Tuesday 11^th December

1 Peter 2:24, Isaiah 53:4-6

With exactly 2 weeks left until Christmas, there is an anticipation in the air. In England the autumn leaves have fallen leaving the trees bare, shops are full to the brim of customers getting Christmas gifts, the temperature has dramatically fallen and radio stations are playing Christmas classics non stop. Christmas was always such an exciting time for my family with many memories to treasure. For many that excitement and anticipation is also very true and resonates within them. Yet as this world becomes more secular, the very of thought of CHRIST is pushed out and replaced with an X. The sad thing is, many Christians do the same. X in algebra denotes the unknown quantity of a sum or equation. Do we want to celebrate an unknown entity or is this our chance to put CHRIST back in CHRISTmas?

Although the festival Christmas has its roots in paganism, it is an appropriate time to remember the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. However every Christmas I seem to want to jump to Easter. In His birth, Jesus fulfilled many prophecies of His coming to Earth. Yet the greatest of these (in my opinion) was not so much do with His birth but more His death and resurrection. Of course we would not have the latter without the former but it is in His death and resurrection that we are saved. This exciting news is the subject of our devotion today.

One of the clearest of these prophecies of Jesus’ death and resurrection is found in Isaiah 53. This passage is probably one of the most familiar passages in what is mostly an uncommon book to read. Yet there are so many gems to be found in it and chapter 53 is one of these.

A common misinterpretation of these verses, especially of verse 5 is that Jesus’ stripes and beating were for physical healing. Although Jesus’ resurrection gives us authority to pray for healing in His Name, that is not at all what this text is saying. Isaiah is prophesying about spiritual healing. If we take the whole context of verse 5 alone it is clear that Jesus’ physical suffering (Wounds, bruises, piercing, and stripes) was for our spiritual healing. Jesus being beaten and bruised was for our transgressions and iniquities. Jesus was paying for our sins on the cross. Unless He took our punishment we could not be set free from the debt we owed but breaking God’s commands. It is in Jesus’ sufferings and resurrection that we are saved.

The Apostle Peter alludes to this in His epistle whilst highlighting that Jesus is again our Standard and example. Peter describes Jesus as a non retaliating, humble man who was put to death and beaten for our sins, yet ‘by His stripes we are healed’ (1 Peter 2:24).  In His resurrection He becomes the great Shepherd and Overseer for our souls. Yet it was because He was beaten and bruised that we can be spiritually healed from our sins and our great debt is no longer ours but has been sacrificially paid for by Jesus Himself.

What a great and loving God we serve. He came a humble Baby born in a stable and died a humble Lamb led to the slaughter. Yet praise God, He now lives as a Humble yet Mighty Saviour, forever interceding on our behalf. Remember this in the busyness and celebrations of Christmas and hopefully it will make you think twice before you replace CHRISTmas with Xmas!