A Thrill of Hope Day 9: Rejoice for Eternity

“See, my servant, will act wisely, he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. 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— 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.

Isaiah 52:13-15

What a beautiful and morbid depiction of Christ! The image of a disfigured body being sprinkled across the world does not exactly fill you with delight. But isn’t that exactly how God works? He takes the broken and makes it beautiful. Isaiah’s Old Testament depiction describes exactly that.

As we celebrate Christmas, let’s remember the sadness that came after the rejoicing and then the joy that rose again. We come into Christmas celebrating the birthday of a baby named Jesus. He was prophesied to save the whole world. You can read in the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, & John) about His journey here on earth. We celebrate - just as Mary, Joseph, the disciples, and so many others did - that a KING is here.

Isaiah 52 reminds us of what came next. As we read in Matthew 27:45-56:

“From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.” And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.  At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people. When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee’s sons.”

This shows the proof of Isaiah’s passage that Jesus would die, but then He would rise again & there would be beauty in the ashes. Maybe this Christmas you feel like crying rather than rejoicing. Look at the cycle of our journey through the Bible. Christmas is a time to celebrate Christ’s birth, but then there came a time where all hope was lost. Everyone thought He was dead and mourned. BUT then there was an ultimate victory! The resurrection that elevated Him - just as was foretold in Isaiah. He became exalted for eternity! This Scripture beautifully sums the ups and downs of Jesus time here on earth:

“A little while, and you no longer are going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me.” So some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He is telling us, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me; and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, ‘because I am going to the Father’?” So they were saying, “What is this that He says, ‘A little while’? We do not know what He is talking about.” Jesus knew that they wanted to question Him, and He said to them, “Are you deliberating together about this, that I said, ‘A little while, and you are not going to see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? Truly, truly I say to you that you will weep and mourn, but the world will rejoice; you will grieve, but your grief will be turned into joy! Whenever a woman is in labor she has pain, because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she no longer remembers the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore you too have grief now; but I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one is going to take your joy away from you. - John 16:16-23

This passage reminds me of Jesus time here on earth. But, it’s also a reminder of our current season here on earth. We are in a moment where we are not face-to-face with Jesus. There is sadness and there is mourning. We are constantly in cycles of joy and grief. This Christmas choose to rejoice! As this Scripture promises, we have a King and He makes all things new. We mourn here on earth, but we have eternity to gain. When our lives come to an end or the rapture occurs, we will be forever reunited with the love of our lives and all will be restored. So choose to rejoice today!