“For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” Isaiah 53:2-3
Backstories can add significant depth to the words of a song. Similarly, factual biographies can help us understand historical figures. In order to facilitate some introspection as we approach Christmas, the last two posts have discussed The Encounter with God as well as The Invitation that Christ offers. To fully appreciate what it means to encounter God and invitation that Christ presents to us, we need to also consider the background of Christ’s incarnation and all that it entails. To get a complete grasp, one must read the entire Bible. However, one of the most concise summaries of Christ’s life was written before He was born. God gave this particular account through the prophet Isaiah in chapter 53. This depiction gives us insight into the Lord and Savior that: asks us to forfeit our entitlements to all that we hold dear in this life for the Glory of God; offers the promise of a reconciled and blessed eternity; and asks us to come to Him no matter how sordid our background so that we may enter into His rest. The goal is not to put a damper on the celebration, but rather to afford a focused understanding of Christ’s sacrifice,we can draw near and worship Him more fully during the Christmas season.
Reality
No matter how the Christmas story is told, e.g., a reading, pageant, movie, etc., there is only a hint of the reality. Consider the journey; can you imagine Mary traveling 80 miles either walking or riding an animal just days prior to giving birth? Further consider the manger: it wasn’t sanitary. Animals had probably slobbered in it for years not to mention that it likely had a bit of fecal matter in it. The best Mary and Joseph could hope for was relatively clean hay or straw to lay their child in. Let’s go further and consider the picture of Christ that Isaiah gives us. Here’s a list of the descriptors: no stately form, despised and forsaken, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, smitten of God, oppressed and afflicted. Here’s what He endured: our griefs He Himself bore; our sorrows He carried; He was pierced through for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him; the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him; by oppression and judgment He was taken away; He was cut off out of the land of the living; and the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief. In short, He was not beautiful; He had nobody to stroke His ego; He was mistreated and misunderstood; He had everything including His life taken from Him…and all at the direction of God the Father. Christ’s life on this earth was not a life of privilege or ease, but one of constant sacrifice…a life that required relentless communion with God the Father.
The Cause
The cause of Christ’s suffering had nothing to do with His shortcomings or faults. He was perfect in every way. As described in the book of Genesis, this plan was set in motion as a result of disobedience and sin in the Garden of Eden. Prior to His birth Isaiah explains the need in this way: “All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way”; after Christ’s death and resurrection, the apostle Paul says “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Our depravity is the source of Christ’s suffering.
Christ’s Response
For thirty some years Christ was misunderstood and mistreated. Even His own earthly family didn’t fully appreciate His mission. Yet in love He endured with grace. His response was to remain silent; He didn’t complain; He didn’t yell at God the Father telling Him how unfair His life was; and He didn’t lash out at the people around Him. He remained silent while carefully maintaining His relationship with the Father. On the night of His betrayal, He requested “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me” but followed His request with “yet not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39) Christ lovingly offered all that He had in submission to the will of God, to the glorify God and for the benefit of those who did not deserve His love. In silence He made this sacrifice for us.
The Point
This past Sunday before the church service, someone mentioned to me that a mutual friend had commented that he didn’t fully appreciate what people with chronic pain were enduring until he had foot surgery. Therein lays the value of the background of Christ’s incarnation. There is nothing that we will endure that Christ does fully appreciate. He has experienced all of the pains and hurts. Because He fully comprehends whatever trials, pains, or temptations we face, He knows exactly what we need to endure; what it will take for us to enter His rest; how to provide inexplicable peace as well as exactly how to intercede on our behalf before the Father. For our part, when we fully appreciate the background of Christ’s incarnation, i.e. understand the extent to which He sacrificed on our behalf, we can have faith that He is a trustworthy and a capable advocate before the Father. Further, He is our perfect example of grace in adversity in whatever form it comes. Taking the time to comprehend the depths of Christ’s sacrifice should bring us to the heights of trust and worship as we celebrate His incarnation.
The Reward
Just as it is errant to speak of the blessings of salvation without addressing the suffering that may come with it, it would be a great omission to speak of Christ’s and our suffering without telling of God’s gracious rewards. The Father was pleased to crush Him and Christ was willing to “render Himself as a guilt offering”because in the end Christ would see His offspring; the Father would prosper His hand; Christ will be satisfied and justify many. We also know from scripture that He sits at the right hand of the Father. Just as the Father rewarded Christ for His sacrifice, so to we will be rewarded in addition to our salvation. Hebrews 11:6 explains that not only are we to believe in God, but that we must also believe that “He is the rewarder of those who seek Him”. It is an imperishable eternal reward.
Life is messy and full of hurts, disappointments, misunderstandings and losses. God may even ask you to sacrifice your life for your faith. However, as you journey through the advent season and look to Christmas, take time to contemplate the awful bits of Christ’s life so that you can move past the beautiful imagery to the reality of His sacrifice. The goal of understanding and introspection is not to wallow in the negative, but rather to fully appreciate how well Christ understands the spiritual, physical, emotional trials of your life so that you can comprehend how completely capable and willing He is to bring peace to your soul. It is a peace inexplicable that transcends the hurts of this life and looks to the rewards that are eternally yours. When you grasp Christ’s background, character, ability and faithfulness, you can enter into His peace with gratitude that allows you to worship and adore the King of Kings and Prince of Peace.
Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried…o come, let us adore Him.
Will