December 24th (Christmas Eve) - Isaiah's prophecy of Jesus as the Suffering-Servant
Passage:
53 1Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would
have thought God’s saving
power would look like this?
2-6 The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby
plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about him, nothing to
cause us to take a second look. He was looked down on and passed over, a man
who suffered, who knew pain first-hand. One look at him and people turned away.
We looked down on him, thought he was scum. But the fact is, it was our pains
he carried - our disfigurements, all the things wrong with us.
We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own
failures. But it was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore
and crushed him—our sins! He took the punishment, and
that made us whole. Through his bruises we get healed.
We’re all like sheep who’ve wandered off and gotten lost. We’ve all done our
own thing, gone our own way. And God has
piled all our sins, everything we’ve done wrong, on him, on him.
7-9 He was beaten, he was tortured, but he didn’t say a word. Like a lamb taken to
be slaughtered and like a sheep being sheared, he took it all in
silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—and did anyone really know what was
happening? He died without a thought for his own welfare, beaten bloody for
the sins of my people. They buried him with the wicked, threw him in a
grave with a rich man, even though he’d never hurt a soul or said one word that
wasn’t true.
10 Still, it’s what God had
in mind all along, to crush him with pain. The plan was that he give himself
as an offering for sin so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and
more life. And God’s plan
will deeply prosper through him.
11-12 Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and
be glad he did it. Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my
servant, will make many “righteous ones,” as he himself carries the
burden of their sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly the best of everything, the highest
honors— Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch, because he
embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the
many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep (Isaiah 53:1-12 MSG)
Ponder:
Living about 700 years before the birth of Jesus
Christ, Isaiah prophesied about the ultimate trajectory of Jesus’ life – He was
born to die. He came to destroy the works of the devil, dealing with sin. Then having lived a sinless life, he was crucified, buried and rose again, defeating death for all humanity.
During Advent, many church services often involve the
making of a Christingle. A Christingle usually consists of:
·
An orange, representing the world
* Tin foil and 4 Cocktail sticks - Four Corners of the Earth
·
A candle pushed into the centre of the orange (into the tinfoil), then lit, representing Jesus
Christ as Light of
the World
·
A red ribbon wrapped around the orange or a paper frill around the candle,
representing the love and blood of Christ
· Dried fruits and/or sweets skewered on cocktail sticks pushed into the orange, representing the fruits of the earth, God's goodness to us.
3 minutes on the Meaning and Making of the Christingle
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eAV6HTBUlW0
Prayer:
Lord, this Christmas Eve we come to worship you with
singing. Thank you Jesus for coming to be our redeemer. Thank you that you became our substitute - you became sin for us, (even though you didn't sin) , that we may become the righteousness of God. Amen.
Listen to O Holy Night by BCGC
It is the night of our dear Saviour's birth
Long lay the world, in sin and error pining
'Til He appeared and the soul felt its worth
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night
O night divine
For yonder breaks, a new and glorious morn
O hear the angels' voices
O night divine
O night when Christ was born
O night divine
O night divine (O night divine)
Yeah, that is that night of our dear Saviour's birth
(O night divine) oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, yeah, yeah
(O night divine) it was a holy, holy, holy, oh, oh, oh
(O night divine) yes, it was
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