(Isaiah 53: 1 – 12)
1. The Passion of Christ: The purpose Our Lord’s coming to the world was to save lost sinners like us. The Bible says in John 3:16 that “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” In order to reconcile the world back to God, Jesus had to suffer and to pay the penalty for sin with His life. The Bible gives an account of the suffering and the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. According to the Prophecy of Isaiah 53: 3 – 4, “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Our Lord suffered the pain of shame and rejection so He could save and heal and deliver us from the power of sin and eternal death. The Bible says in II Cor. 5: 21 that “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Jesus became sin for us so that we sinners can be made righteous. He took our curse on the Cross (Gal. 3:13) so that we can live a blessed life in Him forever.
2. The Power of Christ: Jesus did not only come into the world to save sinners, He also came to heal and to deliver. In Luke 4 18, our Lord said of Himself “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.” From this scripture, it is clear that Jesus has the power to heal and to deliver. In Mark 5, the Bible tells the story of a man who was possessed and tormented by a legion of demons. One day, he met Jesus and the power of God delivered him from his bondage. There are many other stories in the Bible of people who were delivered and made whole by the power of God.
3. The Presence of Christ: In addition to being our Healer, Jesus also wants us establish His presence within us. When Jesus delivered the madman of Gadara from his affliction, He also gave him the new life and the man who was once possessed with demons went about preaching the good news about Jesus. Our Lord is still healing and delivering people today. Remember, Jesus is the Wounded Healer and He wants to make you whole.