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Jesus is the Suffering Savior

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He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. … He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. – Isaiah 53:3,5

Greeting cards contain words that are chosen very carefully. They are meaningful words of love and affection. Sometimes when we are sending a card to someone, we might even agonize over which one to select. We want to choose the right words that express the love we have.

How about the words printed above by the prophet Isaiah? Would you include any of his words in a card to your loved one? At first thought you would say, “Absolutely not!” Words like “despised…rejected…sorrows…suffering…punishment” would be the last choices for a such a card! But the Bible surprises us. These words from God are really a wonderful expression of his true love for people.

The first thing to understand is that Isaiah was writing about Jesus. Jesus, God’s Son, was sent to earth to be the world’s Savior. The Bible tells us that because of sin there was punishment looming for all people. But Jesus took that punishment on himself. Jesus is our Savior who suffered for sinners. He took all this suffering on himself, including death on a cross, so that people wouldn’t suffer eternally.

The second thing to remember is that we are talking about something very personal to all of us. We were the ones Jesus came to suffer for. We were the ones who were headed to the punishment of eternal separation from God. Our sinful thoughts, words, and actions condemned us. But as the prophet wrote, “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities, the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Jesus’ love for us is deep and long-lasting. It’s much more than the love that we might receive from others, or a love that is here today and gone tomorrow. Jesus’ love is eternal. He promises that since he suffered and gave up his life for us, he will continue to love us each and every day.

Every time you open the Bible it’s like receiving a card from One who loves you very much. These are God’s words of love for you.

Forgiveness through Jesus

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God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.
– 2 Corinthians 5:19

The month of February holds the day that often makes or breaks relationships: Valentine’s Day! It’s a day of engagement rings, flowers, dinners, and the hope for returned affections. For all the happiness of Valentine’s Day, it’s also bittersweet. For every happy or newly engaged or blissfully married couple, you can find someone who is sadly alone, someone who longs to be loved, someone going through a devastating break-up. No wonder the game is, “He loves me…He loves me not.”

Imagine if the pressure of Valentine’s Day was off. Imagine there was no doubt about how that special someone felt about you. Imagine that person did what the Bible says, “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”

We have to imagine, because our experience is that human love is conditional. It is usually based on how people look, or what they have, or how they treat us. As a result, we are led to think that God is the same. We think that he loves us if we’re lovable. We assume that he loves us if we show our love to him. The truth is that God loves us not because of who we are or what we do. The Bible clearly describes God’s amazing love by what he has done for us: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them.”

Honestly, we have to admit that there are all kinds of sins on our record before God. Our attempts at love throughout life—failures, breakups, lies, adulteries, divorces—all are an astonishing record of wrong. God ought to oppose us. But in amazing love, God doesn’t count our sins against us. That means that he doesn’t keep a record of all our actions, thoughts and words that violate his holy will.

God doesn’t keep a record of our sins because of Jesus. God took all our sins, the sins of everyone, and charged them to his Son. In our place Jesus willingly and lovingly suffered the punishment of death that we and all people deserved. This is the great love that God has for us…for you! Through Jesus Christ, our relationship with God is restored and by faith in Jesus we will enjoy the blessing of his love forever.

In our relationship with God, it’s not “He loves me…He loves me not.” In Christ, it is always, “He loves me…He loves me…He loves me.”

Christ

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“We have found the Messiah” (that is, the Christ). – John 1:41

Many expressions of love and affection are exchanged between people—especially on special occasions like birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Yet, there is no greater act of love than the life, death, and resurrection of Christ Jesus for our salvation. The whole of Scripture revolves around this one supreme act of unconditional love!

But why is it that Christians associate the title Christ with God’s love in Jesus? What does the word Christ mean? A look at God’s Word will help explain this. The Gospel of Matthew begins by recording the genealogy of Jesus, “… and Jacob the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called Christ” (Matthew 1:16).

As Matthew sets the tone for his Gospel, he is careful to note that Jesus was revered as Christ. This familiar title is actually a form of the Greek word chrio meaning “to pour or anoint.” To anoint was to pour sacred oil over someone’s head as a visible sign that God had set him aside for a special task. Jesus bore the title Christ because he was the one God anointed to be the world’s Savior.

The Gospel of John in the first chapter reveals Jesus, the Word made flesh, and describes Andrew’s excitement at having met Jesus: “The first thing Andrew did was to find his brother Simon and tell him, ‘We have found the Messiah’ (that is, the Christ)” (John 1:41). Andrew bursts forth in joyful acclamation, using the title Messiah which is the Hebrew equivalent of Christ, “the Anointed One.”

The Gospel writer John is keen to point out that from the beginning of Jesus’ public ministry the hope of the ages was intimately associated with salvation in Jesus. Yes, at the time of his baptism Jesus was consecrated for his messianic ministry in a remarkable way. “… heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased'” (Matthew 3:16-17). Jesus was anointed by the Spirit of God and received the clear approval of his heavenly Father. Talk about divine endorsement!

Because Jesus is The Anointed One, he is the one foretold in ancient prophecy who would bring salvation, redeeming us from the curse of sin! There is no greater act of love—true love!