Down in the valley, the valley so low

Sunday October 22nd, Isaiah 53: 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Some say this is prophetically predictive of Christ. Others do not see Isaiah as being prophetic about some future event so much as being prophetic about the nature of being a child of God. The first one allows us to put it all on Jesus shoulders; the second one is a recognition that the servant life of a Christian is not all roses. In the first one we can stick to the mountain tops of life and never have to deal with those in need. In the second one we understand that in the servant life of a follower of Jesus, we not only deal with tough issues, but we find Jesus down in the valleys with us. The first one is the theology of glory. The second one is the theology of the cross. It is on the cross we find Christ.