Personalize Isaiah 53 (The Message), by speaking your name in every blank.
Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this?
The servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling,
a scrubby plant in a parched field.
There was nothing attractive about him,
nothing to cause to take a second look.
He was looked down on and passed over,
a man who suffered, who knew pain firsthand.
One look at him and turned away.
looked down on him, thought he was scum.
But the fact is, it was ’s pains he carried—
’s disfigurements, all the things wrong with .
thought he brought it on himself,
that God was punishing him for his own failures.
But it was ’s sins that did that to him,
that ripped and tore and crushed him— ’s sins!
He took the punishment, and that made whole.
Through his bruises gets healed.
is like a sheep who has wandered off and gotten lost.
has done his/her own thing, gone his/her own way.
And God has piled all ’s sins, everything has done wrong,
on him, on him.
He was beaten, he was tortured,
but he didn’t say a word.
Like a lamb taken to be slaughtered
and like a sheep being sheared,
he took it all in silence.
Justice miscarried, and he was led off—
and did anyone really know what was happening?
He died without a thought for his own welfare,
beaten bloody for the sins of my people.
They buried him with the wicked,
threw him in a grave with a rich man,
Even though he’d never hurt a soul
or said one word that wasn’t true.
Still, it’s what God had in mind all along,
to crush him with pain.
The plan was that he give himself as an offering for sin
so that he’d see life come from it—life, life, and more life.
And God’s plan will deeply prosper through him.
Out of that terrible travail of soul,
he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.
Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
will make many “righteous ones,”
as he himself carries the burden of ’s sins.
Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly—
the best of everything, the highest honors—
Because he looked death in the face and didn’t flinch,
because he embraced the company of the lowest.
He took on his own shoulders the sin of ,
he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
Verses quoted from The Message presented on this website are adapted from The Message by Eugene Peterson which is copyrighted information and have been used by permission of NavPress. Changes to the text have been made only for the purpose of personalizing the text. The posting of stories, commentaries, reports, documents and links (embedded or otherwise) on this site does not in any way, shape or form, implied or otherwise, necessarily express or suggest endorsement or support of any of such posted material or parts therein.
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Good work.
Frank, I’m honored that you would stop by my new blog to read a post. Thank you sir.