Reflections for Easter Monday

Easter Devotion

From the Book of Isaiah

Reflections for Easter Monday

April 10, 2023

Isaiah 53:1-11

Sometimes we forget, don’t we? While Jesus was on earth over 2000 years ago, He fulfilled Old Testament prophesy.

Let’s take a look at Isaiah 53:1-11. As you read it, see if you can pick up on what the prophet Isaiah is telling us.

“Who has believed our message

, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

He (Jesus) 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.

He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

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.

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 (53:8 Or From arrest) 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. (53:8 that he was punished for the transgression of my people?)

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

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 and be satisfied;

by his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.”

“Therefore, I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many

and made intercession for the transgressors.”

If you look hard enough at the reading above, you can see many references to Christ’s death and resurrection. I encourage you to read through the Isaiah passage several times. Then, look up the passage in a Bible Concordance or Commentary to enlighten you on the passage references to Jesus that escape you.

It’s interesting to note that Isaiah’s ministry was 400 years before the time of Jesus. Yet, his prophecy is spot on. Here are a few observations from the passage to get you started.

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“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.”

Isaiah 53:5

Jesus was nailed to the cross. His hands and feet were pierced with nails. He suffered for our immoral behavior. Jesus received the punishment of death on the cross for our sins. Because He suffered this humiliation, our sins are forgiven.

“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.”

Isaiah 53:7

Jesus suffered through the abuse of power by the Pharisees and the Romans (Soldiers and Pilate). This was not just mental abuse and mocking but through torture and crucifixion.

“When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him, who judges justly. “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” 1Peter 2:23-25

Every time we attend church services, every time we receive the Sacrament of Holy Communion, and every day of our life, it should be a reminder of what Jesus accomplished for us on the cross.

He died for you and me out of His great love for us.

What a great friend Jesus is. What an awesome God He is! What a perfect Savior!