Easter Articles

There are some names I’m going to share that I’m sure you will recognize: Jim Jones, Charles Manson, David Koresh, Shoko Asahara, Joseph Di Mambro, Marshall Applewhite, and Bonnie Lu Nettles.

            Most of those names have something in common: a sacrifice was made by the people on behalf of the cult leader. The people would do things for the leader such as giving money, abandoning their family, inflicting harm on others, and even killing themselves.

            While those people were part of bizarre cults, there are religions in the world where people sacrifice themselves or work hard to earn their way into favor with the god they worship. Jehovah Witnesses work hard so they can hopefully become one of the 144,000 witnesses in heaven. Mormons are active in their faith hoping to one day attain godhood like Jesus. Muslims work hard to please Alah through legalistic prayer rituals & other activities.

            Christianity is antithetical to those cults and religions. As evangelical Christians we don’t sacrificeourselves for our leader, nor do we work hard to earn his favor, nor do we hope to attain a level of sainthood.

            Instead, Christianity is based on the act of our leader and our God—Jesus Christ—sacrificing Himself for us. While those cults and religions require people to sacrifice themselves for the leader, in Christianity the leader sacrificed himself for us. The prophet Isaiah writing 700 years before Jesus’s life predicted the death of our Savior for our sins.

CHRIST’S PAIN AND OUR PEACE

            In Isaiah 53:5 we learn that in Jesus’ pain He gave us peace. “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.”[1] This verse describes the punishment that Jesus went through. One classic Old Testament commentary states, “There were no stronger expressions to be found in the language, to denote a violent and painful death.”[2] One Hebrew syntax manual tells us that it is “the punishment [chastening] that brought us peace.”[3]     Christ’s chastening and punishment causes our well-being. Another way to translate “well-being” would be to use the word, “peace.” The Hebrew word there is shalom (שָׁלֹום). Christ’s wounds healed our sins. Christ’s severe punishment brought us spiritual nourishment. Christ’s pain on the cross brought peace into our lives.

CHRIST’S WORK AND NOT OUR WORK

            Christ’s work on the cross means we don’t have to work for our salvation.Isaiah continues, “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, As He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:10–12).

            In these verses Isaiah tells us Jesus died because of the Father’s desire. Notice how it begins, “But the Lord was pleased to crush Him” (v. 10a). God the Father wasn’t surprised when Jesus died on the Cross. God the Father was in heaven and made the decision to have Christ die on behalf of the sinners of the earth. Why? Because God the Father loves everyone and wants to have a relationship with us, so He sent His only Son to be the sacrifice to die for us.

            In these verses Isaiah tells us Jesus died for our sins. Towards the middle of verse ten we read, “If He would render Himself as a guilt offering” (v. 10b). This describes Jesus’s whole being, his “soul” (v. 11). The same word for guilt offering, asam (אָשָׁם֙) is used here as in Leviticus 6-7 of the guilt offering which required 120 percent restitution (Leviticus 6:5). The word is used specifically in Lev 5:15; 6:5; 19:21 to describe an offering to atone for us. 

            In these verses Isaiah tells us Jesus died for everyone. Here God the Father says, “My Servant, will justify the many” (v. 11b). Christ died for everyone. Not just men or women, rich or poor, Hispanics or blacks, Jews or Arabs, he died for “the many.” 

            In these verses Isaiah tells us Jesus died with other sinners when Jesus was arrested (v. 12). Someone was already in custody and sentenced to die when Jesus was arrested. Remember his name? Barabas. Who was he? A murderer and insurrectionist (Luke 23:25). He had been sentenced to die, so when Jesus dies on the cross with two other criminals we learn that Jesus was dying with the worst of sinners. 

CHRIST’S EXALTATION AND BURIAL

            Isaiah described the execution of Jesus and also described the burial of Jesus. “His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth” (Isaiah 53:9). In this prophecy Isaiah tells that us while Jesus was killed with wicked evil men and was supposed to be buried with those same men, this future savior would be buried as a rich man. The fulfillment of this verse was when named Joseph of Armathia takes Jesus down from the cross and places Jesus in Joseph of Armathia’s tomb (Matthew 27:57-60; John 19:31).

A GOD THAT SERVED US

            These verses from Isaiah teach us that we worship a God that served us. In Luke 22:25–27 Jesus told His disciples, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way with you, but the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves.”[4] We must always remember that we serve a God that served us first. I’m not sure how many religions can claim that the god which they worship served them before they serve their god. But I believe that’s why the God of the Bible is worthy of our worship: He doesn’t need anything from us. Just the opposite, He gave to us and served us before we ever knew Him.

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[1] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.

[2] Franz Delitzsch, Biblical Commentary on the Prophecies of Isaiah, vol 2 (Eerdmans, Grand Rapids, MI: 1877), translated by James Martin, p. 318.

