Dear friends, we are in the tomb waiting for the promise to be revealed. Yet we know the promise already. We know Jesus and He knows us. I told you on Wednesday that I had another nugget to share with you and this one is so tender and intimate as it shows our Savior’s heart for us long before He even came. 

Let’s take a trip back in time to the book of Isaiah. The book of Isaiah is full of prophetic words and pictures of the Messiah, but this one touched my heart deeply. Our English words don’t fully bring the meaning behind it. Take a look specifically at the words I’ve italicized. 

He will tend His flock like a shepherd;
He will gather the lambs in His arms;
He will carry them in his bosom,
and gently lead those that are with young. — Isaiah 40:11 (ESV)

Again, I went to the original Greek translation out of curiosity and the gently nudging of the Holy Spirit and this is what I found.

Tend in the Greek translation is râ’râ and it has a list of meanings that fills a page. Among the obvious meanings in this imagery, it also means to keep company with, make friendship with, be a companion, or special friend. 

I love this so much because Jesus really and truly is our best Friend. He’s your BFF for life and nothing you do will change that.

Carry in the Greek is nâśâ’ and also has a list of meanings, even longer than tend. This list is the one that blew me away because you can find almost every reason why Jesus came and died for us. Take a look:

to lift, in a great variety of applications, literal and figurative: accept, advance, arise, (able to, (armor), suffer to) bear (- er, up), bring (forth), burn, carry (away), cast, contain, desire, ease, exact, exalt (self), extol, fetch, forgive, furnish, further, give, go on, help, high, hold up, honorable (+man), lade, lay, lift (self) up, lofty, marry, magnify, needs, obtain, pardon, raise (up), receive, regard, respect, set (up), spare, stir up, swear, take (away, up), utterly, wear, yield. 

And…

to lift, bear up, carry, take: to lift, lift up to bear, carry, support, sustain, endure.

Through this one image, Isaiah captures the heart, purpose and loving intentions of the Messiah to come roughly 700 years before Jesus was born. It captures every aspect of His heart and love for us, all His intentions. His love is so vast and all encompassing! Did you see the word “marry” is in there too? Wow…

He came to be everything to us, my friends. Even for our pre-believers who aren’t seeking Him yet (hope you caught the nugget from Wednesday about that).

Happy Easter, SUMites! He is risen. He is risen indeed. He has emerged from the tomb to be our Friend, our Light, our Savior. He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The abundant life that is so much more than we could ever hope or imagine.

Thank You, Lord Jesus, for being our precious Shepherd. Thank You, that Your love far exceeds anything we can hope for or imagine. Thank You, Abba Father, for sending Your Son to save us. Thank You, King Jesus, for leaving your throne and becoming One like us and sacrificing Your life to save us. We declare by the power of Your blood that we are Yours and we love You! And thank You, Holy Spirit, for being our constant Companion and Comforter. Fill and empower us for the kingdom of God. We, the SUMite Nation, are the sons and daughters of God! We have overcome by the power and the blood of the Lamb! We stand united in and by His love, a force to be reckoned with. In the name of Jesus, amen!