Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:12; John 18:19-40 (NRSV)
Read Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9; Isaiah 52:13-15, 53:12; John 18:19-40 on biblegateway.com
Devotion
When I was being treated for skin cancer, the doctor gave me an agent that ate holes in my face wherever there were dysplasic cells. Unfortunately, that was almost everywhere. I looked like a person with third-degree burns all over my face. People on the street would gasp. Strangers in stores would ask what happened. It was truly grotesque. In Isaiah, the servant is described as “so marred was his appearance…so he shall startle many nations” (Isaiah 52:14). Isaiah points out that “he poured out himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors” (Isaiah 53:12). So Jesus’ disfigurement and death are to spare sinners (us). “He learned obedience through what he suffered; and having been made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation…” (Hebrews 5:8-9).
Prayer
O God, forgive us for your suffering and keep us yours, through Christ’s sacrifice. Amen.