Wednesday, May 5th, 2009

Wednesday, May 5th, 2009

Isaiah 50:6
I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.

This verse certainly is a prophecy of the coming Messiah, the Lord, Jesus Christ. This passage refers explicitly to the death of Jesus Christ. This passage causes my soul to be taken down in grief, and yet at the same time, lifted up to heaven in bliss.

The phrase, "I gave my back to those who strike", was completely fulfilled in Matt. 27:26:

Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

This scourging of Jesus was ordered by Pontius Pilate after a failed attempt to release Him. The will of the governor was not enough to stop the will of God in ordaining that Jesus Christ would be the final sacrifice to save His people from their sins. Oh, God's divine decree was that I would be saved by means of this brutal death that I should have had.

The phrase, "cheeks to those who pull out the beard", was completely fulfilled in Mark 14:65:

And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to strike him, saying to him, "Prophesy!" And the guards received him with blows.

This phrase is actually rendered in the Septuagint, "and my cheeks to blows". Thus, this phrase was prophesying how Jesus Christ would be struck in the face. The reason He was struck, simply was that they hated Him and His prophecies. Jesus Christ prophesied some pretty radical stuff. He prophesied the destruction of the temple, the judgment of the Pharisees who trusted in themselves and not Him for salvation. They despised Him, and made Him pay for His prophecies. Thus, for no reason other than speaking truth, and declaring God's Word and will, Jesus Christ was struck in the face, as if to say that the words out of His mouth were blasphemous. But in reality, they were divine truth and life.

The phrase, "I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting", was fulfilled in Matt. 26:67:

Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him, saying, "Prophesy to us, you Christ! Who is it that struck you?"

This prophecy is incredibly heart breaking and rough. Here is the king of the universe, condescending to even be on the earth, let alone take on the body of a man, and here these wicked Pharisees do the most low and shameful thing they could do to Him, spit in His face and slapped Him. The king of glory was spit upon! Oh, what shame and what brutality did He suffer. There are not many words that can be said about this. Spit is disgusting, it smells, it comes from inside of our bodies, and it does not belong on another. Oh, how did the God of the universe bear this without bringing down legions of angels to dispense of these foolish and disrespectful creatures. Amazing love, that is how. Christ bore this for my sake.

So here it is, this Savior of mine is the most wonderful, precious, glorious, amazing, beautiful, lovely King. Jesus Christ is the light of the world, the true door, the good shepherd, the true vine, the way the truth and the life and the resurrection and the life. This glorious and wonderful Savior took upon Himself such shame and sorrow, that it is even unbearable to think upon. How could He have done such a thing. This kind of love is beyond grasping. It is here when I must fall upon my knees, bowing my heart, and say, tis I deserved thy place! Yet you, in your abundant mercy, and unfailing love showed me grace, and bore the shame and sorrow that I should have been subject to. Praise you Lord Jesus, for you are my King, my God, my friend, my lover, the hope of my life.

Oh, my God, I come before you this day, knowing that it was truly I that deserved the place on the cross that you bore, yet, You, in your divine love and mercy chose to bear it for me. How can I ever repay you? There is nothing that I can do. There is nothing that I can say. All that I can do is to lay my life down at the foot of the cross and live all the rest of my days in service and dedication to You, telling all that I see that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. All that I can say is, holy, holy, holy, the whole earth is full of your glory. I silence my mouth, and worship you. I pray this day, that you would pour out your Spirit upon me, helping me to live a life that pleases and honors you in all that I say and do. May I be salt and light to a lost and dying world. In Christ, amen.