READ: Isaiah 53 (Focus vs. 1-6)
MEMORY VERSE
“Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.” Isaiah 53:3
BACKGROUND
Most people avoided George Chase. He lived in a twelve-foot square shack in the woods where New England’s Pawcatuck River meets Little Narragansett Bay. To the locals, it was obvious George didn’t have a bathtub. They could smell the evidence.
One day a hurricane brought the Atlantic Ocean rushing over the seacoast, washing away the beachfront with its attractive homes. Survivors pulled themselves from the bay and began searching for refuge.
Eleven of them, soaked and shivering, found it in George’s cabin. He gave them everything he had: water, milk, ginger tea, and shelter. After the hurricane of 1938, the townsfolk had a far different opinion of George Chase.
It’s sad when we make superficial judgments about others, yet it’s our nature to do so. We do that with Jesus too. We might picture Him as He’s portrayed in old paintings, serenely handsome.
But the prophet Isaiah said of the Messiah, “He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him…like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem” (Isaiah 53:2-3).
Yet this man gave us everything He had. “He took up our pain and bore our suffering” (v. 4). He offered His life for ours.
It’s tragic when we miss the humanity of our fellow human beings. How much more tragic to miss the divinity of the One we despised!
Tim Gustafson
INSIGHT
When Christ taught in the temple during the Jewish Festival of Tabernacles, some asked, “How did this man get such learning without having been taught?” He answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from the one who sent me” (John 7:15-16).
He warned them to “stop judging by mere appearances” (v. 24). A similar episode happened in His hometown of Nazareth. The people asked, “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? . . . Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon?” (Mark 6:2-3).
They missed the fact that Jesus stood among them and later willingly died for humanity’s sin (Isaiah 53:2-4). He offered His life for us and will help us to love others made in God’s image (Genesis 1:27).
Alyson Kieda
APPLICATION
How might you look past outward appearances to see the humanity of others? When you think of Jesus, how do you picture Him?
PR’s (Pastor Richard) RE-EMPHASIS (From Today’s Post)
“It’s tragic when we miss the humanity of our fellow human beings. How much more tragic to miss the divinity of the One we despised!”
PR’s TAKE
“Whoever debases others is not only debasing oneself but really debasing God.” James Baldwin – Adapted
“If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot[a] love God whom he has not seen.” 1John 4:20
PRAYER
“Dear Jesus, please help me to see others as beautiful beings created in Your image.”
TODAY’S HYMN/WORSHIP/PRAISE/GOSPEL SONG
“I LOVE YOU WITH THE LOVE OF THE LORD” Jim Gilbert
I love you with the love of the Lord
Yes, I love you with the love of the Lord
I can see in you the glory of my King
And I love you with the love of the Lord.
I love you with the love of the Lord
Yes, I love you with the love of the Lord
I can see in you the glory of my King
And I love you with the love of the Lord.
I love you with the love of the Lord.