[3]  Bruce Waltke and M. O’Connor, Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Eisenbrauns, Winona Lake, IN: 1990), 146. Waltke and O’Connor describe מוּסַ֤ר שְׁלֹומֵ֨נוּ֙  as an adverbial genitive which is a genitive of effect: C causes G (Ibid.).

[4] Emphasis mine.

The Ukrainian poet, Taras Shevchenko, wrote a poem titled, “It Makes No Difference To Me” that describes a Ukrainian man’s feelings toward the neighboring nation of Russia. That poem described what was happening in 2022, 2023, and 2024 as the Ukrainian people—according to Shevchenko—fight off those “evil folk” and “wicked men” that “attack our Ukraine.” 

            And while that poem described what was felt among a lot of Ukrainians in 2022 and 2023, it was not written in 2022, 2023 or 2024. That poem was composed by Taras Shevchenko in 1861 describing his feelings about the Russians and their attacks on his home country of Ukraine.[1] While Taras Shevchenko wrote a poem that described his experience in 1861 that also described the experience of Ukrainians in 2022 and 2023 and 2024, a guy named David that lived 1000 years before Jesus Christ wrote about his own experience of suffering, and with the help of the Holy Spirit, David also described the future sufferings of our Savior Jesus Christ. 

            In Psalm 22 David describes the pain he feels from suffering. He summarizes his pain in Psalm 22:11, “Be not far from me, for trouble is near; For there is none to help.”[2] This is how suffering feels at times. David is all alone. Difficult times hurt often because we are alone in them.

            In Psalm 22 David also describes pain from his enemies. He compares his enemies to wicked and cruel beasts. “Many bulls have surrounded me; Strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me. They open wide their mouth at me, As a ravening and a roaring lion” (Psalm 22:12-13). The “Bulls of Bashan” (v. 12) were well fed cattle. Bashan was a fertile area east of the Sea of Galilee now known as the Golan Heights. It had lush oak forests and good pastures for cattle. The “Lion” is understood to be power and force that a lion has over us.

            David says he cannot continue on because his energy is zapped. ^“I am poured out like water, And all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And my tongue cleaves to my jaws; And You lay me in the dust of death” (Psalm 22:14-15). This is a picture of Jesus’ body on the cross hung by nails through His hands, His body weight suspended from His hands, and His back that was tweaked with His joints slipping out of place. As His body was stretched and His joints dislodged, His heart must have struggled to pump blood throughout His body. Like David his “heart is like wax; It is melted within me” (v. 14). He’s at the end of his life. He’s got nothing left. He was at the brink of death.             

            In Psalm 22 David says he is in such pain he’s about to die. David describes his enemies, “For dogs have surrounded me; A band of evildoers has encompassed me; They pierced my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16). When he says “dogs” (v. 16) we must remember that dogs in the culture of the Bible were not cute pets that lived in people’s houses. They hunted the streets as scavengers or traveled around in the wilderness in packs. This is a future picture of Jesus’ enemies. These bulls, lions, and dogs describe the Roman workers that executed Jesus and the Jewish leaders that lied in order to convict Jesus. Those enemies of Jesus were bigger, more powerful, and used their authority to attack Jesus and kill Him. Just as David would have been no match against bulls, lions, and dogs, Jesus was no match for the Jewish leaders that accused Him of a crime and the Roman officials that executed Him.  

            This is also a future picture of Jesus’s wounds. In this line, “They pierced my hands and my feet” (v. 16b). David is describing what would figuratively happen if a bull, lion, and dog attacked him. But in the New Testament the gospel writer, John, tells us that this literally happened to Jesus (John 20:20). 

            David also describes his agony. “I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me; They divide my garments among them, And for my clothing they cast lots” (Psalm 22:17-18). Here we see the people around Jesus that divided His clothing among them. This was a sign that they knew He would die. And for His clothing they “cast lots.” The New Living Translation says, “throw dice.” All four gospel writers record this detail in their telling of the crucifixion.

            As we approach Good Friday and Easter Sunday we should remember that Jesus was not surprised by what awaited Him. David had described it in Psalm 22 and Jesus was prepared for it. Jesus was ready for the suffering that was prepared for Him because He knew it was necessary for the salvation of people. And He knew that He would conquer death by coming back to life again Sunday morning.

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[1] Taras Shevchenko, “It Makes No Difference To Me.” Translated by Clarence A. Manning. https://taras-shevchenko.storinka.org/taras-shevchenko’s-poem-it-makes-no-difference-to-me-tr-by-clarence-a-manning.html Accessed March 22, 2023

[2] Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible, Copyright The Lockman Foundation 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995. Used by permission.