Day 2 — The Truth That Sets Us Free
Opening prayer
Heavenly Father, as I read your Word today, give me a mind ready to listen and a heart ready to be changed. Teach me what is true, show me more of Jesus, and help me to respond with trust, repentance and joy. Amen.
Headline
One of the great treasures of Christianity is that God tells me the truth about myself, my sin, and the salvation he gives through Jesus.
Isaiah 52:13-53:6
13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
53 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Comment
Yesterday, I described a Christian as someone who has found treasure. This week we will look at the treasures we find in Christ, because we will not share him with others unless we are freshly convinced that he is worth sharing.
To do that I’m going to tell the story of how I came to Christ and what I found on the way. As I do so, I encourage you to think about your ‘spiritual treasure hunt’ and reflect on what you have discovered or are finding.
I grew up in a peaceful, stable and loving family in rural England. I went to Christian schools and regularly went to church. But church-going isn’t the treasure. Frankly, for 18 years I found church deadly boring. I was also, according to normal standards, fairly well behaved. But ethical behaviour isn’t the treasure either.
When I went to university, I was a happy teenager, content with my family and friendships, and satisfied with my academic and sporting achievements, such as they were. I was not at the bottom of the pile looking for a leg up, or emotionally desperate for something to hold on to.
But I did sense that something was missing. I had started studying philosophy and quickly realised that my worldview was an inconsistent, incoherent hotch-potch of liberal humanism. It was easily pulled apart by my tutors, but more importantly, it was a shaky foundation for life.
At 19, I knew I needed answers to the big questions: purpose, meaning, identity and death. I also remembered enough from school to know that Christianity claimed to have answers. So I started my search at the College Christian Union.
For the next few months, I was welcomed as a seeking agnostic into a small group of Christians and taken under the wing of one of the leaders, Jim. He read Mark’s Gospel with me, answered my questions, and It was then that I found my first treasure of truth.
Jim took me through the basic facts of Christianity. He told me that I was living without reference to my Creator. This was sin. I needed to turn back to God, so that he could rightly take his place as the ruler of my life. I needed forgiveness, and this is where Jesus came in.
Today’s reading from Isaiah 53 struck me deeply:
“He was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.” (v.5)
That is the heart of the treasure of truth. God does not pretend that sin does not matter. He does not simply overlook it. But in love, he sends his Servant to bear it. Judgement does not disappear; it falls on Jesus, so that peace might come to us.
Please do not think I accepted this immediately. It took months of debate, questioning and examining the evidence, especially about the cross and the resurrection. My coming to believe these truths was not blind faith, but reasoned trust. Becoming a Christian did not require me to leave my brain at the door.
In the summer of 1987, I acknowledged the truth of the gospel and prayed a prayer of commitment: repentance, belief, and acceptance of Jesus as Lord and Saviour. My principal emotion was relief. The burden of a guilty verdict at the final judgement had been lifted.
Christianity is not merely a feeling, a family tradition, or a set of values. At its heart are basic but fundamental truths: who Jesus is, what he did, and why I need him.
Why does God want you to hear this today? Perhaps because you need to remember that truth is not the enemy of joy. God tells you the truth about your sin in order to show you the deeper truth of his grace: that Jesus was pierced, crushed and punished, so that you might be forgiven, healed and at peace with God.
Reflect
- Do you think of Christianity mainly as a feeling, a tradition, a lifestyle, or as truth?
- What does Isaiah 52:13–53:6 teach me about the Servant, about human sin, and about what God has done to bring peace and healing?
- How confident am I that Christian faith is not blind faith, but reasoned trust in what God has done in Jesus?
Action
Take a few minutes today to complete this sentence in your own words:
“The truth I most need to remember about Jesus is…”
Closing prayer
Lord God, I praise you for the truth of the gospel: that you have shown me who I am, what I need, and what you have done for me in Jesus. Thank you that he was pierced for my transgressions and crushed for my iniquities. Deepen my trust in him today, and make me more grateful for the forgiveness and peace he has won for me. Amen.
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