Bible Reading
Isaiah 52:15-53:12:
15So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But 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.
6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10Yet 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.
11He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Devotional
Christ gave Himself for the sins of His own. He had come into this world to save His people from their sins, and on the cross He freely gave Himself for that purpose. He did not die because He was forced to submit to the will of evil men against His own purposes and the plan of God. He did not die merely to show men how much God dislikes sin in His government of the universe. He did not die simply to set before men a stimulating example. He gave Himself in the place of sinners as a sacrifice and a substitute-for their sins. He who knew no sin became sin for them. He bore their sins in His own body on the tree.
Nothing but the blood, the sacrifice, of Christ could have accomplished the redemption of the people of God. If righteousness is through the law-or is in any way contrived by man - then Christ died for nought. All men have sinned, and all come short of the glory of God. No offering that men could make, no gift that they could bring, no "good" works that they could perform could satisfy the perfect justice of God for one of their sins. But the Saviour loved His own and gave Himself for them. He paid the whole price required for their redemption. He is the only Saviour from sin that this world will ever know. Let us ever trust in Him: let us commit ourselves completely to Him, for this life and for the life to come.
Welcome to "Think on These Things," a twelve-week daily devotional prepared by the late Dr. John H. Skilton, an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church and for many years Chairman of the New Testament Department at Westminster Theological Seminary, Philadelphia.
We are indebted to P & R Publishing and Skilton House Ministries for permission to use this copyrighted material on the OPC Web site. (P & R held the copyright from 1975 to 2005, at which time they reassigned the copyright to Skilton House.)
