Isiah 53 and the Fulfillment in Christ

As the prophet Isaiah saw, in the time before crucifixion

He saw a prophecy about the crucifixion of Christ.

In his words, "he bore our grief and carried our sorrows"

This is symbolic of the cross that Jesus literally and figuratively carried.

Isiah said he was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.

In New Testament Jesus was whipped for our transgressions 

And a crown of thorns was laid upon his head for our iniquities.

Isiah said, "we all, like sheep, have gone astray. 

We have turned everyone his own way, 

And the Lord has laid on him the iniquities of us all."

The Romans laid the cross on Jesus which was symbolic of our iniquities.

Our iniquities are not actually heavy, but they are heavy to the Lord,

Just like the cross on Jesus' shoulders was heavy.

Just as a crucified man would smell bad to us,

So would sin smell bad to a Holy God.

Amen

David and Goliath

Oh David, you were brave and strong, but small.

Goliath, a giant, was strong and huge.

When no one in Israel would fight the giant Goliath

You, by the power of God, 

Took your slingshot and five smooth stones into battle.

Then you swirled the stone in your slingshot

And slayed the giant.

In this story, the giant Goliath represents satan

David represents Jesus

And the stone represents God's power to go into battle 

Against our own sin and become more virtuous.

Amen

Abraham and Isaac

Oh God, you gave the instruction to Abraham

To sacrifice his son Isaac

Oh Abraham, you did not hesitate to show your loyalty to God

By sacrificing your son

Oh God, the story of Abraham sacrificing Isaac

Is a picture of our redemption

Just as Isaac went up to Mt. Mariah carrying the wood on his back

Asking Abraham, "Where is the lamb?"

At the top of the mountain, Abraham built an altar out of stones

And tied Isaac onto it!

As Abraham raised the knife to kill Isaac, 

An angel stopped him, and said,

"I know you are loyal to God"

For you were willing to sacrifice your only son.

Just then he saw a ram caught by his horns in a thicket

He untied Isaac and sacrificed the ram instead.

This symbolizes Jesus, 

Because just as God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son,

God sacrificed his only son, Jesus 

For our sins and sins of the world.

Amen