By Jasmine Lloyd

Let’s read various Scriptures seen weaved in the song, “How Deep the Father’s Love.” This song paints a picture of the highest form of love: agape love. Our Scripture readings will come from the following passages:

• Isaiah 53:3-9
• Matthew 27:46
• Psalm 22:1
• Isaiah 49:15-16

“He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”
– Isaiah 53:3-9

So this is pretty incredible as Isaiah is prophesying our salvation through the sacrifice of the Son of God by using a relatable imagery of that time period, “…like a lamb that is lead to slaughter” as it was custom for lambs to be used as sacrifice of people’s sins. I believe it was Dan Burrell’s sermon where he explained that the families would look after a lamb for a few days and take care of it before the family sacrifice it. There would have been an emotional attachment making it hard for families to watch the sacrificing of a gentle, sweet lamb – a lamb who didn’t do anything wrong, but the sacrifice of this blood was needed then (temporarily) to cleanse the families of their sin. The top of this verse is painting this tragic imagery of Jesus, the Son of God, being hated, despised, claiming our sin, our shame-being, and tortured *pierced* for our transgressions …He would give his only son... We needed this grace, didn’t we? Living with the presence of the Holy Spirit today, I wonder if sometimes we take for granted or overlook the depth of this gift Jesus gave to us as believers …How deep the father’s love for us… Where He FREELY gave to us this at our profession this forever, unbroken relationship with God, our heavenly Father …to make this wretch His treasure…

“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'” – Matthew 27:46

Jesus is not questioning God, but quoting Psalm 22. You see this deep expression of the anguish Jesus felt when taking on the sins of the world while at the same time being separated for the first time from his Father. …It was my sin that held Him there, until it was accomplished. His dying breath has brought me life…

“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?” – Psalm 22:1

“Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me.” – Isaiah 49:15-16

…How deep the Father’s love for us, how vast beyond all measure… Why should I gain from His reward?! I don’t know…but I know that our sovereign God was mindful enough to think of us and willingly pay our ransom through the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus. Talk about love in action. We know that the end is already won. Praise be to God! Hope is available to all who choose and accept it. I pray that we do not take for granted and absolutely not forget that God spared His only son, Jesus. God willingly had to crush Christ for us, willingly destroy Him, and willingly cut Him off the living vine. He broke the natural communion between them in order to make a way for us to have communion with the Father and an opportunity to have our own relationship with the Father. Regardless of our life’s situation, if we truly believe in this gift, we can live a life of joy, boasting in our Savior, Jesus Christ, and ALL that He has done for us! I love you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and am thankful to serve alongside you.