Servant of the Lord

By: Kari Vo
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April 4, 2023

"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 ... Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. ... All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:2-3a, 4, 6 ESV)

This is part of the famous Song of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53. God gave the prophet Isaiah a vision of what Jesus would be like—of how He would save God's people from the power of evil.

Jesus wasn't what people were expecting. In God's eyes He was like a root out of dry ground—we would say, like a drink of cool water on a hot day. But to us? He was nothing special.

And so we ignored Him—rejected Him—and then turned on Him and put Him to death on a cross. That was the end of Him, we thought. Who could have predicted the resurrection?

Isaiah did. And now we rejoice, because we finally understand—Jesus was bearing our sin, taking our grief and sorrow on His own back. He is God in the flesh, come in the form of a Servant, to give us life—life that will last forever.

Prayer: Dear Lord, give me a heart that trusts in You. Amen.

Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
Originally published in The Lutheran Hour on March 2, 2022
Used by permission from International Lutheran Laymen’s League, all rights reserved

Reflection Questions:
* What do you think Jesus looked like? Why?
* Do you think you would have recognized Him for what He was, if you had been alive then?
* What are you hoping for, during these days of Lent?

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