There have been many works of art done that show the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. In many of these depictions, though, the true horror of what Jesus went through has been sanitized. In many we might only see a small trickle of blood on His forehead, just a slight trickle coming from His hands and feet. However, what the Lord Jesus went through during the crucifixion, along with the scourging and mistreatment at the hands of the soldiers, was brutal. In our passage from the Prophet Isaiah, we will see just a bit of what Jesus went through for us.
In this passage of Scripture, we are given incontrovertible proof that God wrote the Bible and that Jesus is the fulfillment of this Messianic prophecy. The details are so precise that there is no way Jesus could have fulfilled them by accident or by coincidence, nor by some trickery and cunning.
The Prophet Isaiah begins this passage with three verses that show the humiliation and also the exaltation of Jesus (vs. 52:13-15). As Isaiah described here, Jesus underwent such inhumane cruelty, to the point that He no longer looked like a human (vs. 14). His appearance was so awful that people were astonished. Through His crucifixion, Jesus performed the priestly work of cleansing the world of sin (vs. 15). The rulers of this world will be speechless and in awe when they behold the once-despised Savior who is now exalted.
As Isaiah testified here, both Israel and the world at large have not believed Jesus and God’s Word (vs. 1). This was true in the prophet’s day, at the time of Jesus, and is definitely true today. Isaiah foretold that the Messiah would come from a humble human background. This was true of Jesus, as He was born to a working class family, as His foster father, Joseph was a carpenter. He did not come from an exalted background or royal family, as many of the Jews thought the Messiah would come from. Nor was Jesus’ appearance distinguished or remarkable (vs. 2).
Jesus was hated and rejected by mankind (vs. 3). He suffered physical abuse, and also internal grief over the lack of response from those He came to save. As Isaiah testifies, Jesus bore the consequences of the sins of men (vs. 4). The Jews who watched Him die thought that He was being punished by God for His own sins, not realizing that it wasn’t His sins He was dying for, as He had none, but was for their sins and those of all mankind. Jesus was a “Man of Sorrows”, not just in the hours of crucifixion, or an hour or two earlier during the scourging, as horrific as those two events were. He agonized in horror and grief the night before, during His time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Mark 14:32-34). All throughout His ministry, Jesus grieved over the unbelief of those He came to save.
Jesus did not suffer for His own sins, as He was sinless. He was our substitute, and suffered the wrath of God in place of us (vs. 5). He suffered the chastisement of God in order to gain our peace with God. Jesus’ death on the cross paid the price for our salvation and for our healing, both spiritual healing, also our physical and emotional healing as well. Jesus’ death purchased the ransom for our life. Those who believe have been set free from Satan’s control. We have been delivered from the evil one’s power. We need to get that truth into our minds.
God laid our sins on Jesus, and treated Him as if He had committed every sin ever committed by every person, though He was perfectly innocent (vs. 6). God did that so that His wrath against sin and His justice would be satisfied. He could then give to the account of sinners who believe the righteousness of Jesus, treating them as if they were righteous, like Jesus is.
Throughout all of this torture and ignominious death Jesus uttered no protest, and was utterly submissive to those who oppressed Him (vs. 7). He was the sacrificial lamb. The Jewish religious leaders intended Jesus to have a disgraceful death, like a common criminal (vs. 9). But instead, Jesus was given an honorable burial by the wealthy disciple Joseph of Arimathea.
How could the Son of God die for those who treated Him so badly, who despised and rejected Him? Jesus did not deserve to die, but it was God’s will in order to procure salvation to anyone who believes. His sacrifice satisfied God, and thus brings justification to all who believe. That is amazing, divine love. Love beyond degree.
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