Isaiah 53:2-12 puts the reason for our Savior’s coming to this earth in perspective. Normally, you would think a Lord of Lords and King of Kings would arrive with all pomp and circumstance that would be fit for such a title. (any emphasis mine)

(Verses ESV) ⁽²⁾ “For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. ⁽³⁾ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces. He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.”

Would you not agree that so far, this isn’t what we would expect of the Savior of the World? It gets worse as the verses continue. Also, this was written between 600 – 700 years before Jesus arrived here.

⁽⁴⁾ “Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken; smitten by God, and afflicted.”

His own Father allowed wrath to be placed on His Son because of all of our sins. Think this thought with me – “Because of My Sins!”

⁽⁵⁾ “But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. ⁽⁶⁾ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way, and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

Can you see now the relevance and significance of Romans 3:23 and Romans 6:23? Every last one of us has sinned, and without the sacrifice Jesus gave willingly for us (John 10:18), we would be hopelessly lost.

⁽⁷⁾ “He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth [Luke 23:9]. ⁽⁸⁾ By oppression and judgment, He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgressions of My People?”

The religious leaders of His day did not accept Him as Messiah, even though He was the only person ever to fulfill all the prophecies written about Him. They expected that the arrival of the Christ would happen with all splendor and glory, and they would be “rewarded” for their so-called “faithful service.” Instead, this Man continuously accused and berated them for all the wrong they were doing.

⁽⁹⁾ “And they made His grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in His death; although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth.”

In spite of their efforts, Jesus loved them all for their eternal souls, even though He didn’t “like” them for all the wrong they were doing. As for Joseph of Arimathea’s tomb, He only needed it for a weekend.

⁽¹⁰⁾ “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. ⁽¹¹⁾ Out of the anguish of His soul, He shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities.”

Psalm 22:1 and Matthew 27:46; “My God! My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” It is believed that at this point, every sin of this world, past, present and future, was laid on Jesus. At that instant, the Father would have had to look away briefly and be separated from His Son for the first time ever. After this, our Savior said, “It Is Finished,” which signified He had completed, in full, the task of being the perfect sacrifice for us all. His death reached back to the righteous from the creation to the Cross, and from the Cross forward to the end of His Millennial Reign (John 19:30).

⁽¹²⁾ “Therefore, I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He poured out His soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet, He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”

Phillip P. Bliss wrote a song that was released around 1895 called “Hallelujah! What A Savior!”

(1) “Man of Sorrows!” what a name, for the Son of God who came; ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

(2) Bearing shame and scoffing rude; in my place condemned He stood; sealed my pardon with His blood; Hallelujah! What a Savior!

(3) Guilty, vile and helpless we; spotless Lamb of God was He; “Full Atonement,” can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior!

(4) Lifted up was He to die; “It Is Finished” was His cry; now in Heaven exalted high. Hallelujah! What a Savior!

(5) When He comes, our Glorious King; all His ransomed, Home to bring; then anew His song we’ll sing! Hallelujah! What a Savior!

Jesus’ blood was shed by the only “human” that lived a sinless life. Yet, for a moment, He bore all the sins of this world. Can you possibly imagine having every evil deed of this world go through your mind in full detail all at once? You may say that is impossible, but remember He is God, and His abilities are far superior to any human that ever lived. That would have to be the part that Jesus dreaded the most, not the crucifixion itself. Once completed, His human side died, and His God side again took full control.

Imagine the cheering from all the Heavenly Host when the Father raised His Son from a mortal’s grave to take His rightful place on His throne at the Right Hand of God. This was the absolute proof that sin and death had been conquered once and for all. John 14:6 became a solid covenant; “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life; no one comes to the Father except through Me.”

No other sacrifice could ever do. All has been done by Jesus, and to even think we could do something to earn or buy our Salvation insults the whole Trinity.

God will accept all who will receive and accept His Son. After what Jesus had to endure, God really has no other righteous choice. At the same time, is it any wonder that anyone who does not receive Jesus before they die will have committed an unforgivable sin?

After the antichrist, false prophet and Satan receive their sentences in hell, all the “unforgiven” of all ages will go through the Great White Throne Judgment of Revelation 20:11-15. There will be no forgiveness there; no pardons; and grace and mercy will be absent.

For all who have not received and accepted Jesus as their Savior yet, this does not have to be your fate. Today, right now, before it’s too late, call on Jesus to forgive your sins and to come into your heart and be your Savior forever. He will send the Holy Spirit to dwell in you until you are removed from earth, either by death or by the Rapture. Just have faith and believe His death was for your sins, and there is no other way you can be saved.

It’s totally your choice as God will force no one, and no one can make it for you. It will be the most important decision you will ever make in your lifetime.

Come, Lord Jesus!

huebshman46@gmail.com

 

People who know me know I have a fondness for rocks. Anytime we go ATV trail riding, I always spot a rock or two (or three or four…) that I must bring home for one of my several rock gardens. Each one is special to me. My husband bought me a T-shirt once that says “The Rock Whisperer,” LOL. So, whenever we go out for a ride in the woods, especially here in the Ozarks, my eyes are always drawn to rocks, especially the large boulders. They fascinate me.

