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Isaiah 53:5 - LOVE AND SACRIFICE SUPREME.

Isaiah 53:5 (NKJV) 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.

Isaiah 53:5 (NIV) But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.

CONTEXT

This chapter continues to speak of the Messiah, Jesus, who would suffer for the sins of all people. Such a prophecy is astounding! Who would believe that God would choose to save the world through a humble, suffering servant rather than a glorious king? The idea goes against human understanding and worldly visions of success. But God often works in ways we don't expect. The Messiah shows his strength through humility, suffering, and mercy. [Life Application SB 2019]

INTRODUCTION

Isaiah mentions five times that the Lord's righteous servant would carry our sins. Why was it necessary for the Messiah to do this? Because God is holy, we cannot enter his presence marked by sin. So the perfect, sinless Lamb of God, Jesus, took our sin and experienced the death we deserve. He made our sacrifice for us so we can now enter God's holy presence. Best of all, the Messiah's sacrifice did not end merely in death; he rose from the dead to show that he had power over death and gave us confident hope that we, like him, will experience eternal, resurrected life. [Life Application SB 2019]

COMMENTARY PEARLS

The Son of God stooped to uplift the fallen. For this He left the sinless worlds on high, the ninety and nine that loved Him, and came to this earth to be "wounded for our transgressions" and "bruised for our iniquities." Isaiah 53:5. He was in all things made like unto His brethren. He became flesh, even as we are. He knew what it meant to be hungry and thirsty and weary. He was sustained by food and refreshed by sleep. He was a stranger and a sojourner on the earth--in the world, but not of the world; tempted and tried as men and women of today are tempted and tried, yet living a life free from sin. Tender, compassionate, sympathetic, ever considerate of others, He represented the character of God. "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, ... full of grace and truth." John 1:14. AA 472

Love And Sacrifice
   It was to redeem us that Jesus lived and suffered and died. He became "a Man of Sorrows," that we might be made partakers of everlasting joy. God permitted His beloved Son, full of grace and truth, to come from a world of indescribable glory, to a world marred and blighted with sin, darkened with the shadow of death and the curse. He permitted Him to leave the bosom of His love, the adoration of the angels, to suffer shame, insult, humiliation, hatred, and death. "The chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed." Isaiah 53:5. Behold Him in the wilderness, in Gethsemane, upon the cross! The spotless Son of God took upon Himself the burden of sin. He who had been one with God, felt in His soul the awful separation that sin makes between God and man. This wrung from His lips the anguished cry, "My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?" Matthew 27:46. It was the burden of sin, the sense of its terrible enormity, of its separation of the soul from God - it was this that broke the heart of the Son of God. SC13 [Remnant SB]

COMMENTARY

Healed by His Stripes
   Roman law required scourging before a crucifixion. Tied into the leather strips of the whip were small iron balls and sharp pieces of sheep bone. As the scourging was applied to the criminal's back and legs, the iron balls would bruise the skin while the sheep bones would lacerate muscle, causing copious pain and blood loss.
   And that's only a fraction of what Jesus suffered. In today's promise, the word "stripes" is more accurately translated as "wounds" (ESV, NIV, CSB), implying more than flagellation. Yes, Jesus continued to suffer as the nails held Him to the cross. But He was enduring something infinitely more painful than physical torture: His Father's displeasure because of our sins. It was "our transgressions, ... our iniquities," that divided Father from Son (Matthew 27:46). No wonder Isaiah calls Him "a Man of sorrows" (53:3).
   In Gethsemane, Jesus became "exceedingly sorrowful, even to death" (Matthew 26:38). "O My Father," He pleaded three times, "if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me" (v. 39). But it was not possible. God's law - the only thing that defines sin and its penalty (1 John 3:4; Romans 6:23) - could not be amended to accommodate sinners. Thus, Jesus' only option to save us was to take that cup of wrath (Revelation 14:10) out of our hands.
   What good news that we don't have to drink that wine! What glad tidings that we are healed by His stripes! When Isaiah says that "the chastisement for our peace was upon Him," he is proclaiming that Jesus was punished in our place so that we could "have peace with God" (Romans 5:1). Such peace is ours when we open our hearts to the gospel.
   Heavenly Father, thank You for giving Your Son to be wounded for my sins. I open my heart to receive Your peace. [The Most Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts]

CLOSING PEARL

By His Wounds We Are Healed
   Have you ever wondered why, exactly, Jesus had to come to earth? Jesus didn't just come to do some good works and heal diseases. He wasn't on earth just to walk on water and raise His buddy Lazarus from the dead. Jesus came to die for our sins, to do what no other person ever born could do. Born of a virgin and without sin, Jesus lived obedient to the Father, ultimately exchanging His innocent life for yours, so that you could have eternal life.
   This is the glorious gospel story that fuels everything about the Christian message, and this heavenly exchange offers you a new reality that is almost beyond comprehension.
   Jesus willingly took on all the wrongs of every one of us on the cross and bore the guilt of our sinful ways, and He was crushed by the weight of God's wrath that we deserved. By coming to earth and bearing your transgressions, He made you free from every sin - past, present, and future. He made it possible that you can live in relationship with God forevermore.
   Dear Jesus, Your wounds have made me free. I praise You with everything I have today. You took my guilt and gave me grace. Hallelujah! [Grace and Glory by Louie Giglio]

INSIGHT

This verse regarding Christ and written by Isaiah long before the Christs' incarnation is one of those Omnipotent passages that overwhelmingly conveys the idea that this is a statement from God Almighty - there is no way it could be otherwise - the timing, the detail, etc. Reflecting on this thought leads one to realize there are a lot of Bible passages that carry this type of awesome and awe-inspiring power and is what makes the Bible what it is - much more, so much more than just a book. F. Gibbs

LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY

Isaiah 53:3-5 - LOVE AND SACRIFICE SUPREME.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2022/20220414-1114.html

John 3:16 - LOVE SUPREME!
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2021/20211206-0816.html

Romans 5:8 - Unfathomable Love.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240829-1246.html

LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT

https://abible.com/links/