The Way of Weakness

Meditations for Ragamuffins

July 14, 2023

The Way of Weakness

“He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Isaiah 53:7

In my previous meditation, Camp Patience, I discussed the wonder of God’s acceptance of me in the light of my sins. Today’s text reveals the immeasurable depth of God’s acceptance.

At the time of Jesus’ earthly ministry, all the people of Israel knew they desperately needed help to end their oppression under the yoke of Roman occupation. They all knew it was a perfect time for God’s Messiah to come and save them. However, they failed to grasp God’s vision of a saving Messiah. Jesus tried to tell them, but his words were incomprehensible to them.

When Jesus affirmed to his disciples that he was God’s Messiah, they immediately had a vision of a great army waiting for their King to lead them into battle. However, instead of a mighty King dressed in battle armor and riding a big horse, a humble shepherd walks to the head of the army. Not only does this shepherd have no armor and no weapon, but he also expects his army to dismount, remove their armor, drop their weapons, and follow him. While Isaiah’s vision of the Messiah (Isaiah 53:7) was incomprehensible to the disciples, I find it even more incomprehensible that Jesus willingly took upon himself my identity as a wayward sheep:

“All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all. He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth.”

Isaiah 53:6-7

My Takeaway: The Lord, Christ Jesus, came in weakness, as a wayward sheep, to show me that God my Father fully identifies with me, and fully, completely, and forever more accepts me as His beloved child, with whom He is delighted and upon whom His favor rests.

Sē’lah

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(Selah is a word that appears in the Book of Psalms that I often use as the Complimentary Closing in my correspondence. Its meaning, as I use the word, is to pause and think about these things.)

 

These meditations are written by Alex M. Knight as he seeks the life in Christ as his way of life.  The meditations are published on the BLOG, http://seekingthelifeinchrist.blogspot.com/ and they are also distributed on the Constant Contact email server. You may subscribe to this email service by sending an email to: amkrom812@gmail.com.

 

Copyright © 2023 by Alex M. Knight

 

Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.