The Great Exchange, Part 2

I have read this passage so many times:

He was pierced through for our transgressions

He was crushed for our iniquities

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray

Each of us has turned to his own way

But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

Isaiah 53:5-6

I always knew what it meant, but it wasn't until a couple of years ago that I really realized something. I realized that how we often focus on the physical brutality of what Jesus endured. For sure, that is significant. It was ugly, horrible, and no doubt worse than anything we can imagine. However, I realized that God, in His wisdom, knew that we (as humans) can relate to physical pain. And as ugly and appalling as the torture that Jesus endured is to us, that is how ugly, horrible, and beyond imagination our sin is to God our Father.

As a human, the physical torment was horrible to Jesus. But as God the Son, I imagine that the bearing of the sin of all mankind was worse.

He bore the wrath of God that we deserved.

The ugliness of our sin was put upon Him, and He took the punishment.

The Jews who watched Him die mistakenly thought that Jesus was being punished for His own sin (Isaiah 53:4). But He was the substitute. Our substitute. He was the sinless God-man, experiencing both physical and spiritual punishment so that we would not have to; so that instead, we could experience freedom from condemnation.

We recently bought Emily a Bible that is the International Children's Bible translation. Here is Isaiah 53:5-6 from her Bible:

But he was wounded for the wrong things we did.

He was crushed for the evil things we did.

The punishment, which made us well, was given to Him,

And we are healed because of His wounds.

We all have wandered away like sheep.

Each of us has gone his own way.

But the Lord has put on Him the punishment

For all the evil we have done.

Today is Good Friday. No doubt that many of you will be thinking on these things today and praising God that He provided the Substitute for our atonement. I pray that you will have a weekend full of reflection and thanksgiving for the One who took the punishment that we deserve.