House of Hope Online

April 16. 2023

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Last week was Easter Sunday, a glorious day when we remember the supernatural victory that Jesus had over the Cross.   It’s like our Super Bowl.  For the athlete, winning the Super Bowl is the reward for hard work, but for us, Resurrection Day is the reward of our faith, not our works.  It is the victory that comes to us because we confessed with our mouth Jesus as Lord, and believed in our heart that God raised Him from the dead.

But now, what do we do with that victory?  Last week I talked about how Easter is more than a vindication of our faith.  We discussed the Resurrection power that flows from the grave and manifests in our life, and we referenced the Apostle Paul’s words from Romans 8.

Romans 8:

 11: “But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.”

So the Resurrection represents a game changer for us in many ways.  We talked last week about the four questions that were asked of those who came to the grave site. These questions challenge us to seek life going forward, not death.  Questions like “Why are you weeping?”  And “What are you seeking in this world?”  We were encouraged that the Spirit of the Lord will remove obstacles in our path, as He did the stone that blocked access to Jesus’ temporary grave.

The Lord began birthing a follow-on word in my spirit last Sunday as my family and I watched the movie “Risen” after dinner.  The movie shows a verse of scripture at the beginning from Isaiah 53 that prophesied Jesus’ death and resurrection, and explained the benefits that should continue in our life as a result.  In addition to eternal salvation, the Resurrection means we can have victory for today over all the pain and difficulty in our life.  As Paul said, the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead will also give us life through His Spirit who indwells us.

Let’s take a closer look at Isaiah 53.

Isaiah 53:

 4 ¶ Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our well-being [fell] upon Him, And by His scourging we are healed.

I am amazed by this prophecy.  Can there be any question that the Bible is the inspired word of God?  Is there any question that Jesus died for us and was raised?  Keep in mind that Isaiah’s ministry spanned from 740 to 680 B.C.  So, it was approximately 700 years before Jesus lived, that the Spirit of the Lord moved upon Isaiah and he spoke these words that pointed squarely at what took place on the Cross, and what we are able to overcome today because that tomb was defeated by the Spirit of God.  All glory to God!

Here are some lessons from the empty tomb that give us victory over our difficulties today.

1.  He Bore Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows:

Verse 4 is very rich and comprehensive.  The Hebrew word for “griefs” also means anxiety, calamity, disease, and sickness.  The Hebrew for “sorrows” also means anguish, affliction, and pain. We tend to associate grief with death of a loved one, but the Hebrew word is much more comprehensive.  It means our anxiety can be given over to the Lord and he will bear it, i.e., He will support the weight of that on us.  In fact, He will carry the weight of our anxiety, calamities, diseases, sicknesses, anguish, affliction, and pain.  When Jesus told Mary at the grave: “Stop clinging to me,” it was a lesson for us to seek the Holy Spirit when we have anxiety, calamity, disease, sickness, anguish, affliction, and pain.  We were not meant to bear these things ourselves.  We were not meant to carry these burdens.  The day I accepted Christ in my heart, I learned to start depending on Him for all things, to stop relying on my own strength.  It was a game changer for me.  It doesn’t mean I sit on my hands and do nothing.  I work as hard as ever, but I am happier and can achieve more because I am not trying to carry the things that only Jesus can handle.

•  He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions:

Verse 5 speaks to the sacred body of Jesus being pierced by the nails that attached Him to the cross, and by the soldiers’ spears that stabbed Him as He suffered and died. The word “transgressions” means rebellion, sin, and trespass.  Rebellion means we think our way is the better way, and so we resist the rule of a loving Father.  We receive the benefit of His piercings when we submit to Him and seek the Holy Spirit for help to overcome our fleshly nature.  The act of submission means we are healed of rebellion, and the Holy Spirit empowers us to overcome sin.

•  He was Crushed for Our Iniquities:

Jesus fell under the weight of that cross and was crushed by it.  He was also crushed in the spirit by the weight of our sins.  Have you ever had that feeling that you have too much on you – too much responsibility, too much to do, too many people depending on you to come through?  If yes, that would just be a scratching of the surface of the weight Jesus that bore for us.

The word “iniquities” means perversity, moral evil, fault, and mischief.  Iniquity is not only sin, but it is that thing in us, our fleshly nature, which is our tendency toward sin.  Not only do we sin, but we have a tendency toward sin.  None of us like to admit this, but we have a selfish nature.  Even the most spiritual among us have a tendency toward evil when we are not soaking in the Spirit.  Again, this is why Jesus told Mary: “Stop clinging to me.”  He wants us to cling to the Holy Spirit in order to fellowship with Him, because only when we are in the Spirit are we capable of overcoming our iniquities.

•  He Was Chastened for Our Well-Being:

Isaiah prophesied that Jesus would be chastised for our well-being.  When there is sin, there must be a correction, reproof, an instructive warning, and discipline.  Dictionary.com defines chastisement as severe criticism, reprimand, and even corporal punishment, and beating.  Jesus faced the chastisement for our sin but verse 5 says “for our well-being.”  He took the beating to His flesh and the embarrassment of reprimand in His emotions so that in the Spirit we would be better people.  Our well-being was His purpose then and still is today.

•  He Was Scourged for Our Healing:

Jesus was brutally whipped and severely bruised.  The King James Version of the Bible calls these bruises “stripes.”  The stripes were black-and-blue marks and bloody wounds.  Isaiah says His scourging was for our healing.  When we are sick, when disease comes upon us, we seek the Spirit that raised Christ from the dead and accept our healing.  There is meaning in the Spirit realm for all Jesus went through.  A lesson from the empty grave is we have healing in our bodies by His stripes.  When you receive communion, accept His Resurrection healing for your body as well.

•  Concluding Lesson from the Empty Tomb:

In addition to the eternal benefit of Jesus’ resurrection, the empty tomb means so much for us today.  There are victories for us today over struggles, if only we submit them all to the Spirit who indwells us, the Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead.  If we are anxious, He bears our anxieties.  He carries them so we don’t have to.  The stripes and bruising He endured represent healing for our natural bodies.  If we are afflicted by any disease or other burden, He is willing to carry us, but we must submit our afflictions to Him.

But perhaps most importantly, He was pierced for our sin, crushed for our tendency to sin, and chastened for our correction.  The next two verses from Isaiah 53 speak to our tendency to go our own way.

Isaiah 53:

6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

 7 He was oppressed and He was 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.

Verse 6 means that the Resurrection holds the power to change our life, from one of self-reliance and self-adoration to one of reliance on Jesus in all things.  Instead of going our own way and going astray, we realize that the Lord took that iniquity upon Himself, so that we would be changed.  It means our tendency is towards submission and not sin.

And verse 7 speaks to His silence as He was mistreated.  Can we receive that word today as we live in a world that is quick to complain about what is unfair?  Can we remain silent when others attempt to oppress us, knowing that we have overcome oppression and affliction by the blood of the lamb?  Let us speak instead of our victory in Jesus and His empty tomb.

Father God, thank You for lessons from the empty tomb.  Thank You for the life-changing miracle of the Resurrection, and the power of Your Spirit who indwells us.  Thank You, Jesus, for bearing our griefs and sorrows.  You endured piercings for our transgressions, and You bore the weight of our iniquity.  Thank You for enduring the pain and embarrassment of our chastisement for our well-being.  By Your stripes we are indeed healed, as we submit to the Holy Spirit. Amen.