For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
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 crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with 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; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 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. 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 53:2-12
Resurrection Sunday. My favorite day of the year. It isn't the eggs, the chicks, the cute little bunnies... it's the resurrection of my Lord and King that I adore. It's the new life I see all around me with the flowers in bloom, the grass either green or greening depending on how early the day falls. It is a celebration of life, and of that abundantly.
I have to confess, however, that in more recent years the holiday has been disturbing to me. Perhaps it is the greed I see on children's faces at egg hunts. It could be the focus on the new Easter dress or the fixation on long-eared chocolate mammals that haunts me. But no, I don't think those quite get to the heart of it. I think it is the frivolity of it all that I find chilling. The focus so often is on food, family, and apparel and so lightly on the Lord who gave His all for us. It is a day to celebrate, yes, certainly. Death has been overcome, and so we who belong to Christ have no need to fear! That is worth a bit of enthusiasm. What troubles me is the misplaced nature of the enthusiasm I see--so much ardor for pomp and for a sugar rush, but so much apathy for the Lord Himself and His ancient and amazing Word.
Has our love of the Lord cooled while we are consumed with the passing splendor of ceremony? Why is it that no one wants to talk of humility, or of repentance, or even that naughty "s" word, sin? Why do we celebrate so delightfully this day, but we do not do what our Lord commands us to do every day? As James says, we need to be doers of the Word and not merely hearers who deceive ourselves. The truth is, we hunger and thirst for comfort and pleasure, but Christ's words were, "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied," (Matt. 5:6).
Brothers and sisters, the immense and intense anguish of mind, body, and spirit our Jesus went through on that cross is nothing to gloss over! I don't care how you slice it, that death does not show our worth, but rather it highlights the depths of our pathetic and hopeless depravity.We are worth beans precisely because of His sacrifice, not the other way around. We should celebrate with glee, but also with a humble and accurate reckoning of our hearts and a sober realization that this sacrifice was not made so we could overindulge in chocolate once a year. It was so we could die with Him so that we may live with Him, now and forever.
So on this happy and blessed Sunday, let us not forget that along with our celebration comes commitment. We must commit ourselves to surrender our all to Him. We need to live no longer for our self, but put to death even the tiniest shred of self-serving or sliver of self-righteousness. We need to put down any earthly thing that occupies more of our minds, hearts, or energy than our Lord--whether it be a hobby, a career, or any other thing at all. He must be our highest priority, our first commitment, our most obsessive passion. We must remember that we were bought with a very dear price indeed, and then we need to live our lives every single day in a manner that will honor the weighty and soul-shattering sacrifice that was made for us by our King. Friends, if we are truly Christ's, then our lives are no longer our own that we have any say in them. They are His.
If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.
For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.
Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.
Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.
And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God.
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.
Colossians 3:1-17
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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