08/12/2021
Jesus took on our sins to redeem us, and it was no easy task. While praying in the Garden of Gethsemane His sweat became like blood, and God felt it necessary to send an Angel to strengthen Him. The weight of our sin was so great that Jesus pleaded with His Father to take this cup from Him, but in the end He did His Father’s will, and as He died for us, we were made to live on in Him, and His anguish in assuming our sin, became our joy, as it was revealed through His grace.
“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”
Isaiah 53:11 ESV
Have you ever experienced a moment when it was necessary to put your needs, your safety, or possibly your own life, on the line for someone else? About thirty years ago there was a famine in Ethiopia that was so severe, and lasted so long, that many hundreds of thousands starved to death. At its tragic peak a photographer took a picture of a woman sitting cross legged on the ground. She was so starved that there was nothing left of her but skin and bones, and her breasts hung empty before her as she attempted to nurse her baby with all that was left of her. I wept at the sight. The look in her eyes was hollow, and empty, it had long passed the point of sadness or desperation… it was a look of total resignation… of impending death. Out of love for her dying child, with flies in its eyes, and its swollen belly, she was sacrificing all she had left of herself in hope that her baby would receive a miracle. I can only imagine that on Calvary Jesus looked down on us from the cross, and asked our forgiveness, with that same look in His eyes. Perhaps this is what prompted the centurion to recognize Him as the Son of God when He breathed His last breath…
“And Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last. And when the centurion, who stood facing him, saw that in this way he breathed his last, he said, “Truly this man was the Son of God!””
Mark 15:37, 39 ESV
Jesus was beaten, scourged, humiliated, and was disfigured beyond recognition, but He still loved us enough to intercede for our forgiveness. Can we see the resignation in His eyes? When we take communion and eat His flesh, is this how we remember Him?
“For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.””
1 Corinthians 11:23-24 ESV
What is it that we are made to see as we swallow His flesh? Do we tear our clothing as we are led to remember Him in this way?
“As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.”
Isaiah 52:14-15 ESV
So, when we next take communion, let’s remember Him not only as the sweet baby at Mary’s breast, or the child teaching in the temple. Let’s not just remember Him as He called His disciples to follow Him, delivered the sermon on the Mount, or the other wonderful moments of His life, but let’s remember Him most in that moment He was born for; when in obedience to God’s will, He suffered and died… enduring this unimaginable torment for our redemption.
Prayer:
Abba, Father, glorious are you! Thank you for your Son Jesus, and for the suffering He endured that we might be redeemed, and washed free of our sin. Thank you for His body that was broken for us, and His blood that was shed so that death would be defeated, and we would Be made pure, and righteous before you. Help us to remember Him Father, and to see the resignation in His eyes as He uttered “It is finished.” Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who loved us enough to send your Son Jesus to die for us. Praised be your name for every second of suffering that He underwent for us, and for the mourning of the Saints. Merciful are you Father for our salvation, and the righteousness that Jesus made possible for us. As we eat of His body, and drink of His blood, show us in true remembrance the look in His eyes so that we might appreciate fully all that He gave for us… the price of our forgiveness and the true cost of our eternity in your presence. Hear Him now Father as He continues to intercede for us, and seat us with Him at your table forever, and ever.
Rich Forbes