Despised and Rejected... Wounded for My Transgressions

13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely; 
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle  many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
53:1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? 
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men;
a man of sorrows,  and acquainted with grief; 
and as one from whom men hide their faces 
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not 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,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief; 
when his soul makes  an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, 
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.      Isaiah 52: 13 - 53:12 

I read this passage ... a lot... I can't get it out of my mind. I pray this is always the case. I never want to forget what Jesus, The Suffering Servant did for me. All throughout the Bible we are told that our sin separates us from God and we stand condemned. A holy God has been offended. Our sinful nature and our sinful choices put us at war with God. We are like the people in this passage. Looking upon one who is so badly beaten and bruised that He doesn't even resemble a human. One who is despised by us and rejected. But He dies for us- in our place,  anyway.  While we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).  

My sin put Him on that cross... If I was going have any hope for this world and the next, someone had to die for me... someone perfect... someone holy - because I am neither.  As we celebrate Good Friday tomorrow, keep in mind it should have been YOU on that cross.... It should have been ME. 

Lord Jesus; Thank you! Thank you for dying in my place. Thank you for living in my place. A perfect sacrifice was required, and YOU Lord Jesus, were that man .. that God .. that Sacrifice.. 

If I live a thousand lifetimes and could make up for all the wrongs I have done, I'd just live another day and wrong you again. I thank you that you don't treat me as my sins deserve.. you have NOT dealt with me according to my sins (Psalm 103:10), but instead have clothed me in YOUR righteousness! I have died and my life is now hidden in you (Colossians 3:3), and I will be with you in glory (Colossians 3:4) . I have already died (Galatians 2:20) , crucified WITH YOU. I have resurrected WITH YOU, and I am already in heavenly places WITH YOU (Ephesians 2:6)  One day you will resurrect my old, dying, earthly body and give me one LIKE YOURS ( 1 Corinthians 15). What more could I ask for? Why should I seek another? You are everything I will ever need for all of time and eternity! Forgive me for thinking FAR too often that you are not enough... Lord Jesus - with eyes filled with tears, I proclaim that you are both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:35) - and that you are EVERYTHING! 

Up From the Grave He Arose

From Justin Holcomb at The Resurgence: 



A defense of the resurrection must give evidence for the historical validity of the events described in the New Testament, and it must show how the resurrection of Jesus provides the best explanation for this historical data. In this post we will focus on the empty tomb of Jesus Christ.


One of the easiest parts of the resurrection data to establish is the fact that the tomb is empty. Because the location of Jesus’ burial was known to those living in Jerusalem, it would have been unlikely that they would have believed the Apostolic preaching of the resurrection of Christ if there was not an empty tomb. Jesus’ burial is widely attested in early, independent testimonies, both biblical and extra-biblical.
Furthermore, as is often noted, women were not considered reliable witnesses in first century Jewish culture, so it would have been foolish for the authors to have fictionally constructed an account involving women in order to gain credibility.
“The person who wishes to deny the resurrection of Christ is left with the unexplained mystery of the empty tomb that existed three days after his death.”
Matthew 28:11–15 speaks of a myth that was spread among the Jews concerning the body of Christ. Apparently the Jews were saying the disciples stole the body of Christ. This is significant because the Jews did not deny the tomb was empty, but instead sought an alternative explanation to the resurrection. The emptiness of the tomb is a widely attested historical fact.
Just because the tomb of Christ was empty does not necessarily mean the resurrection happened. Indeed, there have been four alternative hypotheses to resurrection that have been advanced over the years.

First, some offer the conspiracy hypothesis, which says the disciples stole the body of Christ and continued to lie about his appearances to them. On this account, the resurrection was a hoax.
This hypothesis is not commonly held in modern scholarship for several reasons:

1. This hypothesis does not take into account that the disciples believed in the resurrection. It is highly unlikely that numerous disciples would have been willing to give their lives defending a fabrication.
2. It is unlikely that the idea of resurrection would have entered the minds of the disciples, as such an event was not connected to the Jewish idea of a Messiah. The scholar William Lane Craig writes, “If your favorite Messiah got himself crucified, then you either went home or else you got yourself a new Messiah. But the idea of stealing Jesus’ corpse and saying that God has raised him from the dead is hardly one that would have entered the minds of the disciples.”
3. This hypothesis cannot account for the post-resurrection appearances of Christ.

The second hypothesis attempting to explain away the resurrection is the apparent death hypothesis. This view says Jesus was not completely dead when he was removed from the cross. Once in the tomb, Jesus was revived and escaped, thus convincing the disciples of his resurrection.
This view is difficult to hold for a few reasons:

1. It is unlikely that a half-dead man would have been capable of even getting up to walk, much less moving the stone that sealed the tomb, over-powering Roman guards, and fleeing from sight.
2. This theory cannot account for the disciples’ attribution of resurrection to Christ, for if they had seen him after he was revived, they would have merely thought he had never died.
3. It is also foolish to think the Romans, who had perfected the art of killing people, would have let one slip by without ensuring he was dead.
4. Finally, given the physical torture described in the Gospel accounts, it is highly unlikely that Jesus could have survived.

