Project 119: Meditations on the Suffering Servant - Isaiah 53:7-9
| Project 119 | Mary Splawn
“Jesus Bears Our Sins”
Thursday, April 9 | Isaiah 53:7-9
On some level, you and I have each experienced the consequences for our own sins. Think back to a time in childhood when you disobeyed. Did you have some type of punishment for your mischief?
When I think back, I remember one Easter Sunday in particular. My extended family had gathered at my uncle’s house for lunch and I was wearing a new dress. It had begun to rain and my dad told me not to go outside because I would get my dress dirty. But my cousin from Texas convinced me it would be okay to play in the elements just this once. Needless to say that when my dad saw me in my wet dress, he was not happy and there were consequences! My disobedience was met with discipline. Ironically, my cousin who got me in the mess wasn’t punished. It is hard to endure punishment, but in many situations when consequences are given, the punishment matches the crime. Yet, in this passage in Isaiah, we are reminded that Jesus, the Suffering Servant, took on punishment that wasn’t His for crimes He did not commit. Have you heard the term substitutionary atonement? It means that Jesus died for our sins—He was our “substitute.” In other words, He took on our punishment. Isaiah’s prophetic language says it this way: “For the transgression of my people He was punished” (Isaiah 53:8 NIV). Jesus endured punishment on the cross to pay for our sins and reconcile us to God, or as some say, to make us “at one” with God.
As this Scripture tells us and as we read in the gospels “by oppression and judgment He was taken away” (Isaiah 53:8 NIV). Instead of being surrounded by followers who demanded Jesus’ release from unjust punishment, none of His generation protested (Isaiah 53:8). When given the chance to defend Himself, Jesus was silent; willing to accept a punishment that should have been for us. “He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth” (Isaiah 53:7 NIV).
Today’s passage ends on a dark and desperate note: “He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth” (Isaiah 53:9 NIV).
Jesus took on the punishment of death for our sins. He was laid in the grave … and while we know the rest of the story, it might be best for us to sit in the realization for a moment that He endured our discipline, our consequences, our suffering.
Our conscience doesn’t like to think about people being punished for crimes they didn’t commit. For this reason, there is a principle in criminal law that states, “It is better that ten guilty persons escape than that one innocent suffer” (Blackstone’s Ratio).
Yet, Jesus, the innocent one, suffered for our sakes. As Peter says it, “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God” (1 Peter 3:18 NIV).
Today as you contemplate Jesus’ unjust punishment, praise God for His provision for our lives. Ask the Lord to help you not take His sacrifice lightly. Contemplate the bravery and determination displayed by our Lord. Picture Him willingly die on our behalf.
As you ponder His sacrifice anew, ask your loving Savior to walk with you today and to make you aware of His great love for you. Listen to His voice in His Word and through His Spirit. Marvel at the Bible which foretold of His sacrifice centuries before Jesus endured the cross for us. And thank Him for standing in your place and suffering for your sins.