"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
We have turned everyone to his own way, because we regarded our way as better than the Lord's way. The fact shows that we have regarded our own judgment as better than the Lord's judgment. Thus we find it to be a fact that every man naturally thinks himself above and better than the Lord. So, "that man of sin, ... the son of perdition, Who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped, " (2 Thessalonians 2:3-4) is simply the full development of human nature. Our turning to our own way is therefore a direct insult to the Lord. "He is despised and rejected of men." (Isaiah 53:3)
By what men is He despised? By all men--by us; for: "we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not." (Isaiah 53:3)
We ourselves have done this. The insults that were heaped on Christ in Herod's judgment hall; the crown of thorns; the spitting and the blows in the face; and the cross itself, are all chargeable to us. "The Lord has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
When we remember this, we may begin to appreciate the wonderful goodness and forbearance and love of the Lord in giving himself for us. Forgetting all the insults that we have heaped upon Him, His hand is stretched out still, and His gentle voice pleads, "Come unto me, all you that labor, and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest." (Matthew 11:28)
But how shall we come to Him? We all like sheep have gone astray; we have wandered far away from the fold; how shall we know how and where to find Him? Well, in the first place, we must settle it that we cannot come, except as lost sheep. Christ came to save the lost, and He accepts us in our lost condition.
Just as I am, without one plea,
But that Thy blood was shed for me,
And that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee,--
O, Lamb of God, I come, I come.
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe;
O Lamb of God, I come, I come.
--Charlotte Elliott, Hymn: Just as I Am (1835)
Yet still the despairing cry is uttered, "Oh that I knew where I might find Him!"
Our minds may at once be set at rest concerning that. "He is not far from everyone of us." (Acts 17:27)
He does not stand in His comfortable home, and call us, but He seeks us until He finds us. "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." (Revelation 3:20)
We have not to hunt for Him; He comes to us, and we have only to accept the salvation that He brings us. For let it never be forgotten that in Him is all fullness. He is not only the Shepherd seeking the lost sheep, but He is the door into the fold, and the fold itself. So, no matter how far away we have wandered, the very moment we yield to the call which He utters close beside us, we are at home. The Shepherd and the fold come to find the sheep; and from lost wanderers, we find ourselves at once in our Father's house. What a blessed encouragement that Jesus has brought heaven itself down to earth for us. God, who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, has quickened us together with Christ (by grace you are saved;) And has raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." (Ephesians 2:4-6)--Present Truth, April 2, 1896--Original title: Front Page--Isaiah 53:6
E.J. Waggoner