Tuesday, March 1, 2005
Isaiah 53:4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows; Yet we esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted.
OUR SUBSTITUTE
What is a substitute? It is someone who takes the place of another. When you are sick and not able to make it to work or while you are on vacation, they have to find a substitute -- someone to fill that gap while you are gone. Sometimes we get the idea that a substitute is inferior in quality to what is being replaced, and at times this is true. But that is not always the case. For example, in the construction field, there are substitutes as well. A General Contractor will hire substitutes to come on to their project and complete a certain part of that project. These substitutes will specialize in a given field, like plumbing, heating/cooling, electrical, or landscaping. Because these substitutes specialize in a certain field, they can usually get a job done faster, better, and less expensively than the General Contractor can himself.
Isaiah reminds us that Jesus was our substitute. Notice how the pronouns 'He' and 'us' are put in continual contrast. A picture is being drawn about the relationship between these two: The Suffering Servant of the LORD on the one hand and us sinful human beings on the other. He has borne our griefs; He has carried our sorrows. Notice that Isaiah doesn't begin with our sin itself. The first thing that is pointed to in these verses is the effect of our sin -- the grief that we bear on a daily basis because of the load that our sin puts upon us. That pain and sorrow is part of our lives because of our sin. But as our Substitute, Jesus has taken our burden upon Himself and carried it to the final destination of the cross. He picked up our load, and made the full payment for all our sins there at the cross.
As we hear and read the passion history again this Lenten season, think of these verses and remember that Jesus was our substitute and He made that sacrifice for us, for you and for me. He died so that we might live -- eternally, with Himself in heaven. 