Out of Suffering…Hope
Hope…it is a powerful thing! I recently read that affirmation and was struck by it. Isn’t it at the root of what the bible defines as our faith? We place faith in many things and we hope that our faith is not misplaced. When our faith is put in Jesus, it is never misplaced. For the hope we have in Him is solid! He is the rock of our salvation. When Isaiah prophesied the suffering of Jesus (Isaiah 53:4-11), hundreds of years before His death by crucifixion on a hill called Calvary, he made it clear that as ugly as it would be, it had a purpose. The purpose of Jesus agonizing death was to heal us from our sins and give us life. It gave God’s people hope back then. And now, what a glorious hope we have in Jesus, because we have faith that through His suffering we are saved!
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. (Isa. 53:4-5) This prophetic word from Isaiah speaks to the suffering of Jesus for the sins of the world. Isaiah prophesied that the world would not understand the gravity and spiritual implications of what Jesus would suffer on the cross. Jesus would be afflicted, punished, crushed, pierced, because of our sins against God (transgressions) and in substitution for us having to suffer eternally. But out of the ugliness of His death, Jesus brought us peace with God, and He brought us the spiritual healing that we desperately needed. What an amazing thought…the wounds of Jesus healed me!
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. (Isa. 53:6-8) We are so easily led astray. Like sheep who follow one another and wander off of the path, we wander away from the path that God calls us to. But to bring us back to the path of safety, the Good Shepherd allowed himself to become a lamb for sacrifice. Though He was perfect, He allowed himself to be judged, oppressed and killed by a sinful world. He was punished for our sins unto death. Many go to trial and claim innocence. But although Jesus was perfect in His innocence, He allowed Himself to be convicted and suffer death so the guilty could go free.
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied (Isa. 53:10-11a) Because of our sin, it was God’s plan to save us through the suffering of Jesus. God’s law had to be satisfied, and the penalty was more than we could pay. But instead of all of us being lost, we were redeemed through the sacrifice of the Suffering Servant. He became a sin offering for us. But, there is a light beyond His suffering, and He is satisfied because “it is finished”. The work that Jesus came to do was completed through His suffering and death on the cross. “The Light” of the world has made a way for us to be saved out of darkness and have eternal life.
Psalm 100 is a favorite of many, as it depicts the joy and praise that characterizes entry of God’s people into His presence. Jesus made a way for us to be in the presence of God not just for an occasion, but forever. Verse 3 of that Psalm reminds us “we are His people, the sheep of His pasture”. As you think about the suffering of Jesus, who went to the cross as the Father’s obedient servant, remember that He did it all so that He could save you and I, for we are His people. Surely, Jesus suffered on the cross and died…but out of that suffering, we now have the hope that is found only in the salvation His sacrifice made possible!
Blessings,
Rev. Glenn
