He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, and there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain.  Isaiah 53:2-3
 
 

 Not attractive
 Jesus was not a superstar, rich, or popular growing up.  He was not an influencer, nor did he have any entertaining dance or songs. He was plain, no beauty.  Nothing in His appearance attracted people to him.  People would hide their faces from him.  Jesus was avoided, despised, rejected, and familiar with pain.  This description is found in Isaiah 53:1-3.
  
Shunned
This was my devotion this morning.  We have all seen people rejected because they did not fit our style.  We tend to walk the other way.  I was thinking about all the rejection Jesus received growing up.  He did not fit into most families.  Jesus was plain, no beauty.  We all see pictures and paintings of a manly man with chiseled features.  The scriptures state there was nothing in his appearance that attracted people.  It pains my heart to think about the creator being shunned.  Just the rejection Jesus experienced broke my heart.
 
 Innocent yet silent
 He was innocent of all sin, yet He took mine.  He did not speak about the unfairness of it all.  He just bore the punishment and the increasing pain. Pilot asked someone to stand up for Jesus, but no one would.  They were silent except for the lies and demands of his death.   Jesus knew why, even though he asked God to see if there was another path. His emotional pain was beyond anything man had experienced.  God was also…. silent.
 
God crushed his Son
 The Father of Jesus took all our sins from our desires and sinful attractions and laid them upon Jesus. No one stood up for Jesus, protested his treatment, or even noticed or cared. Jesus alone took our punishment and did not complain.
It was God’s will to crush Jesus and cause Him to suffer.  God and Jesus decided this plan before man was born.
Yet the pain, both physical and emotional, was laid upon Jesus.  Why?  For you and I.  For the world.
 
Finished – Righteousness for all!
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth. He was like a sheep led to the slaughter.  No one protested.  Life went on around Him. Everyday life revolved around our suffering savior, unaware of the holy sacrifice that was taking place close by.  Jesus suffered alone, quietly.  Until He said, “IT IS FINISHED.”  Then, the curtain in the temple separating us from God was torn from top to bottom.  From God to man.  From Jesus for me.
 
Thank You Jesus
 Thank you, Jesus.  Oh, the Blood of Jesus, shed for me and you.  Oh, what a savior who died for me! Isaiah 53:12b: “Jesus bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressor.”
 I encourage you to read Isaiah 53 sometime today, letting your heart break into pieces and rejoice for our mighty savior’s sacrifice for you, for me, for all.
 
Let you, LightNSide, be forever grateful for His sacrifice.