By His Wounds We Are Healed
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5)."
In the Garden of Eden, life was beautiful. Adam and Eve enjoyed sweet fellowship with God. That is until the day Eve was deceived by satan. She took a bite of the fruit and also gave it to Adam to eat from the one tree in the garden God forbade them to eat from or touch for if they did they would surely die. At that moment, sin entered the world. The eyes of Adam and Eve were opened and they now knew good and evil. God in His foreknowledge knew that this would happen and He already had a plan of redemption. He said to satan, "He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel (Genesis 3:15)." This is the first Biblical prophecy of Jesus who was "bruised" at the cross in His death, but "crushed" satan and all demonic powers with His resurrection.
Before the heavens were created, before the world was made, before you and I were made, there was already a plan of restoration. A plan to bring you and me into fellowship with the Father. That plan was Jesus~the One and Only. The perfect sacrifice for our sin. Jesus has always been. He is not a created being. No! He is God in the flesh. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:1-4)." "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)."
Jesus left His throne and willingly chose to lay aside His glory to come to earth and humbly die on a cross to take the penalty for the sin that you and I deserved. "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28)." Jesus came to earth for one purpose, to die so that you and I could live. God is holy, perfect and just and because of this, His requirement for sin could only be a perfect, sinless sacrifice. On our own, we could never be good enough, no matter how hard we try we still fall short. Our righteous acts are like filthy rags in comparison with God. "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall and our sins sweep us away like the wind (Isaiah 64:6)." Many people think they can earn God's favor by doing good deeds, reading the Word, going to church or having "good" morals. Truth is, no matter how much you try, you will never be good enough for God's standard.
God made it simple for us, yet profound. He sent His one and only Son to take the wrath that you and I deserved. He did this because of His great love. It was God's will that His Son suffer and die. "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. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied, by His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:9-11)." In the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, you and I have redemption. By His blood that was poured out, we are healed. Jesus suffered beyond comprehension. He was beaten to the point that His appearance was deformed and maimed. "Just as there were many who were appalled at Him-His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness (Isaiah 52:14)." Every strike, every lashing, every blow He endured was for my sin and yours. After He was beaten so severely, He was to carry His own cross to the place of crucifixion. He was so weary that Simon carried the cross for Jesus. On the way to Calvary, people mocked and ridiculed Him. When Jesus arrived at the place He was to die, the Romans stripped Him of His clothes and then nailed Him to the cross. As He hung on that cross, He endured excruciating pain and suffering. The spikes that cut through the flesh in His wrists and feet measured 5 to 7 inches. He hung with His arms outstretched making it difficult to breathe because of the weight of His body pulling down causing intense pain. As He pulled Himself up to breathe, the crushing weight was placed on His feet where the spike was driven. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain my Jesus felt. Pain not only from the physical suffering, but also the spiritual suffering from the weight of carrying every sin of every person who lived or ever will live. His Father had to turn away because of the sin and so Jesus experienced separation from God for the first time. "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matthew 27:46)?"
But hold on....this is not the end! Three days later, the Lord Jesus arose from the grave! "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still with you in Galilee; The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again (Luke 24:5-7)."
Praise God for His grace! Praise God that in Christ, you and I have full redemption and restoration to the Father. Jesus made a way where there was otherwise no way. He died so that you and I could live! The only thing you and I must do is accept this gift of grace. Believe in the Lord Jesus, receive Him and have life eternal. To Jesus God said, "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever! Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office, but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, He is able to save completely, those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our needs-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike any other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once and for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever (Hebrews 7:21-28)."
In the Garden of Eden, life was beautiful. Adam and Eve enjoyed sweet fellowship with God. That is until the day Eve was deceived by satan. She took a bite of the fruit and also gave it to Adam to eat from the one tree in the garden God forbade them to eat from or touch for if they did they would surely die. At that moment, sin entered the world. The eyes of Adam and Eve were opened and they now knew good and evil. God in His foreknowledge knew that this would happen and He already had a plan of redemption. He said to satan, "He will crush your head, and you will strike His heel (Genesis 3:15)." This is the first Biblical prophecy of Jesus who was "bruised" at the cross in His death, but "crushed" satan and all demonic powers with His resurrection.
Before the heavens were created, before the world was made, before you and I were made, there was already a plan of restoration. A plan to bring you and me into fellowship with the Father. That plan was Jesus~the One and Only. The perfect sacrifice for our sin. Jesus has always been. He is not a created being. No! He is God in the flesh. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. In Him was life, and that life was the light of men (John 1:1-4)." "The Word became flesh and made His dwelling among us. We have seen His glory, the glory of the One and Only, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth (John 1:14)."
Jesus left His throne and willingly chose to lay aside His glory to come to earth and humbly die on a cross to take the penalty for the sin that you and I deserved. "just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28)." Jesus came to earth for one purpose, to die so that you and I could live. God is holy, perfect and just and because of this, His requirement for sin could only be a perfect, sinless sacrifice. On our own, we could never be good enough, no matter how hard we try we still fall short. Our righteous acts are like filthy rags in comparison with God. "We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall and our sins sweep us away like the wind (Isaiah 64:6)." Many people think they can earn God's favor by doing good deeds, reading the Word, going to church or having "good" morals. Truth is, no matter how much you try, you will never be good enough for God's standard.
God made it simple for us, yet profound. He sent His one and only Son to take the wrath that you and I deserved. He did this because of His great love. It was God's will that His Son suffer and die. "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. Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in His hand. After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied, by His knowledge My righteous servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:9-11)." In the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus, you and I have redemption. By His blood that was poured out, we are healed. Jesus suffered beyond comprehension. He was beaten to the point that His appearance was deformed and maimed. "Just as there were many who were appalled at Him-His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond human likeness (Isaiah 52:14)." Every strike, every lashing, every blow He endured was for my sin and yours. After He was beaten so severely, He was to carry His own cross to the place of crucifixion. He was so weary that Simon carried the cross for Jesus. On the way to Calvary, people mocked and ridiculed Him. When Jesus arrived at the place He was to die, the Romans stripped Him of His clothes and then nailed Him to the cross. As He hung on that cross, He endured excruciating pain and suffering. The spikes that cut through the flesh in His wrists and feet measured 5 to 7 inches. He hung with His arms outstretched making it difficult to breathe because of the weight of His body pulling down causing intense pain. As He pulled Himself up to breathe, the crushing weight was placed on His feet where the spike was driven. I cannot even begin to imagine the pain my Jesus felt. Pain not only from the physical suffering, but also the spiritual suffering from the weight of carrying every sin of every person who lived or ever will live. His Father had to turn away because of the sin and so Jesus experienced separation from God for the first time. "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me (Matthew 27:46)?"
But hold on....this is not the end! Three days later, the Lord Jesus arose from the grave! "Why do you look for the living among the dead? He is not here; He has risen! Remember how He told you while He was still with you in Galilee; The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, be crucified and on the third day be raised again (Luke 24:5-7)."
Praise God for His grace! Praise God that in Christ, you and I have full redemption and restoration to the Father. Jesus made a way where there was otherwise no way. He died so that you and I could live! The only thing you and I must do is accept this gift of grace. Believe in the Lord Jesus, receive Him and have life eternal. To Jesus God said, "The Lord has sworn and will not change His mind: You are a priest forever! Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantee of a better covenant. Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office, but because Jesus lives forever, He has a permanent priesthood. Therefore, He is able to save completely, those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them. Such a high priest meets our needs-one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Unlike any other high priests, He does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for His own sins and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once and for all when He offered Himself. For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever (Hebrews 7:21-28)."
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