Tomorrow the churches will be full. Some will go to church who
haven’t given Jesus a single thought out the whole year. Others have casually
considered Him. But there is a question to ask yourself. It is from Isaiah 53:1
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the
LORD been revealed?”
The answer determines our eternal fate. Easter Sunday is
more than family day at church. More than Easter egg hunts and baskets of
candy. It is a day to seriously understand the history of why all this fuss
happens twice a year; once on Christmas and once on Easter. Those are fun days
for our kids and I am not against any of that. But at some point, we need to
get serious and understand the truth. That truth is found in Isaiah. Take a
minute to read the truth.
Isaiah 53:2-12
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
Take hold of the salient points of this scripture reading.
“He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was
crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being fell upon
Him.”
Our transgressions. Our iniquities. Our chastening. It all
fell upon Him.
“All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has
turned to his own way.”
All of us. We’ve gone astray. Each of us. Tuned to our own
way.
Yet He was without sin. He was the perfect man. He was holy
in all ways.
“His
grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich
man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in
His mouth.”
He was the perfect sacrifice.
Check this out. Imagine how much you love your children. God’s
love for His Son was far greater than ours because God’s love, unlike ours, is
perfect love. But listen.
“But the LORD was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief.”
God was pleased to allow His only Son to suffer as He did.
Why?
John
3:16
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.”
That my friends is what Easter is about. Enjoy the egg hunt.
Relish the morning time with your kids as they enjoy their candy. Dress
everybody up and go to church tomorrow. Celebrate.
But then commit every day, every moment to loving God with
all your heart, soul, and mind. Humble yourself before God. Admit it is you who
put Christ on the cross and then believe every word of the scriptures and trust
only in Jesus for your salvation. Make every day from this moment a day of
worship, praise, and thanksgiving to Almighty God.
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Happy Easter!
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