Listen up, little ones
Listen for the words he and our.
Reading
Isaiah 53:1-6—Punished for Us
Keys for kids
- Isaiah writes of a suffering servant.
- This servant is Jesus.
- Jesus was punished for all who believe in him.
Questions
- How do we know Isaiah is writing about Jesus?
- How do we know Isaiah is writing about us?
- Why was Jesus punished for the sins of others?
Notes
As we are looking for Christ in the Old Testament, Isaiah 53 is one of the easiest to find him. Even Jews sometimes mistake Isaiah 53 for New Testament writings. However, what is so familiar to us is not always clear to everyone. The Ethiopian eunuch of Acts 8 needed Philip to explain Isaiah 53 to him, after which he came to faith and repentance.
Here this suffering servant is punished as a substitute for us. Make no mistake, just as we can easily see Jesus in this Old Testament prophecy, we can also easily see us. Ortland states that Isaiah writes as if we were there at the cross, because we were. If it wasn’t our guilt that required the death of Jesus, what did? … Isaiah is … not only describing Jesus; he’s telling our story too. We cannot say, “If I had been there, I wouldn’t have shouted ‘Crucify him!’ ”
As unfair as it might seem on the surface for Jesus to be punished for my sin, for your sin, that is the only way that we can be saved. Because the Lord punished Jesus for my sin, I don’t have to face the eternal punishment that my sin against the only true God deserves. In spite of Jesus willingly making this wonderful, sacrificial, substitute, too often we don’t value him.
O Christian, value him!
Swedish Method questions
Praise
Psalm 22e, 34a
Prayer
- Praise God that Jesus was punished for you.
- Pray for the preparation for preaching God’s word this Sunday.
- Pray for a member of our church, for your family, and for a non-Christian friend/family member.