My parents bakery was a dream of my dad’s. He went to culinary school, worked as an executive pastry chef for a while, but he wanted his own place. Big dreams like this don’t come true without sacrifices. My parents sacrificed money, time, and sleep to make this dream a reality.

The building they purchased was an old gym. I thought it was quite ironic that a place where people once exercised was now a place they could buy all of the sweets. We worked together as a family during the summer tearing down walls, removing the old tiled flooring, going to pick up equipment, and acquiring all of the things necessary for a bakery. I remember being amazed at how the donut fryer worked and getting to eat the first fresh, hot donut with sprinkles after summer band practice.

My parents were the sole bakers. The bakery was opened Monday through Saturday. They would leave our house at 2 am to start work and didn’t come back home until 5:30-6 each evening. They were all in with both feet for this dream, but no matter how tired they were they always attended Sunday worship services and Wednesday Bible study. While my parents made many sacrifices for their sweets they never forgot the sweet sacrifice our Lord made for all of us.

God, from the beginning of time, knew He was going to send Jesus to this earth to be a sacrifice for us. Jesus knew of his destiny from the beginning of time (Galatians 4:4). He knew he was coming to save us when the time was right. In Isaiah 53, we have this prophecy of the suffering that Jesus was going to endure on our behalf.

God told Isaiah what to write.

Let’s stop and think about this for a moment.

Isaiah is an Old Testament prophet. Jesus didn’t walk this earth until we reach the New Testament.

Where was Jesus when the Old Testament was being written?

Where was Jesus when God told Isaiah what to write?

In John 16:28 we read that Jesus “came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Jesus was with God. He was right there in Heaven and in my mind He was sitting right next to God when God was telling Isaiah what to write. I’m certain Jesus knew exactly who Isaiah was writing about in chapter 53. It wasn’t like God was trying to keep it a secret from Jesus.

In Isaiah 53:2, Jesus knew what his appearance was going to be. He was to have “no form or comeliness”, he wasn’t going to look like a stately king, he wasn’t going to look any different from anyone else. He wasn’t going to have this beautiful look about him that would draw people to him.

In Isaiah 53:3, Jesus knew he was going to be “despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief” and yet he gave up sitting on the right hand of His Father and our God for 33 years to become a sweet sacrifice for us. Jesus left the glory of Heaven, the place we are all trying our best to get to, for us knowing the fact He would be despised and rejected. If we look at Isaiah 53: 4-5, it was our griefs and our sorrow he bore and continues to bear. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. All of the suffering he endured was because of and for you and me.

Let’s look at Romans 5:6-8 – “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

When the time was just right, God sent Jesus to this world to fulfill this prophecy in Isaiah 53, and of course many others throughout scripture.

Jesus was sent to be our sweet sacrifice all because of the sweet love God has for all of us and we can read so much more about it throughout God’s sweet scripture.

By: Kristina Odom