Good Friday (OT)

Isaiah 52:13-53:12
13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations;
kings shall shut their mouths because of him;
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 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.
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 pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. 2001 (Is 52:13–53:12). Wheaton: Standard Bible Society.

God revealed his plan so many years in advance to Isaiah. Isaiah then reveals this truth to the people of Israel. Every time I read this text there is one small part that seems to stand out. "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him" After the great celebration of Palm Sunday and the Entry into Jerusalem, they shouted for him as a great prophet. The people esteemed him greatly, but now at the end of the week they could not even look at him.

I watched the Passion of the Christ directed by Mel Gibson earlier and the thing that strikes me with this text is Jesus staring into the eyes of the audience or other actors. The way Mel Gibson has him say nothing, but communicate so much through his eyes. You do not get that in the passion narrative. Isaiah says "he had no form or majesty that we should look at him." There is no reason that we should look up to him or esteem him. There is no reason we should celebrate him. But yet we do, celebrate Jesus Christ being accursed so that we may have life.

He had no majesty in his death, yet we hang cross around our necks and on our walls. He had no form, but we make statues and paintings of God in flesh. But when it comes to Good Friday and the suffering of Jesus Christ, How much can you take? Can you watch the pain and anguish of the crucified one? Can you watch him get beaten repeatedly? Can you look at him?

I know that there are times when I would desire to turn away, but am reminded that I did this. It is our sins who deserve this penalty. It is our debt he pays with blood. It is because of me that Christ Died. It is because of you that God sacrificed his only son. He did it because he loved you that much. Now, we look at him and esteem him with great honor and glory and worship forever and ever.