For [Jesus] grew up before him like a young plant, and a root out of a dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried out sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. --1-4
I memorized this passage as a child, and as often times when we memorize Scripture, we just learn the words, make sure they stick in our heads, and then continue on with our lives, bringing up the words when convenient.
I was on Youtube watching videos on grace, redemption, and Christ. I was watching how Christians ought to live versus the lives they're living. Then God reminded me of this passage through a video on grace. I went back and read the passage, and new things are sticking out to me. And the key part is verse four, where it talks about Christ having borne our griefs. What stuck out to me was the things going on subtly. There is a contrast here. Versus 1-3 describe Jesus and what has happened to Him socially. Verse 4 starts off testifying to the fact He experienced our griefs and sorrows...but it changes route quickly. It goes to say that we esteem(consider, think) Him to be stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
So...Isaiah is saying we think greatly on how Christ died. But I think the main issue was the first three verses. Everything following agrees to what we have esteemed about God--so it's not wrong or incorrect to think about how God died for us...but surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
>> For [Jesus] grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of a dry ground...
~Thus, to connect with us, Christ was a child and grew up. He was like a root growing in a dry ground, no spiritual water to be found around him. All dry, stuffy, and unsatisfying.
>>He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
~ Jesus didn't have the regal figure; he wasn't ultra-handsome or gorgeous. He was an average Joe in appearance--or even perhaps uglier.
>>He was despised and rejected by men
~One doesn't have to be ugly or average to be despised and rejected by men. You can be popular, handsome, gorgeous, important--and yet despised and rejected.
>> A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
~Jesus didn't just have sorrows...he was a man of them. They characterized his life and plagued him. He was acquainted with grief--think of acquaintances in your life. Not your friends, but you see them enough to know a little about them, and see them semi-frequently. He wasn't a stranger to grief.
>>And as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised
~Just like when we have people avoid us, hide their faces from us, and ignore us Jesus experienced such similar rejection.
>>And we esteemed him not<<
Did you get that?
>>And we considered/reckoned him not<<
>>And we didn't even think about his problems<<
::Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.::
That's the image we have seared into our heads. The man who was struck, the man who was smitten by God, the man who was afflicted, the man who was pierced, the man who was crushed, the man who was wounded, the man who took the iniquity of us all.
None of that is false. Every bit of it is true. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. He was led to the slaughter.
But there is the side of Christ that we often neglect. Christ's death event lasted for several hours--maybe a day or two (from when he was arrested to the time he gave up the ghost). And that's what is necessary for our salvation--to realize He died to take away our sins.
Yet we so often ignore the 33 years of life he endured to bring him to the cross. He lived a life of grief, of sorrow, of pain, of suffering, of temptation, of rejection, of hatred. He knew people who wanted to kill him, he knew people who wanted him to leave forever, he knew people who betrayed him. He had scoffers and mockers. He saw pain, he saw ridicule, he saw sorrow. He endured slander and gossip; he endured misunderstandings of his past and the past of his family. He wasn't rich. He cried. He sat alone. He went hungry. He was exhausted. He felt the weight of doing something he knew was right, but didn't want to do it. He knew what it was like to ask for a different assignment, for a different way, a different plan. He knew what it was like to eat a final meal with his best friends and then be taken from them. He knew what it was like not to have anyone his age to play with, to grow with, to learn with.
For thirty-three years he knew this. He knew it well. He lived it daily. He endured pain and sorrow daily.
Yet we hardly ever think about it. We only think about His death. But...if he never lived for thirty-three years, He never would have died on the cross. If he quit on us because of the hardships in his early adult years, He never would have redeemed the souls of the world present and future.
Therefore, thank Christ for His death the sacrifice He made to redeem you. But also thank Him for his life, that he never gave up so that you could be redeemed. ::Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.::
I memorized this passage as a child, and as often times when we memorize Scripture, we just learn the words, make sure they stick in our heads, and then continue on with our lives, bringing up the words when convenient.
I was on Youtube watching videos on grace, redemption, and Christ. I was watching how Christians ought to live versus the lives they're living. Then God reminded me of this passage through a video on grace. I went back and read the passage, and new things are sticking out to me. And the key part is verse four, where it talks about Christ having borne our griefs. What stuck out to me was the things going on subtly. There is a contrast here. Versus 1-3 describe Jesus and what has happened to Him socially. Verse 4 starts off testifying to the fact He experienced our griefs and sorrows...but it changes route quickly. It goes to say that we esteem(consider, think) Him to be stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
So...Isaiah is saying we think greatly on how Christ died. But I think the main issue was the first three verses. Everything following agrees to what we have esteemed about God--so it's not wrong or incorrect to think about how God died for us...but surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.
>> For [Jesus] grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of a dry ground...
~Thus, to connect with us, Christ was a child and grew up. He was like a root growing in a dry ground, no spiritual water to be found around him. All dry, stuffy, and unsatisfying.
>>He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
~ Jesus didn't have the regal figure; he wasn't ultra-handsome or gorgeous. He was an average Joe in appearance--or even perhaps uglier.
>>He was despised and rejected by men
~One doesn't have to be ugly or average to be despised and rejected by men. You can be popular, handsome, gorgeous, important--and yet despised and rejected.
>> A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.
~Jesus didn't just have sorrows...he was a man of them. They characterized his life and plagued him. He was acquainted with grief--think of acquaintances in your life. Not your friends, but you see them enough to know a little about them, and see them semi-frequently. He wasn't a stranger to grief.
>>And as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised
~Just like when we have people avoid us, hide their faces from us, and ignore us Jesus experienced such similar rejection.
>>And we esteemed him not<<
Did you get that?
>>And we considered/reckoned him not<<
>>And we didn't even think about his problems<<
::Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.::
That's the image we have seared into our heads. The man who was struck, the man who was smitten by God, the man who was afflicted, the man who was pierced, the man who was crushed, the man who was wounded, the man who took the iniquity of us all.
None of that is false. Every bit of it is true. He was oppressed. He was afflicted. He was led to the slaughter.
But there is the side of Christ that we often neglect. Christ's death event lasted for several hours--maybe a day or two (from when he was arrested to the time he gave up the ghost). And that's what is necessary for our salvation--to realize He died to take away our sins.
Yet we so often ignore the 33 years of life he endured to bring him to the cross. He lived a life of grief, of sorrow, of pain, of suffering, of temptation, of rejection, of hatred. He knew people who wanted to kill him, he knew people who wanted him to leave forever, he knew people who betrayed him. He had scoffers and mockers. He saw pain, he saw ridicule, he saw sorrow. He endured slander and gossip; he endured misunderstandings of his past and the past of his family. He wasn't rich. He cried. He sat alone. He went hungry. He was exhausted. He felt the weight of doing something he knew was right, but didn't want to do it. He knew what it was like to ask for a different assignment, for a different way, a different plan. He knew what it was like to eat a final meal with his best friends and then be taken from them. He knew what it was like not to have anyone his age to play with, to grow with, to learn with.
For thirty-three years he knew this. He knew it well. He lived it daily. He endured pain and sorrow daily.
Yet we hardly ever think about it. We only think about His death. But...if he never lived for thirty-three years, He never would have died on the cross. If he quit on us because of the hardships in his early adult years, He never would have redeemed the souls of the world present and future.
Therefore, thank Christ for His death the sacrifice He made to redeem you. But also thank Him for his life, that he never gave up so that you could be redeemed. ::Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.::
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