Suffering Servant – Be Still…

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – What He Endured for Us

Jesus knew suffering firsthand, up close and personal, and in a most dreadful, horrific way. We may often feel alone in our own struggles, but knowing Jesus is familiar with our pain can be comforting. This passage can be shocking to read, especially the first time. To know that what Jesus endured for us was foretold by the prophet, Isaiah, is such a powerful revelation, isn’t it?

So far during our Discovering the Bible Together Challenge, we’ve met Jesus as our Messiah and Servant King. Now we know him for his sacrificial suffering. What love! How does that make you feel to realize all Jesus has done for you? Continue reading “Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – What He Endured for Us”

1 Peter 2:18-25 – We Are All Slaves

Read 1 Peter 2:18-25

Peter is addressing the family unit in these next couple sections, but we’re going to look at what he said about slaves first. The idea of having slaves may seem foreign to most of us. We just got done watching the series, Downton Abbey. It was very interesting to see world history through the eyes of wealthy English aristocrats as well as their servants. Of course, there’s quite a jump from servants/employees to slaves.

Certainly, in Peter’s day, slaves would be part of many households. As such, it would make sense to address the concerns of their conduct and how they should be treated in return. We might even glean wisdom for our own application as employees and our relationship with our employers.

Jeremiah 20:1-6 – A Suffering Servant in a Fallen World

Read Jeremiah 20:1-6

What is the focus of our reading today? Is it the public suffering of Jeremiah or is it another example of how far God’s people have fallen? Both seem to be powerful. Especially when you remember that Jeremiah was a real person. What went through his mind as he was being beaten?

I couldn’t help but let my mind go to brutal scenes of Jesus’ own whipping. He is now referred to as being the ideal “Suffering Servant.” Isaiah, a prophet years before Jeremiah wrote about Jesus in Isaiah 32:13-14, “See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. But many were amazed when they saw him. His face was so disfigured he seemed hardly human, and from his appearance, one would scarcely know he was a man.”

Isaiah 52:13-53:12 ? Our Suffering Servant

Read Isaiah 52:13-53:12

This is a difficult passage to read. We have discovered so far during our Discovering the Bible Challenge that Jesus is the Messiah, and he came to serve. Today’s reading shows us Jesus also came to suffer for us. What love!

The words of John 3:16 ring out to me, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.” The suffering and agony had a purpose and was part of God’s plan. Let’s unpack these verses a little bit.