Day 19: Pierced Side

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Reading

But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

“And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

Zachariah 12:10

And again another Scripture says, “They will look on him whom they have pierced.”

John 19:37

Devotional

When Jesus was a child we sought his death and caused Him to flee into exile in Egypt. Years later His family was able to bring Him to the slums of Nazareth. He lived a life of obscurity, even in His ministry He was despised by everyone of any status. Despised to the point of betrayal and murder. Hauled before sham courts and meaningless proceedings, He was shamed by all and even His friends abandoned Him. On the cross, He suffered and bled, and eventually, His heart broke and He died.

Blood and water poured from His side – the final sign that Jesus loved us to the point of death.

He was pierced for our transgressions and we esteemed Him not. There was never a point in His life where we thought well of Him. It was only after His resurrection that we learned to love Him. It was only after He left Earth that we began to celebrate His birth. So while today we find great joy in the Christmas season, the truth is that without His pierced side, and the torment of His death, Christmas would not exist. Without the bitterness of the cross, the sweetness of His birth is meaningless.

Take a Moment

Let’s spend this next week leading up to Christmas giving Jesus all the glory He is due. In life, we despised Him. In death, we abandoned Him. In His resurrection, let us not commit to the same folly. Let us praise Him! Let us love Him! Let us pursue Him with rigorous devotion!

Take a moment and think on just how much Jesus was rejected and despised for you (Isaiah 53:3). Thank Him for His sacrifice. Recall to mind the cry in Revelation:

“Worthy is the Lamb who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might
and honor and glory and blessing!”

Revelation 5:12

Do you believe that? Do you act like it? How can you show Jesus that you believe He is worthy?

Check back each day for a new advent devotion on the Messianic Prophecies. A summary of all the advent devotions can be found here.