"ARE YOU CRUSHED?" -
A MEDITATION for GOOD FRIDAY
／Clement Yeung
"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. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush him and
cause him to suffer..." (Isaiah 53:5, 10)
INTRODUCTION
Isaiah is a book that reveals the full dimensions of God's judgment
and salvation, His punishment and reconciliation, His condemnation and
restoration. In a sense, it is like a miniature Bible with sixty six
chapters, corresponding to the total number of books in the whole Bible.
It is also readily divided into two sections, with 39 chapters in the
first section and 27 chapters in the second, just like the Old and New
Testaments. Some authorities would consider chapters 36-39 as a
historical interlude, which concludes the first section and introduces
the following chapters.
The book is extensively quoted in the New Testament, no less than
sixty six times. It was from chapter 61 of Isaiah that Jesus read in
the synagogue at the outset of his public ministry. It was as if he
had received the prophecy from the hand of God. He thus assumed the
role of the servant.
THE SUFFERING SERVANT
This is the theme of this famous fifty third chapter. After
proclaiming the pending judgment that would be unleashed upon Israel,
God promises rescue. He will have compassion on His people. Indeed the
theme of a highway for the return of exiles is a major theme in both
parts of the book. This promise will usher in the new Messianic age.
A king from the line David will reign and all nations will come to the
holy mountain of Jerusalem, which will be called the "City of the Lord".
But following all these promises is an anticlimax. This Messianic
King to come would suddenly appear on the scene as a suffering servant!
The expected glorious king would have no beauty or majesty to attract
us to him. There would be nothing in his appearance that we should desire
him. There would be no honour or esteem waiting for him. Instead of
being crowned, he would be despised.
In the end, he would be crushed!
Crushed, both physically and in spirit.
Physically, he would be pierced and bruised, tortured and scourged,
smitten and stricken. He would be cut off from the land of the living
with no descendants.
Crushed in spirit too. He would be disgraced an rejected, humbled
and humiliated, wounded and tormented. He would become "a man of
sorrows".
In a literal sense, he would be made a sacrifice for sin.
The suffering servant would be crushed!
THE CONTRITE HEART
"I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite
and humble in spirit," says the Lord (Isaiah 57:15)
The word "contrite" literally means being "broken" or "crushed".
The Lord who created the whole universe promises to live with those
who are broken and crushed! These are people who are conscious of the
enormous weight of the sins they have committed and the vast extent
they have failed our holy and lofty God.
They are crushed because they realize that sin has forcefully
separated them from their loving Father. They are crushed because they
appreciate the tremendous sacrifice Christ has offered on their behalf.
Grace is free but not cheap. That is why the Messianic King had to become
the suffering servant. This is God's wisdom revealed.
Because the Messiah was crushed on our behalf, our bodies and spirits
do not need to be crushed.
However, our hearts should learn to be "crushed" and contrite, so
that we dare not sin again. So that we will be humble before our Saviour.
So that we will serve the Lord with gratitude. So that the high and
lofty God will live with us as He has promised.
According to the record in chapter 6, that was how the prophet Isaiah
began his ministry - as a crushed penitent.
Such is the crushing lesson for Good Friday.
