Sometimes in life we are called upon to do something that is very difficult, something that we might prefer not to do. However, we do it anyway because we know that it is the right thing to do, and that it must be done. Others might try to discourage us and try to turn us away from finishing that arduous task, but we get that determined look on our face and push forward, despite how difficult or painful it might be. In today’s Scripture, God, speaking through His prophet Isaiah, describes the Lord Jesus Christ in just such a situation, as He prepared to sacrifice Himself for our salvation.
As our Scripture opens, the Lord God is asking why no one is willing to believe and obey Him, even after all they have seen Him do in the world (vs. 2). This is particularly true with the Lord Jesus Christ when He came to earth to redeem mankind. During the 3 ½ years of His ministry, only a few believed and followed Him. The majority of the Jewish people, especially the religious leaders, did not answer Him when He called for everyone to believe and come to Him.
The Lord Jesus came with words from the very heart of God, words He spoke to us, to bring us God’s message (vs. 4). It was a word coming in season, in just the right time and moment, a word to a world that was weary from sin and sickness. Jesus knew what He had come to do, to redeem mankind from the power of sin and Satan. It was not going to be an easy thing to do, as the price for the forgiveness of sin would be the shedding of blood (Hebrews 9:22). That blood would have to come from someone who had no sin of their own, and that could only be the Blood of the Lord Jesus. Jesus knew that He would have to give His life. Though He was fully God, He was also fully human, and as human, it was not easy knowing the brutal torture and death that He faced. Yet He did not refuse or turn away (vs. 5).
This was a difficult mission that Jesus faced. During the last days just prior to His entry into Jerusalem, several of the disciples tried to dissuade Jesus from going to that city. They knew the dangerous opposition Jesus faced from the religious leaders, and they feared what it would lead to. Yet Jesus would not be dissuaded. So sure was Jesus of the Lord God’s help, that He resolutely determined to remain unswayed by whatever hardships would await Him. As Isaiah said, He set His face like a flint (vs. 7), strong and immovable. He was determined to proceed, knowing He would be crucified, giving His life for our salvation (Luke 9:51).
Jesus was obedient to God. He did not turn away from what lay before Him. As Isaiah described, the Messiah submitted to the torture from sinful man (vs. 6). His back was brutally flogged. The whips that the Roman soldiers used in that day were strong, having bits of metal, rock, and bones on the tips, designed to tear the skin. Many strong men would not survive the flogging, their backs being literally torn open. Yet Isaiah described the Messiah giving His back to those who struck Him. He did not fight this, as awful as it was. Jesus endured His beard being grabbed and ripped off, and His face covered by the spit of those who abused Him. This all before the torture of the crucifixion.
This was brutal and humiliating treatment for the Son of God, yet Jesus knew that God would help Him, and that ultimately He would not be disgraced (vs. 7-9). No matter how Jesus was mistreated, mocked, and repudiated, He had full confidence in God's support, so He welcomed His mission to bring salvation to mankind.
Our Scripture passage closes with a call to believe and be saved (vs. 10). We do not have to grope blindly in the darkness of life, like those without hope. We can trust God in the darkness. We can take His hand when we accept Jesus as Savior. If we know that God is for us, then we, too, can set our face like flint. We can be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord (I Corinthians 15:58).
When Jesus comes calling to our hearts, will we answer? Or will we be like the people Isaiah describes at the opening of today’s Scripture? Jesus is still calling on mankind, standing at the door of their heart, and knocking (Revelation 3:20). Will you open the door of your heart and let Him in today?
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