Wednesday, March 2, 2005
Isaiah 53:5-6 But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes 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.
A SACRIFICE FOR US
During the Lenten season it is often easy for us to fall into the trap of looking down upon those who put Jesus on the cross and beat Him and mocked Him. He was crucified by the Jewish religious leaders while the Roman authorities looked the other way. He was deserted and denied by His own disciples. But would we have done any better? No! This was God's plan of salvation all along. That was how it had to be for our freedom to be purchased. Isaiah says that we aren't any different then those others, "All we like sheep have gone astray; We have turned, every one, to his own way;" We are all sinners! We are just as sinful as those who beat Jesus, crucified Him and denied Him. We have all gone our own way -- not the way of the LORD.
It is because of our inability to care for ourselves that the LORD rovided a plan for us. "And the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all." We were provided a substitute -- someone who would carry our burdens and pay for our sins. The LORD did this for us. He did not spare His only begotten Son, but delivered Him up for us all! For us all - there is no exception! Every one of us is sinful, and every one of us has had their burden carried to the cross.
What was the purpose of all this? How did this sacrifice help us sinners? Isaiah tells us that the chastisement for our peace was upon Him. Simply put -- He took our punishment. Because of our sins we were to receive the punishment for those sins. That punishment was death as God told Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. But as our substitute, Jesus died in our place. He died so that we would live. Does that mean that we won't die physically? No! More importantly than that, it means that we won't die eternally! Because of Jesus' death on the cross, we won't spend eternity in hell. Because God punished Jesus in our place we have peace. This peace is the full salvation that the Lord has prepared for His people through His Servant. Sinful mankind is finally at peace with God through the forgiveness of sins which was won for us by Jesus on the cross. 