You know how sometimes when you read a scripture, one you may have read many times, but suddenly a word or thought jumps out at you as a surprise revelation that never caught your attention before? Well, that happened to me a few years ago while reading Revelation 2:17. It really tickled me to read that Jesus is going to give me a white rock, with a new name that He will give me on it!

“He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, and will give him a white stone, and in the stone a new name written, which no man knoweth saving he that receiveth it.”

I’ve read that the ancients, on many occasions, gave their votes in judgment by small stones; by black they condemned, and by white ones they acquitted. Seems to me there’s a correlation here, huh?

That verse came up in conversation recently, and it’s been bouncing around in my head ever since. Several “rock” related and “name change” related things have crossed my mind. It occurs to me, for example, that a bride’s name changes to her bridegroom’s name once they are married. Marriage could certainly denote a big change in the bride’s life in the future, just like people listed in the Bible who got a name change from God had a drastic change in their lives after the name change. Coincidence? I don’t think so. And this possibly silly thought I had: the diamond ring given to a bride from her bridegroom at the wedding ceremony is sometimes referred to as a rock. That might or might not be significant, but just sayin’.

God changed at least four people’s names mentioned in the Bible: Abram to Abraham, Sarai to Sarah, Simon to Peter (which means ‘the rock,’ by the way), and Jacob to Israel. Each time He changed a name, it was to mark a life-changing future for that person. Abraham would be thereafter known as the father of all nations, as Sarah would also be known as the mother of all nations. Simon to Peter would also have an astounding change in his future, as he would start the first church. And, of course, Jacob to Israel is obviously a huge change in his future. So, when God changes a person’s name, it is a big deal to Him and to the person getting the new name, wouldn’t you say?

And then, there’s the rock. I knew that there were several references to a rock in the Bible, but until researching for this article, I didn’t realize how many there actually are. There are at least 20 scriptures that reveal Christ as the Rock or the Cornerstone or the Foundation we are to build on.

Rocks are strong, powerful, reliable foundations. Some things that came to my mind were: David slew Goliath with a rock. The 10 commandments were written on rocks. A big rock was used to seal Christ’s tomb.

One of the best hymns ever written, in my opinion, is “Rock of Ages,” written in 1763 by a gentleman named Augustus Toplady. Have you ever stopped to think about what the words of that song mean? Rock of ages = Christ, obviously. Cleft for me – the word ‘cleft’ is defined as a noun that means ‘something split apart with great force.’ Christ was split from the Father as He hung on the cross to provide a gap or a place for us to hide in Him – ‘let me hide myself in Thee.’

Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee;
Let the water and the blood,
From Thy wounded side which flowed,
Be of sin the double cure,
Save from wrath and make me pure.

Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone;
Thou must save, and Thou alone.

While I draw this fleeting breath,
When my eyes shall close in death,
When I rise to worlds unknown,
And behold Thee on Thy throne,
Rock of Ages, cleft for me,
Let me hide myself in Thee.

So, one more wonderful thing to look forward to when I finally get Home, and my Bridegroom hands me a white rock with my new name on it. I know it will be a perfect name for me, and will be a unique name no one else has ever called me by. And it will definitely signify a huge change in my future! Thank You Father, for all your promises for my future, including my new name.

Scripture references:

1 Corinthians 10: “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”

1 Peter 2:4: “To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,”

1 Samuel 2:2: “There is none holy as the LORD: for there is none beside thee: neither is there any rock like our God.”

Deuteronomy 32:4: “He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he.”

Deuteronomy 32:18: “Of the Rock that begat thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.”

Isaiah 51:1: “Hearken to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”

2 Samuel 22:2: “And he said, The LORD is my rock, and my fortress, and my deliverer;”

Psalms 18:31: “For who is God save the LORD? or who is a rock save our God?”

Psalms 18:46: “The LORD liveth; and blessed be my rock; and let the God of my salvation be exalted.”

Psalms 62:6: “He only is my rock and my salvation: he is my defence; I shall not be moved.”

Psalms 71:3: “Be thou my strong habitation, whereunto I may continually resort: thou hast given commandment to save me; for thou art my rock and my fortress.”

Psalms 89:26: “He shall cry unto me, Thou art my father, my God, and the rock of my salvation.”

Psalms 95:1: “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.”

Revelation 21:11: “Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;”

Luke 6:48: “He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.”

Matthew 7:24-27: “Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.”

Mark 12:10: “And have ye not read this scripture; The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner:”

Luke 20:17: “And he beheld them, and said, What is this then that is written, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner?”

1 Peter 2:6-7: “Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.”

Matthew 16:18: “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”

Revelation 2:17: “He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To him that overcometh will I give to eat of the hidden manna, AND WILL GIVE HIM A WHITE STONE, AND IN THE STONE A NEW NAME WRITTEN, WHICH NO MAN KNOWETH SAVING HE THAT RECEIVETH IT.”  (bold is mine)

Rock of Ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZmboVILc4rw

Watching,

Sandy