Bible Pathway - Aug. 11, 2011
Read Isaiah 52
Highlights:
Weep over what your sins cost Jesus (Is. 52:13-15; 53:1-12)! God reigns; Jerusalem redeemed (52:1-12); Israel, the restored wife (chap. 54). Note 54:17 & 55:8-9! Obedience rewarded (chap. 56); repentance and forgiveness (57: 15-21).
Thank God for His Word! Isaiah foretold: He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed (Is. 53:5). Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near (55:6). These prophecies were given about 700 years before the birth of Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God, who alone can atone for sin. Jesus confirmed this, saying: I am The Way, The Truth, and The Life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me (John 14:6). Isaiah foretold the suffering that the Messiah would have to endure to redeem a sinner. As we read the first four books of the New Testament, we realize that these prophecies of Isaiah — from naming the place of Christ's birth, to His significant birth, to the specific details of His sacrificial death and resurrection — were all fulfilled.
Christ suffered and died on the cross in our place and conquered death by His resurrection. It was on the cross that He revealed His love and made the supreme sacrifice so each one of us could receive forgiveness for our sins. It was Jesus who said: Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His Name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:46-47).
Love for our Lord inspires us to communicate His gracious message of salvation to a lost and dying world: Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Natural death and spiritual death were both intended in the sentence uttered by God to Adam: In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die (Gen. 2:17).
Since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming. Then cometh the end, when He shall have delivered up the Kingdom to God, even the Father (I Cor. 15:21-24).
Thought for Today:
Now we believe . . . and know that this (Jesus) is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world (John 4:42).
Christ Revealed:
As the One who was rejected by His own people (Is. 53:3; comp. Luke 23:18; John 1:11); remained silent when He was falsely accused (Is. 53:7; Mark 15:3-5); was buried with the rich (Is. 53:9; Matt. 27:57-60); and was crucified with sinners (Is. 53:12; Mark 15:27-28).
Word Studies:
52:1 uncircumcised heathen (those without a covenant with God); 52:10 made bare His holy arm revealed His power; 52:12 rereward rear guard; 52:14 visage appearance, countenance; 57:4 sport yourselves ridicule; 57:17 frowardly rebelliously.
Prayer Needs:
Pray for International Broadcasts sponsored by Thursday Morning Prayer • Government Official: Rep. Bill Long (MO) • Country: Somalia (7 million) on the Horn of Africa • Major languages: Somali and Arabic • Islam is officially favored and all other religions are opposed • 99.8% Muslim; .1% Christian • Prayer Suggestion: Confess your sins to the Lord; He is quick to forgive (Ps. 32:5).
Optional Reading:
Memory Verse for the Week:
2 Timothy 3:1