Dec. 26, 2021

When they saw the star, they were filled with joy! 11They entered the house and saw the child with his mother, Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasure chests and gave him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh.   Matthew 2:10-11 NLT

All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own … 

Isaiah 53:6 NLT

• Sheep are weak. 
  

• Sheep are witless.

• Sheep are wayward. 

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. 7He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. ...   Isaiah 53:6-7 NLT 

He was despised and rejected—a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. 4Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! 5But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.  Isaiah 53:3-5 NLT

Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. 9He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave. ... 11When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.  Isaiah 53:8-9, 11 NLT

And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” 23Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”                     Luke 9:22-23 NIV