14 day plan

The coming King & His Kingdom

Day 9 of 14

GNT

Isaiah 53:10-12

10The Lord says,

“It was my will that he should suffer;

his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness.

And so he will see his descendants;

he will live a long life,

and through him my purpose will succeed.

11After a life of suffering, he will again have joy;

he will know that he did not suffer in vain.

My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased,

will bear the punishment of many

and for his sake I will forgive them.

12 And so I will give him a place of honor,

a place among the great and powerful.

He willingly gave his life

and shared the fate of evil men.

He took the place of many sinners

and prayed that they might be forgiven.”

Reflection:  The painful experience of the Servant is purposeful – he is an offering for sin, he makes many righteous, he bears the transgressions of others, and making intercession for them. The Servant makes many righteous and through him the will of the Lord shall prosper. As we heard from our other passages, the prisoners will be released and the Kingdom will be established.  The New Testament picks up many of these themes – the glorious Philippians 2:5-11 text celebrates Jesus’ humility and service and
declares the exaltation that follows – Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Question: How will you mark this coming Easter? Why not plan your participation in church services, and consider how you can encourage family and friends to recognise Jesus’ death & resurrection for us all.

Prayer:  Thank you, Lord Jesus, for your purposeful death, offering us release and forgiveness. Thank you that the Father has honoured you
with the highest place as King. Grant that having been freed by your death, I might serve you in all the life you give. Amen.

We are reading the Bible with Jessica Smith until 24th March.

Isaiah 53:1-12

1 The people reply,

“Who would have believed what we now report?

Who could have seen the Lord's hand in this?

2It was the will of the Lord that his servant

grow like a plant taking root in dry ground.

He had no dignity or beauty

to make us take notice of him.

There was nothing attractive about him,

nothing that would draw us to him.

3We despised him and rejected him;

he endured suffering and pain.

No one would even look at him—

we ignored him as if he were nothing.

4 “But he endured the suffering that should have been ours,

the pain that we should have borne.

All the while we thought that his suffering

was punishment sent by God.

5 But because of our sins he was wounded,

beaten because of the evil we did.

We are healed by the punishment he suffered,

made whole by the blows he received.

6 All of us were like sheep that were lost,

each of us going his own way.

But the Lord made the punishment fall on him,

the punishment all of us deserved.

7 “He was treated harshly, but endured it humbly;

he never said a word.

Like a lamb about to be slaughtered,

like a sheep about to be sheared,

he never said a word.

8He was arrested and sentenced and led off to die,

and no one cared about his fate.

He was put to death for the sins of our people.

9 He was placed in a grave with those who are evil,

he was buried with the rich,

even though he had never committed a crime

or ever told a lie.”

10The Lord says,

“It was my will that he should suffer;

his death was a sacrifice to bring forgiveness.

And so he will see his descendants;

he will live a long life,

and through him my purpose will succeed.

11After a life of suffering, he will again have joy;

he will know that he did not suffer in vain.

My devoted servant, with whom I am pleased,

will bear the punishment of many

and for his sake I will forgive them.

12 And so I will give him a place of honor,

a place among the great and powerful.

He willingly gave his life

and shared the fate of evil men.

He took the place of many sinners

and prayed that they might be forgiven.”