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Isaiah 53:2 - Despised and rejected - Day 172

Dear Friends,

I'm back in the catch up mode.  I've gone back for some part time work at Millstone.  I have become so accustomed to the extra time in the day and a regular schedule that writing up a devotional each day is a challenge.

Enough excuses.  Isaiah 53 is one of the most poignant descriptions of the Messiah.  So I hope you spend some additional time thinking about how Jesus fulfilled this description.

Blessings,

Jeff

John Baptist will later say "behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world"  But if was not Jesus' physical appearance that got his attention.  When we think back about Saul and David, each one's physical appearance was remarkable.  Other OT characters also have notable physical traits (hair of Samson and Absalom, Eli's obesity at end of life, etc).  But Isaiah is painting a different picture of the Messiah.

Some thoughts:

Jesus is the exact imprint of God's nature and the radiance of His Glory.  Yet there is no associated physical characteristic.  It was what he did and said that displayed God's nature, not what he looked like.

The second commandments prohibition of images comes to mind as well as Calvin's statement that our hearts are factories of idols.  Any fascination with Jesus physical appearance detracts from the worship that He deserves.  We remember Him by filling our minds with the Word, not looking at an "artist's conception" of what He might be like.

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