Scripture Reading(s)
Isaiah 42:1-9
42:1 Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
42:2 He will not cry or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
42:3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
42:4 He will not grow faint or be crushed until he has established justice in the earth; and the coast-lands wait for his teaching.
42:5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people upon it and spirit to those who walk in it:
42:6 I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have given you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations,
42:7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
42:8 I am the LORD, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to idols.
42:9 See, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth, I tell you of them.
Reflections
God’s redemptive plan for not only Israel but for the rest of the world is being put on full display in this passage. The story of Israel is one about God’s hand that is always on the move to rescue and redeem His people. He is constantly saving them from the hands of their enemies and shows just how far He is willing to go to save His people.
This passage can be applied to us in the same way because God is constantly working to save and redeem His people today. God’s plan to rescue humanity went beyond the point of saving Israel, but the entire world. His death and resurrection on the cross was an act that rescued all of mankind. God’s work in the lives of the nation of Israel was but a foreshadowing of what was to come when Jesus came to this earth and put an end to sin’s path to destroy His children.
Jesus Christ is the reason we can celebrate Easter. He came into this world to bring light to a dark world and give us the chance to live in eternity with Him. He came to show us that there is a better way of living and that sin is not what defines us. He came to display what true love and sacrifice is and how there was no limit to what He could do to save us from our sin. Death was the answer to putting sin’s snare in its rightful place. He took on the full weight of of our wrong doings and rectified our fate from eternal punishment to eternity with Him.
As we enter into Easter, let us remember the redemptive work of Jesus Christ and take the time to make the message of the Gospel in our lives real once again. Let us use this season as reminder of the sacrificial love that Jesus poured out for us and pursue a life that loves Him in return. He is the one and only redeemer, Savior and God of our lives and we can celebrate our freedom from sin each and everyday.
[Featured image from jarrodcooper.net]