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“…Christ,
the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1Cor. 1:24) said the Apostle Paul. God’s wisdom in His plan of salvation is revealed in and
through His Son and all that He was and did.
The
beautiful prophetic passage of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is a bird’s eye view of the
plan God had regarding His Servant – His Son.
The Servant is the person whose life is wholly devoted to God and God’s
will. In 52:13-15 we read the voice
of God speaking about His Servant and telling us the ultimate outcome of all
that is to happen. He will act
wisely. He will be raised up,
lifted up and exalted. And just as
many were appalled by Him, He will sprinkle many nations.
The leaders of the nations will also come to understand what they had not
previously.
But, in 53:1, we read, “Who has believed our message.”
This is the Church lamenting the seeming futility of its efforts.
How many have really believed? How
many understand the arm (power) of God? The
next verses talk about Servant of God and His sufferings.
We are told that He suffered for us and for our sins and iniquities. He went to death like a lamb to the slaughter and like a
sheep to the shearers – he did not open his mouth.
He didn’t die a soldier’s death or a philosopher’s death.
A soldier would have gone down fighting.
A philosopher would have gone down talking.
He was numbered with transgressors (v. 12).
It was God’s purpose to crush Him for us and to make His life a guilt
offering (v.10 NIV). He was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich
(v.9 NIV).
From verse 11 to the end of chapter 53, we find that He will justify many
and that He will be exalted. His
purposes are fulfilled in that He will justify many and He bore the sin of many.
This very much parallels the wonderful passage in Philippians 2.
Speaking of Jesus we read, “ Who, being in very nature God, did not
consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing,
taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death- even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (NIV)
Our calling includes bowing the knee and making confession that Jesus is Lord and honoring Him in the special covenant memorial service we call Passover/Lord's Supper.