Good Morning! - 2010.07.06 - Isaiah 53:3 - Our Despised and Rejected Savior

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. (Isaiah 53:3)

My mother had an eye for weeping willows and would not rest until she found a rooted sprout for the corner of our yard at the Homesteads in 1948. It grew to be an impressive tree beside our front gate. Many times I had heard the then popular country ballad "Oh Bury Me beneath the Willows, the Weeping Willow Tree." Every time I see a Weeping Willow I think of that experience and it's a reminder of the Man of Sorrows who died on a tree.

The Bible is full of prophecy and much of it is couched in pictures and symbols. Isaiah portrays the promised Messiah as being despised, rejected, sorrowful and bearing grief. When He came, the Jewish nation was looking for a strong military figure to throw off the Roman Empire that was oppressing the life out of them. Judas was disappointed that the preacher he joined up with did not form a fighting political revolt, so he was ready to sell him for 30 pieces of silver.

We must hasten to point out that Jesus the Christ was burdened with our sins and our sorrows and our griefs. He did nothing to cry over his own problems. It was the mess you and I made out of our lives that gave him pause.

However, He did not resent taking our place. He was not grumpy about praying for us and dying for us. He always took the long look and saw the end from the beginning. He was pleased with the outcome that lay ahead.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. (Hebrews 12:2-3)

Not only did He pay the penalty for our sins, it serves as an example of what our attitude should be. No need to be discouraged when people don't like for you to talk about the Lord. Think about what He went through. That's what the verse above says.

The other thing to realize is that God did not choose a world-class, muscle-bound athlete to be your savior so you would be drawn to him. That kind of image sells cokes and cigarettes but it won't do for attracting people into the Kingdom of God.

For centuries people have complained because God chose to save sinners through an ordinary-looking man dying on a cross in the despised country of Israel. It still goes against the grain today and the world still says: "We will not have this man to rule over us." Okay—then you are left with your own wicked passions to rule you and the friends you pick out who think like you.

God is willing to save to the uttermost, but salvation will always be through that man of sorrows who was despised and rejected of men. There will always be a price if you make him your Savior and Lord. But when you think of the price you pay if you don't accept him, God's offer looks really good.