Crime of Passion

Check this out from Isaiah 59:15-19 KJV

⁵Yea, truth faileth; and he that departeth from evil maketh himself a prey: and the LORD saw it, and it displeased him that there was no judgment.   ¹⁶And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him.  ¹⁷For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak.    ¹⁸According to their deeds, accordingly he will repay, fury to his adversaries, recompence to his enemies; to the islands he will repay recompence. ¹⁹So shall they fear the name of the LORD from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun. When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the LORD shall lift up a standard against him.

I absolutely love this portion of scripture. It is a picture of Jesus getting ready to come down to earth and to save mankind. He is preparing himself mentally. He is fueled by His love for man and the anger of the injustices Satan has metered out to the human race.

God looked out and saw that there was no man able to save us. Because there had to be a savior among men, God had to become a man. Jesus had to strip himself of his Godliness and take up the call.

So let’s talk about some key words in these scriptures.

In verse 17, Jesus puts on garments of vengeance.

Vengeance means revenge. In Strong’s, it says “to act with the desire of vengeance”.

“…clad with zeal as a cloak.”

• Clad means to wrap, to envelope oneself.
• Zeal means jealousy (as of lovers), envy, anger, indignation, ardent love
• Cloak is a robe, the upper garment, often worn by high priests. Strong’s indicates that this word could mean “of acting covertly.” Jesus was God covertly disguised as man.

Jesus dressed himself with a wardrobe of revenge. He covered himself in zeal. He enveloped himself with anger. He was totally covered with rage against the enemy and the condemning acts against mankind.

You know, Satan was once a resident in Heaven, and being an angel, he probably had never seen God’s jealous side.  Wow, was he in for a surprise when he woke up a jealous God!

The prophet Isaiah goes on to say that God will repay the enemy "according to their deeds, fury to his adversaries, recompense to his enemies.” He's not talking about man's sin against God. He's talking about Satan's judgment and hold over the human race. "According to your deeds, Devil, accordingly I will repay you."

The word fury means anger; poison (as that which burns the bowels).

To say that Jesus was angry at what Satan had done to man by deceiving him into a lifetime of sin and slavery is a gross understatement. Jesus was so mad and had such fury that his blood was boiling.

 

I think we can safely say that Jesus’ crucifixion was a criminal act, because he was an innocent man being executed for something he didn't do, but I believe what happened at Calvary was a crime of passion.

By crime of passion, I'm not saying that Jesus committed a crime. I'm saying that God allowed the crime of him being crucified to take place because of his passionate desire to win back the hearts and souls of man. There was no other way.

But in doing that, he was also going to exact punishment on the demonic forces that held us in bondage.  Recompense according to their recompense. He recompensed the Devil according to his recompense on us.

People think Jesus is a meek, mild-mannered, quiet lamb. And he is that when it comes to his children. But, he is also the Lion of the Tribe of Judah. He is a BEAST when it comes to exacting punishment on your enemy, the devil, and what he has done to keep you from God's blessing and God's best.

If you don't think that this Jesus, the one you serve, is big enough, strong enough, powerful enough, or even angry enough to take up your cause, then please "selah" this portion of scripture in Isaiah again.

What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can successfully be against us? (Romans 8:31) 

Blessings, 

FLF

Here is how Isaiah 59 reads in The Message Bible:

⁹God looked and saw evil looming on the horizon—

   so much evil and no sign of Justice. He couldn't believe what he saw:

   not a soul around to correct this awful situation. So he did it himself, took on the work of Salvation,

   fueled by his own Righteousness. He dressed in Righteousness, put it on like a suit of armor,

   with Salvation on his head like a helmet, Put on Judgment like an overcoat,

   and threw a cloak of Passion across his shoulders. He'll make everyone pay for what they've done:

   fury for his foes, just deserts for his enemies.

Silence of the Lamb

Today is Good Friday...the day we remember Jesus' crucifixion. This had me thinking a lot about the suffering Jesus went through. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.

I was talking to my daughter about the physical trauma he went through the night before and the day of his crucifixion. First things first, he was operating on zero sleep. Sadly, his disciples were pretty well-rested after napping in the Garden of Gethsemane, but not so the Master.

Then there was the crown of thorns that they drove into his head. To me, that was his payment to set me free from any mental torment, anxiety or attack in my soul. But he didn't respond to the pain..He remained silent.

Then there were the beatings. In Luke 22, it says the soldiers blindfolded him, struck him on the face and then mockingly asked him to prophetically tell them who was beating him. But he didn't respond to the beatings..He again remained silent.

And then there was the scourging. The Romans soldiers beat Jesus with a cat 'o nine tails, a whip with strips of leather embedded with nails, glass and bone. This instrument of torture literally ripped Jesus' back open. The Bible says he was beaten so badly, he was unrecognizable. This is the payment for my sicknesses. By His stripes, we are healed.

They mocked him; they stripped him of his clothes, they robbed him of his dignity. But he didn't respond to the torture... Still, he remained silent.

All that and Jesus hadn't even made it to Calvary yet.

There were the nails that were driven into his hands and his feet. Crucifixion in that day was preserved for the most wicked of criminals, yet here was the most innocent, guiltless, sinless man that ever walked the face of the earth being accused and treated like a heinous criminal. But he didn't respond to the shame...He still remained silent.

The pain yearned for him to cry out, to say something, to scream, to acknowledge its existence. The accusations cried out for him to justify himself and come to his own defense...Yet, the Lamb of God came to the slaughter...in silence.  

The mockings continued. They jeered him, taunted him, saying, "If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. Save yourself." But he answered not a word. He still remained silent.

His disciples ran from him, the Jews lied about him and rejected him, and it took a thief hanging beside him to recognize his innocence and kingship. It took a Roman soldier to realize that "surely, this must be the Son of God."

Beaten beyond recognition, full of agonizing pain, his spirit separated from his heavenly Father and in a seemingly weakened state, his strong spirit prevailed and with one of his last breaths, filled with supernatural love and forgiveness, the Lamb spoke, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."

You see, Jesus didn't acknowledge the beatings, the shame, the pain, the torment.

But we must.

We must acknowledge the sacrifice Jesus made. We must acknowledge that he is the Lamb of God who takes away our sin, our shame and our pain, because it was our sin, our shame and our pain that nailed him to the cross. And it was his love and his forgiveness that kept him on the cross.

You know, we could never repay Jesus back for Calvary, but he does not ask us to do so, either. 

What he longs for is for us to accept his willing sacrifice and for us to acknowledge him and say, "Jesus, that should have been me on that cross. I am the sinner. But I thank you for paying the price for my sin. Thank you for being my Savior, my Redeemer, my Healer. Thank you for rescuing me from Hell's grip. You are the Lamb of God who takes away my sin."

Everyone needs to know that Jesus died for all. 

Don't keep silent about the Lamb.

Blessings, 
FLF

From Isaiah 53:4-7

"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

   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.

   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.

   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."