Isaiah
53:1-3
Suffering
of the Servant
(Contd)
53:1
Who
has believed our message and to
whom has the arm of the LORD been
revealed?
2 He grew up
before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry
ground.
He had no
beauty or majesty to attract us
to him, nothing in his appearance
that we should desire him.
3 He was
despised and rejected by men, a
man of sorrows, and familiar with
suffering.
Like one from
whom men hide their faces he was
despised, and we esteemed him
not.
-
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It
is meant to change the way
that we think, and the way
that we live.
Commentary
by Bob
Pardue
Who
is the suffering servant? (Part
Two)
- There
was nothing beautiful or
majestic in the physical
appearance of the servant.
Israel would miscalculate the
servant's importance -- they
would consider him an ordinary
man.
-
- This is
one reason he was not (and is
still not by many) accepted as
the Messiah. In the eyes of
most Jewish leaders, the
Messiah was a man who would
come and lead them in revolt
against the Romans.
-
- Jesus
came not as a warrior but as a
simple servant. But, God knew
the purpose of Christ's
coming; to save the world from
sin and eternal darkness. In
order to accomplish this feat
Jesus had to suffer and die on
the cross so that he could
rise again on the third day.
This was the victory God had
in mind.
-
- But
even though Jesus would not
attract a large following
based on his physical
appearance, he would bring
salvation and
healing.
-
- Many
people miscalculate the
importance of Jesus' life and
work, and they need faithful
Christians to point out his
extraordinary
nature.
-
- This
man of sorrows was despised
and rejected by those around
him, and he is still despised
and rejected by many
today.
-
- Some
reject Christ by standing
against him. Others despise
Christ and his great gift of
forgiveness.
-
- Do you
despise him, reject him, or
accept him?
Love in
Christ
-
Bob
If you have
never made the commitment to
receive the love and
life-changing experience of Jesus
Christ, please take a moment to
go
here
and take the first
steps
to salvation.
Bob
Pardue
is a member of First
Baptist
Church
in Lancaster, SC. He is ordained
from Rich Hill Baptist in
Lancaster.
Want
to place this passage and
commentary on your website or
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This
article may be freely reprinted
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intact and be included
with every reproduction.
Bob
Verses are from Life
Application Study Bible: New
International Version
Comments are welcome.
Please email
me with any questions
or comments you may have.
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