My family has loved doing advent devotionals for years, so I decided to write my own. I pray it blesses your family as much as it’s blessed mine.

You can purchase the whole book in print or in an ebook format on Amazon. You can download a printable set of ornaments here or draw or make your own!

Day 17: Prophecy of the Suffering Servant 

Picture / Ornament: Cross of Nails 

Scripture: Isaiah 53:3-7; Hebrews 9:19-22; Romans 5:6-10; 1 Peter 2:19-24 

Song: It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 

Another Song: Man of Sorrows

Have you ever wanted something so badly, but it costs too much for you to buy? Maybe there was an expensive toy or outfit or trip that you really, really wanted, but even if you earned money washing cars and raking leaves and even if you put all your birthday money toward that thing you wanted, you could never save enough money to buy it.  

Well, it’s like that for us with God. God loves us so much, but our sin separates us from a Holy God. Remember Romans 6:23 that we read on Day 5? “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 ESV) The cost of our sin is death. Do you know who paid that price for us?  

God wanted mankind to recognize the Messiah, so He sent prophets to write about Him. Isaiah wrote about the Messiah as the one who paid for our sin. You can read about Him in Isaiah 53.  

Isaiah described the Messiah as being despised and rejected, a man of sorrows and well acquainted with grief. Isaiah told us that the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions and crushed for our sins, that His chastisement would bring us peace, and His wounds would bring us healing.  

Some of these words and phrases are hard for us understand. To put it more simply, Isaiah told us that the Messiah would be punished and pierced, not for his own sins, but for ours. The Messiah would be beaten and whipped, so that we could be healed and made whole. 

And that is just what happened to Jesus. Jesus was punished, pierced, beaten and whipped, nailed upon a cross, for my sins and yours. Jesus gave up His own life on the cross because of His great love for us. Jesus’s blood paid the price for our sin, so that we could be saved. 

As you think about the Christmas presents you’re hoping for, today is the perfect day to thank God for the GREATEST gift He could ever give, Jesus, the Suffering Servant, and to thank God for the high price Jesus paid with His death on the cross. 

Remember … Christmas is all about Jesus!