The opening verses in this chapter tell us that there wasn't anything spectacular that would draw us to Jesus Christ, in fact, we are told that he would be despised and rejected. John writes in his gospel that He came unto His own but His own did not receive Him. Today's presentation of the gospel does everything to make Jesus more appealing but misses the straightforward presentation that Jesus bore our sins, our griefs and our sorrows.
The passage in Mark 10:45 tells us that He did not come to be served but to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. Isaiah says He is someone who was considered as rejected and smitten by God, someone familiar with pain, acquainted with grief. Who better to be entrusted with our grief and sorrow. Peter, in 1 Pet.5:7, admonishes us to cast all our cares upon Him. Despite our rejection of Him, He was still pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities and He took the punishment we deserved upon Himself. Man made religion, including a Pharisaical form of Christianity, is based on works but Jesus said, “Come unto me, all you that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn of me, for I am meek and lowly of heart: and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”(Matt. 11:28-30) Paul writes, “to the one who does not work but trusts God who justifies the ungodly, their faith is credited as righteousness.”(Rom.4:5)
Since it is our nature to stray and go our own way, it is important that we daily humble ourselves and depend on Him to cleanse and heal our broken souls. He did not come to call the righteous to repentance, he did not come to heal the well but to call sinners to repentance, the well do not need a doctor.
The Pharisees asked Jesus if they were blind, His response was, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but now you say, 'We see.' Therefore your sin remains.” (Jn.9:41) When we try to clean ourselves to make ourselves acceptable to Him, we miss the reality of why He came and by trying to make ourselves clean, the reverse is true. Our righteousness is as filthy rags and we become repugnant to Him. It is through humility that grace is given and received.
Isaiah 53:7 tells us that “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep is before its shearers is silent, so He did not open his mouth.” The gospels record how He remained silent before His accusers and told Pilate that “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above.” (Jn. 19:11) To think that Jesus willingly suffered, received mockery, tortured and died without complaint, to me, is beyond what I can comprehend. I grudgingly complete many tasks, even if it is internal, with a modicum of complaint. Many times we try to defend or justify ourselves when we do wrong rather than have the mind of Christ who did not defend Himself, Jesus was silent but not helpless. He would be cut off from the land of the living, in dying, He bore our sins, our griefs and our sorrows. No deceit was found in Him, He did not come for self gain but came that man would have the opportunity to be made righteous, to bear God's wrath upon Himself. Paul wrote, “May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.” (Gal.6:14)
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