In Isaiah 53 Jesus is described as "a root out of dry ground....a man of sorrows acquainted with grief...oppressed and afflicted...had done no violence...no deceit in his mouth...it was the will of the Lord to crush Him."
Have you ever felt wrongly accused? Ever felt like there is no one that knows what it is like to be in your place. Think of Jesus. He walked this earth sinless, curing disease, feeding the hungry, training men to do the same, and letting the lost know that God loves and forgives them. At the same time, during His entire ministry people tried to malign and twist His words. Pharisees waited with anticipation for Jesus to slip up in His words(Luke 14, 15). Jesus never did, most days the Pharisees walked away trapped in their own questions. No wonder He was called both a "root out of dry ground" and "a man of sorrows".
As I read the Gospel of Luke I see Jesus walk through the temptation to throw in the towel and go home. You can almost hear it in His voice at times(Luke (:40-42). But instead He chooses to pray to God and walk the hard road of people rejecting the truth. Why? Because it is worth it to Him to save the ones that accepted His truth and hear the crowds glorify God in response(Luke 13:10-17). Jesus kept His eyes focused at all times. I believe that some days it was easier than others for Him. He knew what was God's will and what was not. Even when His closest friends thought they knew what was best(Matt 16:23), He rejected their words and stuck close to God's will. He gutted it out and walked through the trenches. And in the end, Jesus died the most painful death in the history of man and trusted in God even though Gods will was to crush Him(Isaiah 53:10) before He got to be back in heaven.
I would love to say I have some great application for this, but I don't. Sometimes the reflection on the reality of what Christ went through is all I need to keep life in perspective and glorify my God for everything He is.
I grew up thinking I knew who You really were.
I called myself a good person as I destroyed the very body You gave me and abused those You created to love me.
As I knowingly turned from Your ways, I sank deeper in my own sin with each one of my days.
I chose to defile my mind and prostitute my body, gifts you gave me to help me be godly.
And today I do the same in secretive ways, hoping inside that what is done in the dark won't be exposed by the Light.
But Your word stands true and has yet to ever fail me, in fact it has always been real with me.
So I know that no matter what I do it is foolish to think I can hide it from You.
Even knowing, I fall, my anger will take over and flesh come to life with sin.
You ever so gently remind me of who You are again.
I see what I have done, as I see my anger on the face of my son.
I fall to my knees and cry out to You, hoping, praying, that the other words You have written are true.
Not only will all of me and my wretched sin be exposed in Your light, but every dark crevasse I tried to hide from Your sight.
The other words then start to ring clear, that in my repentance Your presence is near.
You come close to me and tell me to cling to the one true Everlasting King.
You are gentle and humble and willing to let me in, as I am covered by the One who died for my sin.
The tears start flowing as I look upon Your face, the One who has again given me undeserved grace.
So what is this grace that you give?
I will never fully understand it as long as I live.
Perfect and beautiful. Matchless and extraordinary. King above all, sinless and humble. Loving and kind. Just and merciful.
Perfection is needed by You.
So in order to restore me, the worst of all people, the lowest of low, You sent Someone to die for me, You sent Him to death row.
This Someone is not just a person, but He is Your Son.
The One You cherished and loved before you ever created the sun.
He was Yours that you watched grow from baby to a man.
He was perfect in every way, in every way that no regular man can.
But His purpose was clear while He walked the earth. His destiny was death from the moment of birth.
His innocent blood must be shed upon the cross otherwise, His people would be lost.
Every razor to his back and thorn in His brow was to restore us to God the one way They knew how.
As as He was drilled in the hands and the feet, He chose when His heart would have its last beat.
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, His son. The part of the Trinity that makes God three in One.
God's justice was served as His Son was put to death, but I tell you, it was not Jesus last breath.
See He rose from the dead three days later, only to be joined in glory with our Creator.
Jesus walked the earth after being dead on a cross, all for us sheep that are terribly lost.
But it doesn't stop there because it's not just about us, but about the glory of God and the One whom we trust.
Every breath on the earth after death on the cross, was to bring bring us new life that would no longer be a loss.
Now my joy is restored, when I deserved death, by the One who gave me his life giving breath.
I was destined for Hell, and unimaginable place, but my God has instead given me undeserved grace.
