"What child is this?" (part 2)

Let me just pick up right where I left off last time.  I want to begin with a fascinating verse from Isaiah 52.  Isaiah 52 speaks of what the text calls a servant.  In verse 14, we read that this servant’s appearance will be “disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.”  This is describing the excruciating punishment that Jesus endured.  Jesus was flogged, beaten, and crucified on a cross.  Many criticized Mel Gibson’s depiction of Jesus’ suffering in “The Passion of the Christ”.  They asserted that it was too violent.  But Gibson insisted that it actually wasn’t violent enough.  Isaiah 52:14 confirms his claim.

In Isaiah 53, we continue to read of the servant’s suffering.  “But 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.  We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (verses 5-6).  Once again, this is a prophetic description that was written centuries before the prophesied One ever arrived on the scene.  Yet, it’s a clear picture of the love that Jesus has for mankind.

Back in April of 2011, I wrote a blog about a comic book storyline from 1993 where Superman fought a powerful villain named Doomsday.  Doomsday had no conscience, heart, or restraint.  Such a monster would have destroyed countless lives had it not been for Superman’s heroic intervention.  Ultimately, Superman delivered a finishing blow to the villain; Doomsday was defeated, but in the process, Superman also passed away.

 

In his book “Who Needs a Superhero? Finding Virtue, Vice, and What’s Holy in the Comics” H. Michael Brewer writes, “Behind the slumped figure of the dead Superman, an upright piece of broken lumber juts from the wreckage.  The tattered cape of the Man of Steel hangs on the board and flutters in the wind.  In my eyes, that heaven-reaching timber casts the shadow of the cross over the scene.  [To see Superman] dying to rescue Metropolis points our hearts toward the true Savior who died for the world.”

What child is this?  This is the foretold servant who was born to die.  We celebrate the birth of the Christ every Christmas because this child grew up, and He died a brutal, excruciating, horrible death to pay for the penalty of mankind’s sin.  Once again, Isaiah 53:6 reads, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray…and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  Adrian Rogers once wrote, “At the cross, sin was not overlooked.  Sin was atoned and paid for.  God’s greatest righteousness confronted man’s greatest wickedness, and righteousness won!  Peace was attained through the blood of the cross.  Thank God for the cross!  Thank God for Jesus!”

My heart is full as I conclude this blog.  In the words of that Christmas song “what child is this” I want to “haste, haste, to bring Him laud, the babe, the Son of Mary.”  You see, I am nothing more than a sinner saved by grace.  “Jesus paid it all, all to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow,” says the old hymn.  What bliss to know that my sin is forgiven, pardoned, and cleansed!  There is no greater peace, joy, and happiness than have a friendship and fellowship with God.  This relationship began when I put my faith and trust in Jesus when I was six years old, and it will continue forever, even after my Earthly existence has ended and I am in the presence of Jesus in Heaven.

Kevin