Advent Devotional for Dec. 13
Saturday, December 13 Isaiah 53:1-6
Through His suffering we are healed.
This ancient prophecy has been connected with Christ since the days of the early church. Though it was written centuries before Jesus’ coming, early Christians saw in Jesus’ life and death a hint of this redemptive suffering: “…he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”
Modern Americans, even many Christians, instinctively shy away from language like this, as it sounds barbaric in a way—all the bruising, the crushing, the punishing. We wonder if it was all necessary, exactly—why did Jesus suffer? Did he have to? Did he choose to?
While there are a variety of ways that Scripture interprets the crucifixion, it is important that we recognize that there was something redemptive in Jesus’ suffering. As Jesus suffers, we see the depth of love God has for us—only one who loves suffers for another. As Jesus suffers, we see clearly the horrors of sin. What might seem to us a benign bad habit or a trivial fault takes on new weight when we see the severe love shown us in the crucifixion. As Jesus suffers, we see the audacity of the Gospel: that death is the way to new life, and that by going through the suffering that awaits anyone who dares follow this condemned criminal, we can know life everlasting.
Through His suffering we are healed.
This ancient prophecy has been connected with Christ since the days of the early church. Though it was written centuries before Jesus’ coming, early Christians saw in Jesus’ life and death a hint of this redemptive suffering: “…he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.”
Modern Americans, even many Christians, instinctively shy away from language like this, as it sounds barbaric in a way—all the bruising, the crushing, the punishing. We wonder if it was all necessary, exactly—why did Jesus suffer? Did he have to? Did he choose to?
While there are a variety of ways that Scripture interprets the crucifixion, it is important that we recognize that there was something redemptive in Jesus’ suffering. As Jesus suffers, we see the depth of love God has for us—only one who loves suffers for another. As Jesus suffers, we see clearly the horrors of sin. What might seem to us a benign bad habit or a trivial fault takes on new weight when we see the severe love shown us in the crucifixion. As Jesus suffers, we see the audacity of the Gospel: that death is the way to new life, and that by going through the suffering that awaits anyone who dares follow this condemned criminal, we can know life everlasting.
posted by Michael Jordan at 6:00 AM
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