once a year. One priest, chosen by drawing lots, going into God’s presence carrying the sins of all the people of the Hebrew nation. No one else could go into this most sacred area. The other priests tied a rope onto the chosen one’s ankle so they could pull him out of there, if he was in there too long and God had dealt with him.

Now, imagine with me how difficult this was. One man, a human, at that, carried his own sins, those of his family, his friends, his neighbors, and the government on his shoulders. He entered the Holy of Holies as best he could. He gave the sins to God, who received them from him. How would a priest feel as he exited the area?

Recently, I sat in church with a lady who has been bringing me a magazine. She tapped me on the arm and asked me if I had seen the movie, The Passion of The Christ. I told her I had. She hadn’t at that time. She wasn’t sure she could see it when it was at our local theaters. I encouraged her to see it. Our church’s singles group was going to watch it on video. They invited anyone who wanted to, to see it with them. That movie impressed in me that my sins put Jesus Christ on that cross.

Silent before His Accusers

“He was oppressed and afflicted and yet did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her

shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.” Isaiah 53:7 (NIV)

Jesus, the man, must have felt as if he were backed into a corner by the religious authorities. The religious leaders tossed Him back and forth between them. Our Master didn’t say anything in His defense. I believe God chose this path for His Son. The Father controlled the happening, the people and the contributing events in this. What could Jesus say in His defense? Had He said anything, would the religious leaders done anything differently? Would they have jeered and mocked our Lord any more if He had spoken? By not speaking in His own behalf He complied with His Father’s will.

Are there times we should be silent before our accusers, like Jesus was? I had a time when that was how something occurred. I was confronted with something I didn’t want to hear and then hear other ‘bad’ things about me. I had always said, if the situation arose, I would let the person know my feelings about the situation. Well, guess what. I could barely open my mouth.

I now believe God didn’t want me to be in that place any longer. He kept me from saying things that might have been true but those people were not able to understand what I would have said.

Jesus doesn’t let us down when we are faced with taunts and jeers from those around us. He shows us how to handle ourselves when we are backed into a corner by issues of life. We need to be more in tune with Him and let Him lead.

Release

“. . . to release the oppressed.” Luke 4:18d (NIV)

Who are the oppressed? Webster’s New World Dictionary defines the verb oppress as “1) to weigh heavily on the mind, spirits, etc. of burden, 2) to keep down by cruel or unjust use of authority; tyrannize over”

Again we see oppression in two different lights.

We have witnessed political oppression when we heard of a nation taking over a smaller, weaker country. We read in history about the religious oppression of the Jewish people in Europe in the days prior to and during World War II. In the late summer of 1990, we heard of a middle east nation overtaking an smaller one in that region. Our government leaders weighed the options of bearing arms against the aggressor country.

Later, we heard of government in the same part of the world that took away the rights of women, taking away their jobs and allowing them out of their homes only if they were covered from head to foot. I was saddened by what we saw.

Sin, if allowed to run rampant in our lives can oppress God’s people. But Jesus came to show us we can strive to live better lives by staying close to Him. God tells us to take His yoke upon us. (Matthew 11:2930)

The enemy uses the memory of our transgressions to keep us down. He comes into our lives and whispers, “Do you remember. . . .” Satan brings to our attention what shames us. We can’t be vulnerable to the adversary, if we turn our sins over to Jesus when we realize what we have done. All it takes is to say “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.”

Sight For the Blind

“. . . and recovery of sight for the blind.” Luke 4:18c (NIV)

Here again Jesus could have meant more than then physically blind. In our 21st Century world, we seem to have a lot of spiritually blinded people. We also notice persons who are blinded by the glitz of the world. Some people get sidetracked in their walk with Jesus by some Christian-sounding groups

I have heard certain people described by others as “having a blind spot”. Some parents have fallen in this category because they have a relationship with someone and think that other person can’t do anything wrong. Some times this blind spot causes a person to become involved in activities that are dangerous to themselves and to others.

Did Jesus come to give these sight?

Freedom for Prisoners

“He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners.” Luke 4:18b (NIV)

Are we to take this phrase as Jesus speaking words of independence to those men and women behind bars? He could mean this. I believe He means more, His message could focus on emotional, spiritual, and mental freedom, not simply the condition of a person having served his or her time behind physical bars and being released.

Could the Master also call those held in bondage to certain self-destructive habits prisoners? If a person becomes addicted to a substance, he or she has allowed that ‘stuff’ to take them over-physically, mentally and emotionally. It is horrific to see someone attached to things that can take their life.

What about victims of abuse? Wouldn’t we call them prisoners? Friends of mine have a daughter who, in order to function, has to take seizure medication. When the daughter was married, I heard she had a spell every time she and her husband came to visit. After she moved back home, she confessed that she hadn’t been taking her meds. It seemed they needed the money for ‘other things’ but it wasn’t her decision. It was the husband’s. Was my friend’s daughter a prisoner?

Didn’t Jesus came to help them find a better way to live?

Good News to the Poor

“The Sprit of the Lord is upon me

because he has anointed me to preach

good news to the poor.”

Luke 4:18a (NIV)

Who are the poor in our 21st Century world? We live in an economically depressed town-a corporation closed one of it’s larger parts plant in the 1990’s. Then another corporate decision closed it’s other division in, I believe, 2006. These two divisions employed a large percentage of our area’s population.

We hear of people who have no or inadequate health insurance. Would Jesus consider them poor? I remember a friend sharing with me that her mother-at that time, a fairly recent widow-had to use the majority of her Social Security to purchase her medication. This lady had less than $15.00 each month to use for food, utilities, etc. Do we think about this condition as being impoverished?

We hear of people losing their homes because they are out of work. People live in substandard housing because they can’t find anything within their means. Back in the early summer the local newspaper ran a story about a man being injured in a fight at what seemed to be a campsite set up by some homeless people.

God loves the poor, the ones without means and the homeless as much as he loves you and me.

Glory to the Lord

“ . . . and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ

is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Philippians 2:11



Can you picture this? Every tongue will confess. I wonder how that will sound. I once sat in a large auditorium and heard those assembled sing “Wonderful Grace of Jesus”. (The chorus divides into four parts-each part singing different phrases.) My thought was “Will everyone know which part to sing?” When the people came to the end of the verse, all the voices divided as if they had the music right in front of them. I felt I was in Heaven. Those gathered that night knew the song. I believe hearing every tongue saying “Jesus Christ is Lord” will be like it was in that auditorium. It sounded like angels singing.

The sound will surround us. We won’t be able to hear anything else. We who believe He is Lord will be saying it as a form of worship-telling Him he is worthy to receive our devotion, our honor, and our praise.

God will hear our words of confession. He will be glorified. His Son will be recognized for who He is-Lord of our lives.