it is written, Isaiah 53:1 – 12, a prophecy hundreds of years before the time of Jesus death and resurrection. I will quote verses 4 and 5 for those who may not have a chance to get to the whole chapter.Verse 4, Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken,smitten by God,and afflicted. 5 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. There is more to the story, so we must go to the beginning of this, the greatest love story of all time, God's love for His creation.
This story starts with the birth of Jesus, the only son of God, who was sent here to save us. I start here because without His birth, there is no story.
As Jesus was growing up, He was a man like us. He put aside His God self, in order to fully experience what we deal with. He experienced temptations, pain, hunger, happiness, and all of the same things we face. He witnessed the evil in the world on a daily basis.
I don't know if He realized who He really was, or what His mission was. I suspect He had at least an idea, and at that point it must have made Him sad, seeing man's inhumanity to man. He saw what the religious teachers were doing in the name of God. He could see how people had practically no chance for heaven.
Jesus went around teaching the good news, and working miracles. While some actually believed Him, most turned against Him, even some of those He healed. Many people hated Him, and wanted to kill Him. At this point in His life, Jesus knew what He was here for. He still taught and healed people He knew would ultimately reject Him. It takes love beyond understanding to do what Jesus did for us.
Let's skip ahead to Jesus betrayal. He had to feel like the whole world was against Him. Even His apostles abandoned Him, and one of them was the betrayer.
He was lied about, punched, spit on, and all manner of abuse. As bad as all of that was, I am sure it was made worse by the fact that the people He was here to save, were the ones doing this to Him.
What people did not know then, and most don't know today is, that every drop of blood Jesus shed, was washing away all of their sins, past, present, and future. Imagine yourself forgiving someone who hates you and is trying to hurt you as much as possible. I don't know about you, but I doubt that I could.
When He was being scourged, by His stripes we were healed. Everything we needed healing for was taken care of. He took all of that pain for people who hated Him. Some people probably even enjoyed seeing Him suffer.
When Jesus was on the cross, all of our afflictions were on Him. We are told to visualize putting our burdens on Him, so He could take care of them. He died that horrible death to save us, and to keep us from getting what we deserve.
Now we come to the resurrection itself. By rising from the dead, Jesus conquered satan for all time, and made our salvation possible. Now we who believe and accept Jesus as our Savior, will never die. We will be with Him in heaven for eternity.
When Jesus was ascending to our father, He sent the Holy Spirit to us. The Holy Spirit was sent to give us wisdom, teach us, and help us in all things. When Jesus was going, He told all believers to preach the gospel, cast out demons, heal the sick, and raise the dead in His name. This is only possible through faith which He also gives us, and the power of the Holy Spirit.
When I think about Jesus resurrection, I realize how much God our father, and Jesus our brother, loves me. At that point, it is to me a joyous occasion, and more than enough reason to love Him back by doing my best, planting seeds in people's hearts for their redemption. We all have reason to rejoice and love one another. Have a blessed Resurrection day. Praise the Lord!
Remember Jesus Loves You
Prayer of Salvation
Lord Jesus, I thank you for what you did on the cross for me. Your blood washed away all my sins, by your stripes I was healed, your death and resurrection brought me salvation. Please forgive my sins, and come into my heart as my personal Savior.
Thank You
Amen
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