April 18, 2025 - Isaiah‬ ‭53‬:‭3‬-‭7‬, ‭12

“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. 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. 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. 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…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 53:3-7, 12 ESV

Jesus, how great is your love for us! It is unimaginable what you laid down to come to earth as a human. You deserved all reverence and worship, but for our sake you didn’t come in a way that demanded that. To think that the God over all, who is perfectly holy, came and lived as a normal human, experiencing pain, humiliation, being misunderstood, falsely accused, and so much more. Then you chose to be led to slaughter. You didn’t defend yourself. You didn’t reveal to the world who you really were and command all your opposers to kneel and worship you. You would have been justified to do any of those things or more. But you chose to become the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. You chose death so that your pure and spotless blood could wipe way our sins once and for all. You loved us so much you had to make a way to restore us to a right relationship with you. Oh, we love you, our Lord.

In Jesus name, amen.