CREDIT: Annie Spratt on Unsplash
Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
Whenever I enter uncharted territory – a new school, job, or community – it helps having someone come alongside me. For example, when I mo
ved to a new school in Arizona, I was terrified. Until I met Jeff – actually, he met me because he was assigned to be my “buddy.” We became great friends, sharing a lot together in our school days. Having a buddy was a comfort as I entered new territory.
Our Christian walk can also be daunting if we’re alone. There’s both subtle and not so subtle hostility toward Christian faith in the world. It was doubly so for Isaiah and the prophets, whom God called into “enemy territory” to proclaim unpopular truth to powerful people. But God never let Isaiah, the others, or us today, go it alone while navigating unfriendly, uncharted territory.
Wherever we are, the “Suffering Servant” – the one who knows all God commands AND lives in total obedience to Him – accompanies us. Throughout Isaiah, the Suffering Servant, is identified by the way He lived. And this life points to one man, our Savior, Jesus Christ. As God, Jesus knows everything; and lived in perfect obedience to His Father’s will. As man, He willingly submitted to beatings, whippings, spitting, and, ultimately, even crucifixion. Throughout, despite the powers of the world allied against Him, Jesus was never alone – His Father was there by His side, “But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced … He who vindicates me is near.” (Isaiah 50:7-8)
Jesus took the sins of the world, including your sins and mine, upon Himself. Yet, despite this, He was vindicated by His Father. Therefore, you and I are also vindicated – cleansed of our sin and sin’s eternal consequences. As the Father stood by His Son; Jesus, the Suffering Servant stands by us as we “walk in darkness and (have) no light,” as we “trust in the name of the Lord god and rely on (Him).” (Isaiah 50:10) He is with us “always to the end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20)
In Christ’s Love,
Pastor Jim