Wounded For Us

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed His stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 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.  

Isaiah 53:4-6 

Christ endured horrific suffering for us. Our text speaks of it. The incarnation of Christ was for us, because without it there would be no redemption. The life of Christ was for others, because without His perfect life the law of God would not be satisfied in precept. Christ obeyed the law perfectly. The death of Christ was for others, because the law of God must be satisfied in penalty. No other human could offer this payment. Because Christ is both God and man, having lived perfectly, He was the only person who could offer the substitutionary sacrifice for us. Our text describes what He endured and repeats the fact that He endured all these things for us. Paul puts it another way when he says, ‘For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.’ Thus, the life of Christ matters and the death of Christ matters to us. No other person in all history matters more than Christ. He is the Everest of history, the Continental Divide of humanity. He has borne what no one else could bear, to accomplish what no one else could accomplish. ‘And the LORD has laid on Him, the iniquity of us all.’ 

Our Wise and Sovereign God, 
we rejoice at the perfection of Your plan of redemption. 
We praise You that with joy we can say, 
Jesus paid it all. 

Tomm Tice
Where the Bush is Burning