All Blacks and Springboks Kneel in Prayer as injured Ardie Savea recounts encounter with God. They prayed to our Heavenly Father who sent His only son Jesus to Earth to provide the means of our restoration back into a right relationship with Him.
Isaiah prophesied Jesus first coming as a suffering servant but the religious leaders of the day only wanted the Messiah who would come as a conquering king to defeat their enemies. As there are 2000 prophecies of Jesus second coming as a conquering king and His coming Millennial reign it is no wonder their focus was on those prophecies. Let us look at Isaiah’s prophecy of Jesus first coming to Earth as the suffering servant.
“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. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:4-12
Is it any wonder that Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6
All Blacks and Springboks players united in prayer after their Baltimore clash, while Christian captain Siya Kolisi and Ardie Savea continue to testify openly about Jesus. Four Tests, one series, everything on the line. When the final whistle went in Baltimore, the All Blacks and Springboks came together in a huddle, arm in arm, a mark of respect after one of the great rivalries in world rugby delivered another classic. New Zealand’s All Blacks and the South African Springboks have marked the close of their new Rugby test series with prayer. Side by side, both teams stood and knelt together with heads bowed after SA beat NZ 43-28 in the United States city of Baltimore.
While mainstream coverage was spread thin, South Africa’s public broadcaster acknowledged the prayer, as did Christian sports outreach platform Jesus My Goal (JMC).
