The Man of Sorrows – Part III – The Realization of What our Attitude Should be at Christmas Because of His Suffering

  The truth we find in Isaiah 53 of Christ’s suffering upon the cross should bring us to the realization of what our attitude should be at Christmas.

Isaiah 53:1-12 – “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

  Should we have joy at this time? Most assuredly!! We should have overwhelming joy because we know that we have a Saviour who loves us so, and has given His life for us so that we might live through Him. There is no other truth that should bring us more joy. This season is a time for glad tidings of great joy! We should publish those glad tidings to the world so that they can know the love of a wonderful Saviour as well.

  What I do not want you to forget, however, is the suffering and sorrow that Christ went through for your sake. I am not wanting you to dwell on His suffering in an attempt to bring your spirits down this Christmas season. That is not my intention at all. The reason that I want you to think upon the man of sorrows, who is Jesus Christ, is so that you can better realize and know the great love He has for you personally. Jesus would have come to this earth and gone to that cross even if you were the only person who would accept Him as Saviour. That is how much He loves you.

  Find joy this season, but make sure you find that joy in Christ. He wants to have a relationship with you, and He wants you to know His love. The only way that you can know the great love of Christ that He has for you is to understand what He went through for your salvation. The fact is He laid down His life, as any good Shepherd should do, because of and for the sin that we committed.

  Let us celebrate this Christmas season with Christ on the forefront of our minds so that we can have the joy that Christ intended us to have. A joy that is not fleeting but permanent. May we not forget the sufferings He went through so that we can know the love He has for us, not only in this season, but all throughout our lives. Let us worship the man of sorrows this Christmas with every fiber of our beings. Jesus Christ is indeed the reason for the season.