The Gospel in the Old Testamentਨਮੂਨਾ

In today’s chapter, Isaiah takes us through an incredibly vivid description of what happened at the Cross. Written around 700 years before Christ, these verses tell us not only about the actual event of Jesus’ Crucifixion but also about the spiritual significance of that event.

Verse 2 speaks to the fact that Jesus would come in humble form, not as a king or great military leader. Verse 3 tells us that Jesus would be rejected, and He was. Jesus did great miracles, healing the lame, the blind, the deaf. He even raised the dead. And how did the people reward Him? They accused Him of blasphemy and crucified Him.

Verses 4-6 tell us why Christ would be killed. It was because of our sin. Notice the language that Isaiah uses:

-He Himself bore our sicknesses

-He carried our pains

-He was pierced because of our transgressions

-The Lord has punished Him for the iniquity of us all

Isaiah makes it abundantly clear that Jesus would be crucified because of our sin. Jesus did not die because of something He did or something He said. He willingly laid down His Life because that is the way God chose to pay the full price for our Salvation. Romans 6:23 says, “The wages of sin is death.” Someone had to pay that price. We earned death through our sins, but Jesus paid our debt.

Verse 9 says, “Yet the Lord was pleased to crush Him severely.” Pleased? How is that even possible? How could the Lord be pleased with this? Yes, the Cross broke the Heart of the Father. But it would break His Heart even more to be separated from His people for all Eternity. So, even though the road was far more difficult than we can even begin to imagine, it was pleasing to God because it made Salvation available to us.

I wish I could even begin to understand the kind of love God has for us! I cannot, and I never will on this Earth. But I do believe with all my heart that God loves us. Have you truly accepted His Gift of Love? Are you offering this Gift to others?