Woe is Me…to Send Me

CONSIDER THIS

We don’t need a theology degree to find Jesus in the Old Testament. Centuries before the manger, the prophet Isaiah paints a stunning picture of the Messiah.

Take Isaiah 6. Isaiah’s world was turned completely upside down “in the year King Uzziah died.” Right in the middle of all that chaos, Isaiah sees the Lord — sitting on a throne in His glorious, radiant holiness. Even the angels cover their faces as they call out, “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD Almighty.” Isaiah panics. He recognizes he is doomed as a sinful, guilty, shame-filled man and instantly cries out, “Woe is me!”

Instead of letting Isaiah wallow in his guilt, an angel takes a burning coal from the altar, touches his mouth, and says, “Your guilt is taken away and your sin is forgiven.” Isaiah’s insecurity vanishes. When God asks, “Whom shall I send?,” now Isaiah immediately responds, “Here am I! Send me.”

This all points to Jesus. He is the One who was sent to save us. He is the One who left His throne in heaven to hang on a cross, transforming our deepest guilt and shame into His forgiveness and freedom — just as if a burning coal was placed upon our lips. O the difference it makes when we see Jesus — just as Isaiah saw Him.