Prophecy Fulfilled

Today is a day of mourning and celebration. We mourn the fact that Christ had to die such a horrific death on the cross. We cringe at the thought of the tortures He endured, and the suffering He gladly bore that day long ago. We analyze the events leading up to the crucifixion, trying to make sense of a sacrifice so complete and amazing that it defies reason. We imagine the women and disciples at the foot of the cross, weeping and mourning the loss of the God man they loved so dearly.

But we have the benefit of hindsight that they did not. We don't have to wait until Easter morning to celebrate because we know the outcome. We know that in the midst of our sorrow and horror at His death that He is alive! As the angels spoke to the them, "Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen!" We don't have to hide in darkened rooms for 3 days, afraid and heartbroken over an unspeakable loss. We can celebrate every day that our Lord has conquered the grave and that His sacrifice made possible our communion with God. He fulfilled the prophecy in Isaiah so that we might be justified.

Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You 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.
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53