2023 Advent Devotional - Isaiah 53:1-3 (Day 8)

Isaiah 53: 1-3 “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 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.  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.”

The Gift of Comfort in grief, suffering, difficulty, rejection

These verses continue to foretell our suffering servant king, the coming Jesus.  They give us a clearer image of the man Jesus would be, which is not very appealing, as well as what He will experience.  They speak of Jesus growing up “like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground.”  This is not a very good environment for a plant which tells us that Jesus has a tough road ahead of him to grow up in.  

The Messiah would not be believed, appeared as a human being, did not look like royalty, was no different looking than the average person.  People would not recognize Him as the Son of God, He was despised, they considered Him insignificant and did not value Him, a man of sorrows and grief. Although large crowds came to hear Jesus preach and be healed by Him, others rejected His message and even angered some who heard it.  Even from the very beginning, Herod hated him when he was a baby.  At the end of his life, His friends and disciples left Him when things got rough and He was then left to face the cross alone.  There was no one to defend or support Him.  In the last verse, it mentions “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief,” pain that is both physical and mental.  The Son of God knows and understands our individual burdens that we experience today.  Have you ever thought, “No one understands what I’m going though?”  Your thoughts, feelings, or challenges?  Turn to Him.  He gladly suffered for us because He loves us. He can heal, support and strengthen us because he does understand and knows everything we are going through.  Everything we’ve thought, felt and gone through our Savior has experienced as well.

God shares a gift with us in these verses.  We have a Savior that understands us completely.  He understands that we need comfort in our grief and sorrows.  He knows that we will feel rejected, lonely and treated badly and provides us with community that we all need.  He provides all this so we know we can always turn to Him especially when we are at our weakest.

Jesus, thank you for showing us how we can follow your example.  Be with us and make us aware of opportunities to serve others.  Help us to show kindness to those around us or encourage someone who is struggling especially during the holidays.  Thank you for understanding everything we are going through.  Amen - By Lisa Simmons