Isaiah 53
1. Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord
revealed?
2. For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root
out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him,
there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3. He is despised and rejected
of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our
faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4. Surely he hath
borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted.
5. But he was wounded for our transgressions,
he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him;
and with his stripes we are healed.
6. All we like sheep have gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all.
7. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his
mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her
shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8. He was taken from prison
and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out
of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he
stricken.
9. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his
death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth.
10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief:
when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he
shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his
hand.
After a few moments of silent prayer, the young man looked at the principal
and said, "Sir, with your consent I accept the challenge. Just give me a trial
basis."
The next morning the young man stood before the class. He said to the class,
"Young people, I came here today to conduct school. But I realize I can't do it
by myself. I must have your help." One big boy, they called Big Tom, in the back
of the room whispered to his buddies, "I won't need any help. I can lick that
little bird all by myself."
The young teacher told the class that if they were to have school, there
would have to be some rules to go by. But he also added that he would allow the
students to make up the rules and that he would list them on the blackboard.
This was certainly different, the students thought! One young man suggested "NO
STEALING." Another one shouted "BE ON TIME FOR CLASS." Pretty soon they had 10
rules listed on the board. The teacher then asked the class what the punishment
should be for breaking these rules. "Rules are no good unless they are
enforced," he said. Someone in the class suggested that if the rules were
broken, they should receive 10 licks with a rod across their back with their
coat off. The teacher thought that this was pretty harsh, so he asked the class
if they would stand by this punishment. The class agreed.
Everything went along pretty good for two or three days. Then Big Tom came in
one day very upset. He declared that someone had stolen his lunch. After talking
with the students, they came to the conclusion that little Timmy had stolen Big
Tom's lunch. Someone had seen little Timmy with Big Tom's lunch! The teacher
called little Timmy up to the front of the room. Little Timmy admitted he had
taken Big Tom's lunch. So the teacher asked him, "Do you know the punishment?
Little Timmy nodded that he did.
"You must remove your coat," the teacher instructed. The little fellow had
come with a great big coat on. Little Timmy said to the teacher, "I am guilty
and I am willing to take my punishment, but please don't make me take off my
coat." The teacher reminded little Timmy of the rules and punishments and again
told him he must remove his coat and take his punishment like a man.
The little fellow started to unbutton that old coat. As he did so, the
teacher saw he did not have a shirt on under the coat. And even worse, he saw a
frail and bony frame hidden beneath that coat. The teacher asked little Timmy
why he had come to school without a shirt on. Little Timmy replied, "My daddy's
dead and my mother is very poor. I don't have but one shirt, and my mother is
washing it today. I wore my big brother's coat so that I could keep warm." That
young teacher stood and looked at the frail back with the spine protruding
against the skin, and his ribs sticking out. He wondered how he could lay a rod
on that little back and without even a shirt on. Still, he knew he must enforce
the punishment or the children would not obey the rules. So he drew back to
strike little Timmy.
Just then Big Tom stood up and came down the aisle. He asked, "Is there
anything that says that I can't take little Timmy's whipping for him?" The
teacher thought about it and agreed.
With that Big Tom ripped his coat off and stooped and stood over little Timmy
at the desk. Hesitatingly the teacher began to lay the rod on that big back. But
for some strange reason after only five licks that old rod just broke in half.
The young teacher buried his face in his hands and began to sob.. He heard a
commotion and looked up to find not even one dry eye in the room. Little Timmy
had turned and grabbed Big Tom around the neck apologizing to him for stealing
his lunch. Little Timmy begged Big Tom to forgive him. He told Big Tom that he
would love him till the day he died for taking his whipping for him.
Aren't you glad that Jesus took our whipping for us. That
He shed His precious blood on Calvary so that you and I can have eternal life in
Glory with Him? We are unworthy of the price He paid for us, but aren't you glad
He loves us that much?
This is a story everyone needs to know. So if you know anyone else who may be
blessed by this story, please pass it on. God bless you and keep you safe. Most
people's troubles come from too much time on their hands and not enough on their
knees.
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