Monday, April 18, 2011

He kept his mouth shut!

Isaiah 53
I love this passage.  It talks about the man of sorrows, the one despised by men who would bear the iniquities of us all.  It is when I happen again upon scriptures like these, that I am reminded how amazing our God is.  hundreds of years before Jesus walked amoung us, Isaiah  wrote about this servant. Detailing things like the beatings that would leave him marred and disfigured (Isaiah 52:14); which was later echoed in all of the Gospels as they tell how he was beaten multiple times by the  Sanhedrin, the roman guards and crowds .
Isaiah also tells us he would be despised and rejected; we would “esteem him not”. And again in Matthew we see Christ spat upon, the crowds cheering “crucify him, crucify him!”  Isaiah tells us he will be pierce for our transgressions, it is his punishment that will bring us peace and it is by his wounds we are healed.  I wonder if Isaiah could have imagined what this looked like; how exactly Jesus would fulfill this prophecy.  
Isaiah tells us he was opposed and afflicted yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter.   Matthew tells us how Jesus was dragged before the Sanhedrin (the ruling  Jewish party), we are told that false testimony was given against Jesus, accusations flew.  We know he could have commanded the Angels appear, torn the temple in two with an earthquake, he could have ascended into heaven right before their eyes. 
But he didn’t.  He kept his mouth shut!
He chose the suffering that would follow, for us.  He knew the price for our sin had to be paid; the thought of us being separated from him for eternity was more painful than the beatings, the tauntings, death on the cross.  That is amazing to me.  That he did it for me.  He did it for you.
And I have trouble rolling out of bed to spend time with Him in the morning. 
Thank you Jesus, thank you keeping your mouth shut for me.

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