Names of Jesus: Part Six

Jesus—The Suffering Servant/Savior/Risen Lord

Isaiah 53:4-12 (NASB) — However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off from the land of the living for the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due? And His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth. But the LORD desired to crush Him, causing Him grief; if He renders Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, for He will bear their wrongdoings. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the plunder with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was counted with wrongdoers; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the wrongdoers.

John 20:1-18 (NASB) — Now on the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came early to the tomb, while it was still dark, and saw the stone already removed from the tomb. So she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and said to them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we do not know where they have put Him.” So Peter and the other disciple left, and they were going to the tomb. The two were running together; and the other disciple ran ahead, faster than Peter, and came to the tomb first; and he stooped to look in, and saw the linen wrappings lying there; however he did not go in. So Simon Peter also came, following him, and he entered the tomb; and he looked at the linen wrappings lying there, and the face-cloth which had been on His head, not lying with the linen wrappings but folded up in a place by itself. So the other disciple who had first come to the tomb also entered then, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture, that He must rise from the dead. So the disciples went away again to their own homes. But Mary was standing outside the tomb, weeping; so as she wept, she stooped to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white sitting, one at the head and one at the feet, where the body of Jesus had been lying. And they said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping?” She said to them, “Because they have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they put Him.” When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and yet she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, “Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you seeking?” Thinking that He was the gardener, she said to Him, “Sir, if you have carried Him away, tell me where you put Him, and I will take Him away.” Jesus said to her, “Mary!” She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, “Rabboni!” (which means, Teacher). Jesus said to her, “Stop clinging to Me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father; but go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and My God and your God.’” Mary Magdalene came and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and that He had said these things to her.

Devotional — From the beginning, God had a plan to restore mankind back to a right relationship with him. This plan was that God the Son, Jesus, would leave Heaven and dwell among us. He would reveal the Father and the Kingdom of Heaven through Himself, lead a sinless life, and be the perfect, spotless lamb presented as the sacrifice for all humanity. Jesus went to the cross, laid down His life according to the Father’s will, was buried for three days, and rose victorious over sin, death, and hell. In Isaiah 53:4-12, Scripture foretells the death of Jesus for our sins and His glorious resurrection. This act is what makes possible our restoration to God the Father.

In John 20:1-18, we have the account of Jesus’ resurrection. We see Mary Magdalene come to complete the burial process only to find it empty. We see Peter and John run to the tomb to find the burial clothes folded and laid aside. We see the angels ask them why they seek the living among the dead, and we see Jesus speak to Mary, who actually recognizes Him in that moment. These are eyewitness accounts of that very morning. Scripture goes on to record the account of Jesus talking to followers on the Emmaus road later that morning, then subsequently presenting Himself to His disciples. Finally, the same witnesses watch as Jesus ascends to Heaven. Jesus bore our sins and paid the ransom for all eternity past, present, and future. He tore the curtain that separated us from God, granting us access to the Father through Him. We have a hope, an expectation, to belong to the family of God through Jesus Christ. Hallelujah and Amen!