On this Good Friday

As I searched for profound words to share with you this Good Friday, I was again reminded that my words are merely human utterings that change nothing in the soul of man (or woman) unless inspired by God's Spirit. So, in that light, I would like to share from the Word breathed from God Himself that can stir the spirit, pierce the soul, and renew the mind more than any other words ever spoken. God's precious Word holds for us the reality and passion that this day holds for the children of God.

 

To Jesus Christ, the Holy One:

 

Despised and rejected by men; 

a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief . . .

we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions;

He was crushed for our iniquities;

upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

and by His stripes we are healed.

 

All we like sheep has gone astray;

we all have turned every one to his own way;

and the Lord had laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

 

He was oppressed, and He was afflicted,

yet, He opened not His mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not His mouth. . .

 

He was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people. . .

There was no deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him;

He has put Him to grief.

 

Isaiah 53:3-20