07/13/2026
When we look around the world today we see such an overwhelming mess; killing, hatred, carnal sins of every description... the list seems to have no end, and its depth bottomless. Becoming overwhelmed by Satan’s handiwork is easy, and letting it make us despondent or allowing ourselves to be caught up in it can be equally easy. Is this world’s fallen state too big for God’s love and forgiveness? Is what we see too much for Jesus to carry within Him to the cross? Let’s delve into this today.
“Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:4-5 ESV
Jesus seems so small; He is a man like us, so how can He possibly take all of this on Himself... yet that is exactly why He came, and precisely what He has done and will continue to do. The evil, the debauchery, the sin of this world that seems so lost that it must be beyond salvation, and in our eyes it is unworthy. If left to us we would walk away from it... wouldn’t we? Yet God’s love allows Him to see past these things, and His Son is able to drink this cup of filth down as He brings salvation to this world immersed in sin unspeakable.
“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
This is our hope, and this is the promise of the gospel. From the enormity of God’s love, as made evident in Jesus Christ, we come to realize that although the vastness of sin in this world overwhelms us, it does not challenge the grace of God, nor the obedience of Christ as He carries this burden. Jesus Christ makes intercession for much more than just you and me; He intercedes for the world in all its putrid nature.
“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 53:12 ESV
So, if we are not careful we will become despondent, and lose heart, because this is the desire of the dark one... to take away our hope in Jesus, and the joy we have in God. Satan uses sin and evil as a tool, a pry bar, to separate us from our Father, from God’s love for us. Do not be deceived; the God that created the universe is up to the task of redeeming it, and all who live in it.
When Jesus hung on the cross there were many who walked away thinking the battle had been lost, and that the world, as it was, had won out over Him... but this was just the beginning of His victory. Many of us still walk away today... many still lose hope and believe that the humble and solitary man who hung on the cross saying “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me” has been defeated, but nothing is further from the truth. He prayed for mankind from the cross, and those prayers of intercession still resonate before the throne of God today.
“This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: "He took our illnesses and bore our diseases."”
Matthew 8:17 ESV
“And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.”
Luke 23:34 ESV
My friends, don’t lose heart. Don’t turn to walk towards Emmaus and force Jesus to come after you... believe that he is not only sufficient for you, but for all of creation! Our Lord is more than just the body we see; He is a Vessel into which all the rivers of sin flow, and are defeated… and He never becomes full. He is capable, He is obedient, and He is worthy. Can you keep your eyes on the cross today as you are accosted by the sin and evil of the world we are living in? Can you hear Jesus praying for us in the midst of His suffering? Can you hear His intercession as He prays for us and asks that we be given the strength to withstand our temptations? He is able, and His ability to take on our sins will never be overwhelmed.
“He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”
1 John 2:2 ESV
Praise Him and take heart!
Prayer:
Father, thank you for your Son Jesus, who lifts me up to you from the very cross upon which He was nailed for my sin. Thank you for allowing me to see how capable He is, and that even as He takes upon himself my personal sin, He is also more than capable of consuming and destroying the iniquity of the world. Thank you Holy Father for removing my doubt and restoring my hope. In you I see the source of all good, and in Jesus I see the redemption of my sin, and the defeat of evil that has confronted and buffeted me from every side. Help me Merciful Father to recognize this ploy of Satan; help me to resist feeling hopeless because of the enormity of sin that is in the world around me. Your Son is sufficient, and your will has become His... help me to make it mine too Holy Father. Pray for me Jesus, let my prayers mingle with yours before the Father’s throne, and be realized above the mercy seat. The sins of the world are but a sip of water to you, and evil falls like darkness before your light. Great are you my God, and great is your Son Jesus who died and was risen from the grave so that the world might be saved. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you who are my God; for your love has poured the sins of the world into a cup, and through your love and your grace for the world you asked your Son to drink of its bitterness so that they might be overcome, and we be redeemed. Hear me as I pray today for you to renew me in my faith, and that I find my hope and belief redeemed and made real by your Son Jesus Christ.
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.”
John 3:16-17 ESV
Let all who believe and those who have hope say, Hallelujah, Hallelujah, Hallelujah!
Amen!
Rich Forbes