Third, the wrong tomb hypothesis suggests the women had gotten lost on their way to the empty tomb and accidentally stumbled upon the caretaker of an empty tomb. When the caretaker said, “Jesus is not here,” the women were so disoriented they fled, their story later being developed into a resurrection myth.
Like the other theories, virtually no one holds to this view. There are at least three reasons:

1. First, this theory does not explain the post-resurrection appearances, and it is spurious to think that such a simple mistake would have led a first-century Jew to think a resurrection had happened.
2. In light of the early evidence that is available concerning the location of Jesus’ tomb, it is almost impossible that the women would have confused its location.
3. This hypothesis emphasizes that the caretaker of the tomb said that Christ was not there, but it passes over the next phrase: “He is risen!”

Fourth, some propose the displaced body hypothesis to explain Jesus’ resurrection. This theory says Joseph of Arimathea placed Jesus’ body in his own tomb but later moved it to the criminal’s graveyard. The disciples were not aware that Jesus’ body had been moved and therefore wrongly inferred that he had risen from the dead.
Because of the spurious nature of this theory, virtually no modern scholars hold to it:

1. This theory cannot account for the post-resurrection appearances of Christ or the origin of the Christian faith.
2. It is uncertain why Joseph would not have corrected the error of the disciples by simply showing them where he had moved the body of Jesus.
3. The criminal graveyard, most likely, was quite close to the crucifixion site, so it would have made little sense why Joseph would not have simply buried Jesus there in the first place. In fact, it was against Jewish law to allow a body to be moved after it had already been buried.

In light of these failed hypotheses that attempt to disprove the resurrection, the person who wishes to deny the resurrection of Christ is left with the unexplained mystery of the empty tomb that existed three days after his death.

A Kingdom Not of this World

33 So Pilate entered his headquarters again and called Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” 34 Jesus answered, “Do you say this of your own accord, or did others say it to you about me?” 35 Pilate answered, “Am I a Jew? Your own nation and the chief priests have delivered you over to me. What have you done?” 36 Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If my kingdom were of this world, my servants would have been fighting, that I might not be delivered over to the Jews. But my kingdom is not from the world.” 37 Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world—to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” 38 Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”After he had said this, he went back outside to the Jews and told them, “I find no guilt in him. 39 But you have a custom that I should release one man for you at the Passover. So do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?” 40 They cried out again, “Not this man, but Barabbas!” Now Barabbas was a robber.

     As we have entered into Holy Week, we should be continually drawn into the passion narratives in the Gospels. I've always been intrigued by Jesus being on trial before Pontius Pilate. The Roman governor asked Jesus if He was the King of the Jews... Probably a tongue in cheek question. I have no doubt Pilate took part in mocking Jesus.. at least until his interrogation led him nowhere. "I find no guilt in Him."  If he was convinced Jesus was innocent, why did he have Him beaten? His political maneuvering is evident to all. He had to keep the Jewish leaders happy. He still tries to make an exchange.. Barabbas would surely deserve the punishment. He was a bad guy.. Jesus was a good guy. Certainly these people were not THAT determined for Jesus to die.. were they?  Unbelievably, when given a choice as to which prisoner would go free they chose Barabbas. None of this catches God by surprise... He planned this long ago. Jesus would die for sinners. The illustration is obvious... WE are Barabbas. We are the bad guys. We deserve death as much as Barabbas did. We're the criminals... Just as Jesus took Barabbas' place, He takes our place as well. The innocent dies for the guilty.  This theme runs throughout the Bible. Only God would come up with this plan. 

    Something else is important in this narrative: Pilate asks about truth .. What does this mean? The truth that Jesus testifies to is the truth about Himself . He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life (John 14:6). Pilate asks this question, but does He really want to know? ... Jesus is an inconvenient truth to Pilate... And to all who refuse to believe Who He is. He's the substitute for sinners. Pilate and all other unbelievers don't see this...That's the greatest truth in the world... Jesus died for sinners... Are YOU one?  

The Resurrection Changes Everything

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he laid his right hand on me, saying, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades.  Revelation 1: 17 - 18 
Jesus is : 
1) "The first and the last"  (Alpha and Omega - Rev. 1:8) - He is eternal.. past, present, future. There has never been a time when He hasn't "been" -  "Before Abraham was 'I Am' " .  -  I Am is the name God used when He revealed Himself to Moses. 


2) " The Living One" - He is the Author of life, the bread of life, the resurrection 
and the life.  Our very existence is dependent on Him. 

3) " He died and is alive evermore"  - He rose from the dead to NEVER die again... everyone else who was raised from the dead, rose only to die again. 


4) He has the keys of Death and Hades"  - His resurrection conquered death, which is the wages of sin.. Our sin demands our death. - Romans 6:23 -  By Christ dying in our place, we died with Him and rose with Him - Ephesians 2: 4 - 6 . Hades is the place of the dead.... He holds the keys to who gets into the kingdom of God and who doesn't.

The resurrection changes everything... If Jesus did not rise from the dead we 
have no hope - 1 Corinthians 15: 12 - 17. 


BUT! ... Jesus HAS risen from the dead.... Our response to this truth should be the same as John's response at the revelation of Christ. He fell at His feet as though he was  dead - So should we!  We should fall dead at His feet, offering our life in order to have His.  


"No guilt in life, no fear in death
This is the power of Christ in me
From a life?s first cry to final breath
Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man
Could ever pluck me from His hand
Til He returns or calls me home
Here in the power of Christ I stand"
        - From "In Christ Alone" - words and music by Keith Getty and Stuart Townsend