“Surely he has borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and
afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our
iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his
wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV).
Everything about our Savior’s gift to us
is contrary to reason, extravagantly coming to us through paradoxical amazing grace and great suffering. What our Savior gives to us is of the highest
significance and honor. It comes because He endured and bore the greatest humiliation and pain imaginable. Everything about the sacrifice of our Savior
is in the fullest measure yet disturbing and degrading in taking the holy from the
Lord in order that the gift of salvation would be immeasurably capable of
elevating us as unholy to full acceptance as Children of God. It was the full measure of God the Father’s
love poured out for us through the death of His only Begotten Son. It was the crushing of the pure for the impure.
It was the acceptance of all evil, that good might triumph forever victorious. It was in the death of
the most worthy that He might give life to the most unworthy. It was through the suffering and beatings of
the most innocent that healing might come to the most guilty. That righteousness
might be given to the unrighteousness and hope to the hopeless.
It is good news to a bleak world and
water to a thirsty land. Jesus Christ the Messiah bore our
grief and sorrows to ensure joy for all who would follow Him and our great sin
that we might be released of guilt for eternity. He was made a transgressor
that the transgressor would be forever free. He was tormented that peace might flow unheeded in the midst of all torment. Pages and pages of written words
cannot begin to contain the scope of the Savior’s gift for us. For the grace of Jesus Christ does in a
moment … what all our efforts cannot do in an eternity. The salvation in grace that comes to all
sinners is simply an indescribable gift. Grasping in the smallest of ways, the scope
our Savior’s gift is just the beginning of the abundant life He desires to give
us through His death and resurrection.
Be ever thankful and ever aware of what you have been given.
“Thank God for this gift too wonderful
for words! (2 Corinthians 9:15 NLT)
Suggested Reading … Isaiah 53
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