Isaiah 53:4, 5
I love how this 4th verse opens, “Surely”; as if God is saying that there was such an awesome reason for all of the sufferings of the cross that it should be obvious as to whom it was for. We were on His mind and His heart when He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Ours sins were the reason that He was wounded and our iniquities are why He was bruised. We have peace because Jesus was chastised; we have healing because Jesus was striped! (Isaiah 53:5)
Let’s put into perspective for a moment what Jesus accomplished at the cross; and let’s get quite simple. Based upon the knowledge that Jesus suffered so that we would not have to, let’s see exactly what He took so that we can know what we should stop carrying on our own.
“Surely He hath borne our griefs” (verse 4) – The Hebrew phrase here is “He has lifted our sicknesses”. Matthew saw this when he quotes this in Matthew 8:17, changing the phrase to “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses”. When you see Jesus, see your sickness as having been lifted.
“Carried our sorrows” (verse 4) – meaning, “to bear the load of our pain”. Again, Matthew saw this as our sicknesses and our infirmities. When you see Jesus, see your pain as having already been carried.
“Stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (verse 4) – God hit Jesus with your sickness; God smote and killed His own Son; God afflicted Him with rejection and sorrow. When you see Jesus, see that God’s anger has been exhausted in the body of His Son.
“He was wounded for our transgressions” (verse 5) – A transgression is a breaking of the Law. We sin when we break the Law of God, and all of us have done that more times than we can count. Jesus was “pierced through” for all of our law-breaking. When you see Jesus, see that your sins have been paid for.
“He was bruised for our iniquities” (verse 5) – Jesus was crushed at the cross for all of our iniquities. Iniquities speak of the sins of the fathers, passed down to the children, for God used it at Sinai when He promised to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5). When you live beneath the actions of your predecessors, you live in a cage of bruising. This is why Jesus said that He was anointed to “set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). When you see Jesus, see Him as bruised so that you don’t have to be.
“The chastisement of our peace was upon Him” (verse 5) – Jesus was disciplined at the cross so that we could have peace with God. Paul said that we are justified by faith, and because of that faith we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). When you see Jesus, see yourself at perfect peace because Jesus was disciplined for it.
“With His stripes we are healed” (verse 5) – Jesus was striped by the Roman lash; each stripe being a different strain of virus or sickness that might befall the human race. Peter viewed this act as a “done deal” so to speak when he wrote, “by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). When you see Jesus, see your sickness in His body so that you won’t see it in yours.
Rejoice, for surely He did all of this for you!
I love how this 4th verse opens, “Surely”; as if God is saying that there was such an awesome reason for all of the sufferings of the cross that it should be obvious as to whom it was for. We were on His mind and His heart when He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Ours sins were the reason that He was wounded and our iniquities are why He was bruised. We have peace because Jesus was chastised; we have healing because Jesus was striped! (Isaiah 53:5)
Let’s put into perspective for a moment what Jesus accomplished at the cross; and let’s get quite simple. Based upon the knowledge that Jesus suffered so that we would not have to, let’s see exactly what He took so that we can know what we should stop carrying on our own.
“Surely He hath borne our griefs” (verse 4) – The Hebrew phrase here is “He has lifted our sicknesses”. Matthew saw this when he quotes this in Matthew 8:17, changing the phrase to “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses”. When you see Jesus, see your sickness as having been lifted.
“Carried our sorrows” (verse 4) – meaning, “to bear the load of our pain”. Again, Matthew saw this as our sicknesses and our infirmities. When you see Jesus, see your pain as having already been carried.
“Stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (verse 4) – God hit Jesus with your sickness; God smote and killed His own Son; God afflicted Him with rejection and sorrow. When you see Jesus, see that God’s anger has been exhausted in the body of His Son.
“He was wounded for our transgressions” (verse 5) – A transgression is a breaking of the Law. We sin when we break the Law of God, and all of us have done that more times than we can count. Jesus was “pierced through” for all of our law-breaking. When you see Jesus, see that your sins have been paid for.
“He was bruised for our iniquities” (verse 5) – Jesus was crushed at the cross for all of our iniquities. Iniquities speak of the sins of the fathers, passed down to the children, for God used it at Sinai when He promised to visit the iniquities of the fathers upon the children to the third and fourth generation (Exodus 20:5). When you live beneath the actions of your predecessors, you live in a cage of bruising. This is why Jesus said that He was anointed to “set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18). When you see Jesus, see Him as bruised so that you don’t have to be.
“The chastisement of our peace was upon Him” (verse 5) – Jesus was disciplined at the cross so that we could have peace with God. Paul said that we are justified by faith, and because of that faith we have “peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). When you see Jesus, see yourself at perfect peace because Jesus was disciplined for it.
“With His stripes we are healed” (verse 5) – Jesus was striped by the Roman lash; each stripe being a different strain of virus or sickness that might befall the human race. Peter viewed this act as a “done deal” so to speak when he wrote, “by whose stripes ye were healed” (1 Peter 2:24). When you see Jesus, see your sickness in His body so that you won’t see it in yours.
Rejoice, for surely He did all of this for you!
