“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. but He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
Jesus didn’t just die for you, He died as you. He died in your place. He became like you so you could become like Him. He became your sin so you could be righteous. He was diseased so you would be well. He was punished so you could be free. He was rejected so you could be accepted.
Read along with me through these passages. This sermon is more of a meditative walk through Isaish 52:13 through 54:10.
Here is one of my favorite set of promises from this section of scripture. Notice how God defines Himself; your husband, the Lord of Hosts, your redeemer, the God of the earth, the Lord who has mercy. We must allow God to define who He is and how He wants to operate in our lives. In this selection of scripture, He makes Himself more than our Lord, He describes a very personal and intimate relationship. He is our husband, He is the one who has mercy on us.
Yes, He is the Lord of Hosts, which denotes His powerful authority, but He uses that reference to illustrate how He exercises His authority in our lives. He loves us, He wants to take care of us in the context of relationship. He wants us to be free from our past. He wants to be kind to us. He not only wants to, He swears to. This is a big deal. God swears to be kind to you, to no longer be angry with you.
Why? Because of what the Messiah accomplished in the previous chapter. He was your substitute, making you clean and holy before Him. Forever sealed in His new covenant of promise.
Isaiah 54:5 For your Maker is your husband, The Lord of hosts is His name; and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel; He is called the God of the whole earth. 6 For the Lord has called you like a woman forsaken and grieved in spirit, like a youthful wife when you were refused,” says your God. 7 “For a mere moment I have forsaken you, but with great mercies I will gather you. 8 With a little wrath I hid My face from you for a moment; but with everlasting kindness I will have mercy on you,” says the Lord, your Redeemer. 9 “For this is like the waters of Noah to Me; for as I have sworn that the waters of Noah would no longer cover the earth, so have I sworn that I would not be angry with you, nor rebuke you. 10 For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, nor shall My covenant of peace be removed,” says the Lord, who has mercy on you.
I pray you allow your self-image to be defined by God’s perspective of you. I pray you reshape your self-worth in light of how your husband cherishes you. I pray you find rest in the finished work of Jesus. And I pray that you live open and free with the Lord, no longer afraid of Him. You can trust Him, He went through great lengths to be in your life.
