The Lord God hath opened Mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not My face from shame and spitting” (Isa 50:5-6)
Are we so familiar with the text that we do no grasp its significance? Do we fail to see the willingness of the Servant as expressed in the words, “I gave…?” Do we stop to sonsider the depths of His wounds that were His at the hands of the smiters? Are we repelled by the wickedness of sinners who took Him, crucified, and slew Him by wicked hands (Acts 2:23)? Do we still marvel at the gracious will of God for “He was delivered up by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God” (Acts 2:23)? Do we exult in the wonder of the prophetic Word that was written over 700 years before they were fulfilled in the Suffering Messiah? The willingness of the Saviour, the wounds He suffered, the wickedness of sinners, the will of the Sovereign God, the wonder of the Sacred Word – all these are part of the mystery of Calvary.
