We Esteemed Him Stricken

SCRIPTURE - Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: Yet we esteemed Him stricken by God and afflicted.

OBSERVATION - This is a prophetic word about Jesus before it even happened. Isaiah paints the picture so accurately. It is amazing.

When Jesus was being crucified, the people all around the cross thought they had this all figured out. They 'esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted.' They figured He must have been getting what He deserved. If He were really who He said He was, then surely He would not have come to this end. This must be God's affliction, God's wrath, poured out on this wicked man. I'm sure to many who were still unsure in their minds who Jesus really was, this sealed the deal for them. He must be wicked like the religious leaders said. He must be a criminal. He must be a false prophet because of this terrible evil that has come upon Him. In retrospect we now can see that this is what validated His claims of being the Messiah, not invalidated them. The very moment they were thinking the worst of Him, He was thinking the best of them. He was doing for them the greatest service, the greatest favor of all. Yes, He was afflicted, but not for His own sins. He was afflicted for those who had so little esteem for Him. He was also afflicted for me.

APPLICATION - Things are not always as they seem to me. In fact, they are probably rarely as they seem to me. Until I am willing to admit that m estimations may be way off, I will never avoid the trap that these people were stuck in. They used their natural mind, their logical thinking to determine how they would esteem Jesus in light of this circumstance and they were 180 degrees off. Can I also be off in how I esteem circustances and people? Absolutely. I may think that someone is getting what they deserve when really they are suffering for righteousness' sake. I may figure that someone is far from God when they are much closer to Him than I am. I may esteem one of my own situations as one that is unfair and oppressive but it is actually a great favor that God is doing for me -- refining me or saving me from a far worse fate.

The answer: Trust God and His Word. Who was right: Isaiah or the jeering crowd? It was Isaiah. Even though Isaiah stood hundreds of years before the event and some there stood only feet from the cross, Isaiah saw more clearly. The Bible's judgements are better than my own. I can trust its pages more than I can trust my own senses.

PRAYER - Jesus, the fact that You esteemed me greatly when I esteemed you lightly is too marvelous for me. Your high estimation of me is what I need to give me confidence throughout my day. Now, help me to esteem others and circumstances the way You esteem them. Amen.