SCRIP-BITS

Isaiah 53:10.     Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.                           

HAPPY GOOD FRIDAY!

Oh Friends, it’s Friday, Good Friday to boot! So here’s wishing us all a Happy Good Friday! And the usual response of ‘TGIF! Thank God it’s Friday!’ are few and far between. Perhaps because it’s a holiday for most of us? Or more likely because this is the saddest day in the Christian calendar, when our Leader, our Messiah was horribly dehumanized, shamefully crucified on a wooden cross on that barren hill called Golgotha, or more nicely put, Calvary. And there are also those who wonder how could there ever be a happy Good Friday? To them it’s an oxymoron, composed of contradictory words. How could there be any happiness in the cruel, innocent death of a gentle, peaceful, LOVING man? The answer to that dear Friends, is that without that death, there would be no resurrection come Easter morn, no salvation, no eternal life with the heavenly Father for lost, hopeless sinners like you and I. That’s where the happiness lies my brethren. Like many things in life, especially seeds, we have to oftimes die, die to self, before we can sprout fully alive and victorious. And yes, today is indeed a very sad day; wherever death is, it’s usually sad. But this day of death is the saddest of them all! For in response to the one who came to help and save, look at the terrible treatment He was destined to face. Isaiah nails it in his prophecy of ‘The suffering Servant.’ ‘Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm (power) of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no (stately) form nor comeliness (splendour); and when we shall see him, there is no beauty (physical appearance) that we should desire him. He is despised (disdained, scorned) and rejected of (forsaken by) men; a man of sorrows (severe pains), and acquainted with grief (injuries): and (because of his severe personal suffering) we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs (spiritual sickness), and carried our sorrows: yet we (mankind) did esteem (reckon) him stricken, smitten of (struck down by) God, and afflicted. But he was wounded (pierced through) for our transgressions (sins), he was bruised (utterly crushed) for our iniquities (moral evils): the chastisement of our peace was upon him (correction or discipline which procured our peace with God); and with his stripes (wounds) we (our spiritual condition) are healed (cured). All we like sheep have gone astray (desperately lost); we have turned everyone to his own way (totality of sinful humanity); and the Lord hath laid on (violently struck) him (with) the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought (was led) as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison (out of oppression) and from judgement (illegitimate trials): and who shall declare his generation (consider it among his generation, his potential life)? for he was cut off out of the land of the living (by a violent death) for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked (crucified between two thieves), and with the rich in his death (buried in the tomb of the wealthy Joseph of Arimathea); because he hath done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.’ (Is.53:1-9) Yes Friends, Jesus endured such inhumane ‘sufferation’ though he did no violence, nor any evil or deceit was ever found in Him. But as our Bit says: ‘Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise (crush) him; he hath put him to grief (pierced Him): when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin (guilt offering), he shall see his seed (future believers), he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.’ Oh my brethren, I know it sounds awfully cruel and unjust, especially when our God is supposed to be such a LOVING God. But the fact is that He’s first and foremost a just and righteous Deity. And without a sinless sacrifice, no reconciliation with the Almighty would be possible. For we had all fallen short of the glory of God in our sinful behaviour, and the wages of sin is ultimate death. And since Jesus was the only other sinless soul besides the Father, only His sacrifice would cleanse the slate. Anyway, the Good Book continues after our Bit: ‘He shall see of the travail (distress) of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil (plunder) with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered amongst the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.’ (Is.53:11-12) Ah mih people, there’s certainly method to our God’s supposed madness! Let’s see how the scholars describe it. ‘In these verses we see the personal Messiah, the Son of God, who alone can atone for sin. His message is rejected (v.1); His person is refused (v.2); and His mission is misunderstood (v.3). Nevertheless, His vicarious suffering, (delegated, done for another) provides atonement for our sins (vv.4-6), and though He suffers (v.7) death (v.8) and burial (v.9), He will ultimately be exalted (vv.10-12) To miss the fact that Jesus Christ is the central figure in this passage is to stumble in unbelief over the cornerstone and foundation of all the gospel.’ Now per our Bit in particular, they say: ‘The phrase he shall prolong his days indicates that the Servant’s ministry will not end with His violent death, and certainly implies His resurrection. The pleasure of the Lord refers to God’s ultimate purposes which will be accomplished by the atoning death and resurrection of the Servant. The chapter ends with the glorification and exaltation of the Servant of the Lord. His intercession refers to His priestly ministry, by which He makes intercession on the basis of His own substitutionary death.’ So Friends, though it all seems complicated, cruel and unjust, it was the only way out for God to reconcile us back to Himself, which He desperately wanted to do because of His great and unconditional LOVE for us, His most accomplished though most ungrateful creation. And though our hearts are sad today my brethren, we’ll end on an upbeat note, for we know that as Bruh David so rightly says: ‘weeping may endure for a night, but joy cometh in the morning.’ (Ps.30:5b) Now let’s go home chanting our Friday Chant, to give us the right perspective on the day and this fabulous weekend. In one loud voice: ‘Oh Lord, thanks for getting me safely through another week of work! It hasn’t been easy, but with your generous help, I made it through. Now, please help me to get sufficient fun, fellowship, rest and relaxation in these two short days off, so that I can be renewed and refreshed in soul, body and mind, to go back out and do it all over again next week, furthering your glorious kingdom with each step I take. I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.’ Much LOVE!…before a plant can sprout…a seed must die…likewise…before a great work can be accomplished…suffering must be endured…