Friday, March 5
“Christ bore our sins in His own body on the tree. … What must sin be, if no finite being could make atonement? What must its curse be if Deity alone could exhaust it? The cross of Christ testifies to every man that the penalty of sin is death. … Oh, must there be some strong bewitching power which holds the moral senses, steeling them against the impressions of the Spirit of God?” Ellen G. White, Our High Calling, p. 44
“The law of God's government was to be magnified by the death of God's only-begotten Son. Christ bore the guilt of the sins of the world. Our sufficiency is found only in the incarnation and death of the Son of God. He could suffer, because [He was] sustained by divinity. He could endure, because He was without one taint of disloyalty or sin. Christ triumphed in man's behalf in thus bearing the justice of punishment. He secured eternal life to men, while He exalted the law, and made it honorable.” Ellen G. White, Selected Messages, book 1, p. 302
Discussion Questions:
1. Isaiah 53:7-9 descends to the depths of the abyss: the Servant’s death and burial. How many aspects of these verses were fulfilled at the end of Jesus’ life? Matthew 26:57-27:60, Mark 14:53-15:46, Luke 22:54-23:53, John 18:12-19:42.
2. Look at the last quote above by Ellen G. White about Christ’s death magnifying the law. What does she mean by that? How do we understand His death as proof of the perpetuity of the law?
Summary: Having told about the birth, identity, and career of God’s Deliverer, Isaiah finally reveals the supreme tragedy that gives us hope: To reach, save, and heal lost people, including us, God’s Servant voluntarily bears our suffering and punishment.
