Posted on 24 Apr 2011 by Jerome Leng
Isaiah 53 is one of the most frequently quoted passages from the bible and I am writing a bible study on it for my church. Four drafts are done but I am still not getting the tone of the passage nor the warmth that the passage is supposed to bring to Christians. The text itself is so big! There are so many theological concepts in the few verses and all of them are so foundational in our understanding and clarity of the biblical gospel of Jesus Christ. I met up with Kenneth, a volunteer at our church (who had previously trained in a theological college, so he is a smart guy) and oh my, we used up his entire whiteboard in discussion!
The time came for the groups to run the study; the study was tough for them, no doubt because there is only so much one can remember and do in two hours. But nevertheless, in my group, there were two people who were very excited that night. They were brothers and sisters. They kept going on and on about the glory of Christ depicted on the cross. The brother could not stop smiling when he talked about Jesus. As for his sister, well, she could not sleep that night (only much later because it was getting late). After the study, I realize that I had understood more of the depth of the text as I was working through it with my Growth Group. Even after working on the text for hours, one must never assume that one understands it. Each time we encounter a passage of the bible, be it one that we have read a hundred times, or one that is completely unfamiliar, we have got to read it carefully because it is God’s Word and our knowledge of God will deepen each time as we study the Scriptures.
Do go and read Isaiah 53 – it is not about you, it is about Jesus! Here, I quote from Isaiah 53 itself:
“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.”
He is our mediator; Christ is our treasure. There nothing more precious than this Blessed Saviour.
