Tag: sins
Jesus Took Our Punishment
Scripture reading for October 7: Isaiah 53:3-6 “He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; as One from Whom men hid 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.”
1 Peter 2:24 “He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, that we might dies to sin and live to righteousness. By His wounds you have been healed.”
Isaiah, speaking under the anointing of God, told of a coming Servant of God who would be despised and rejected by men. This Servant would be a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. People would jump to the conclusion that He was stricken and smitten by God Himself when in reality God had sent Him to suffer on behalf of lost sinners. Isaiah depicted His suffering as coming from piercings, crushings, chastisement, and wounds in His body. Isaiah told of all people being like lost sheep, each going his own way, but God sent the Servant to bear all their sins and sickness in His own body.
As we look at what Isaiah said about seven hundred years before Jesus Christ, we can see amazing fulfilment of God’s Word. Jesus came to seek and save lost mankind. He came to show God’s heart of love and mercy by taking the punishment due to rebellious men in His own body. This punishment would bring physical wounds, crushing body and soul. It would bring a severe beating, opening wounds and removing skin and flesh. It would bring piercings of nails in crucifixion and the spear in His side and heart. In fact, men would assume that He was receiving punishment from God for His own sins when in reality, it was for the sins of all mankind. Peter understood Isaiah the Prophet and applied this passage to the crucifixion of his Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.
Prayer: Father God, thank You for Your heart of love in sending Your own Son to suffer on our behalf. By His wounds I am healed. Amen.