Jesus Suffered In Our Place

ISAIAH 53: & psalms 22: JESUS SUFFERED IN OUR PLACE 4-26-08

As we think about how Jesus suffered and died on the cross, people have their own thoughts about what His crucifixion must have been like, but I’m sure that most of us really can not comprehend what He actually endured, including my self.

There were many people in those days that died on a cross as that was the Roman way of the death penalty for every one that was not a Roman, but Jesus death on the cross was different, as He bore the sins of all mankind, passed present and future.

Today for a little while I want to bring a few thoughts on what He went through and what His death accomplished. Listen as I read today’s text:

1Who hath believed our report? -- It’s clear to Isaiah that this is a reference to the Messiah but he says that it will not be believed and received by the majority of the people. and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? --“The arm of the LORD” points out the mighty power of God, only God could have conceived such a wonderful plan.

Isaiah 52:10 The LORD hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.

2For He shall grow up before Him** as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:--

The term tender plant refers to the “shoot” that would spring up out of the decayed stump of Jesse (the Davidic line), the Messiah would come on the scene with out recognition and with humble beginnings when it is least expected.

3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

Jesus on the cross was a horrible sight to see. His suffering was unimaginable; He died a horrible death. He suffered as no other man had ever suffered there on the cross. He had been beaten with a cat of nine tails**, His flesh was torn wide open, He was a mass of unsightly flesh.

Isaiah 52:13-- his visage “appearance” was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:

4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

This is speaking of spiritual healing, God can heal us physically if He so wills to, but here its to do with our spiritual healing.

6All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

8He was taken from prison and from judgment:

. Jesus was taken from prison and from judgment, as we all realize that Jesus had a mock trial in the nighttime by the Sanhedrin and in the early morning by Pilate, the Roman official,

and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.

1st pet. 3:18 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

9And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death;** because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; this don’t mean that God the Father took pleasure in seeing Jesus suffer and die, it means that the results of His death would provide pleasing results, its not His will that any should perish but have ever lasting life.

This refers back to the same condition in verse 5, where He was bruised for our iniquities.

Both verses, 5 & 10, tell of His bruising, and points out that the substitutionary atonement of Christ was always the master plan of God the Father.

He hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, his seed was to be the people that would believe on Him and become the children of God, and by doing so he shall prolong his days,