INTRODUCTION:
HE TOOK THE LASHES
Cliff Barrows tells of the time his two young children did something wrong. Although they were gently warned, they repeated the offense and needed to be disciplined. Cliff's tender heart was pained at the thought of having to punish the ones he loved.
So he called Bobby and Bettie into his room, removed his belt, bare his back, and knelt by his bed. He told each child to whip him ten times. Oh, how they cried! But the penalty had to be paid. The children sobbed as they lashed their daddy's back. Then Cliff hugged and kissed them, and they prayed together. "It hurt," he recalls, "but I never had to spank them again." (Source: from a sermon by Dennis Davidson, "Punished for You and Me" 7/14/08, SermonCentral.com)
[1Peter 2:24 NIV] says…
"He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."
Today we are going to study what it means that we are healed by Christ’s wounds, because it is only in understanding this message that we understand the purpose of the cross.
Would you please turn with me to Isaiah chapter fifty three?
BODY:
[Isaiah 53:1-12 NIV] The Suffering Servant
1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 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. 10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, 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. 12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
HE…
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him. (Isaiah 52:14 says… ) He will appall many. He will be disfigured and marred in appearance beyond that of any human. He was despised and rejected by mankind.
[John 1:11 NASB20] He came to His own, and His own people did not accept Him.
He was a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. [Hebrews 2:18 NASB20] For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted. It also says in Hebrews 4:15 that Christ can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in all way just like us, yet was without sin.
We hid our faces from Him; He was despised by us. We held Him low esteem.
[1Corinthians 1:18 NASB20] 18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
He took up our pain and bore our suffering. We considered Him punished by God, stricken by Him, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions (our rebellion, disobedience, and going beyond the limits). He was crushed for our iniquities (our guilt, fault, unrighteousness, perversity, depravity). He was punished to bring us peace. He was wounded so we could be healed. We went astray. We went our own way. Yet He carried the weight of our guilt and unrighteousness which God laid upon Him. [It was for us]
He was oppressed and afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth.
He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, yet He remained silent.
He was taken away by oppression and judgment, yet who of His generation protested?
Meaning that He willingly did this, went through this without complaining or speaking out, and no one stood up for Him in His time of suffering. Yet still He came and He died!
He was cut off from the land of the living. He was punished for the transgression (the rebellion, the sin) of my people. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death. But He had done no violence nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
His death was undeserved. His punishment, his suffering was unfair!
Yet it was the LORD’S Will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer and to make His life an offering for sin… for our sins… to make atonement for our many sins.
In spite of all this, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the Will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. And after He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. He will justify many by His knowledge (or rather by the knowledge of Him/knowing Him) and bear their iniquities.
The LORD GOD will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils among the strong. God will do this because His Servant poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (for the disobedient rebels like you and me). THIS IS WHAT HE DID!
There’s a Poem called “Because He Loved Them.” It goes like this…
They tried to shame Him. They tried to destroy Him. They tried to ruin Him.
He died for them!
They despised Him. They mocked Him. They humiliated Him.
He died for them!
They stripped Him. They spat in His face. They beat Him.
He died for them!
They made Him bear the cross. They nailed His hands and feet.
They broke His precious body.
He died for them!
Why did He die? Why did He suffer? Why did He endure the cross?
He died. He was crucified. Why? Why?
Because He loved them!
© May 2017, Loyd C Taylor, SR.
There’s is one word that sums up the Reason for the Cross – LOVE!
John 3:16 (that we know so well) says that God So Loved the World that He gave His Only Begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.
1 John 3:16 says: We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us…
Jesus said in John 15:13- Greater love has no one than this, that a person will lay down his life for his friends. The reason for the cross is love. Love for you… love for you personally.
Love so undeserved. Do you understand the love that God has for you this morning?
What do you believe about Christ? What do you believe about the Cross?
What gives you assurance … confidence to approach God in prayer? Surely not your own self-righteousness! Surely not your own good deeds or perceived goodness!
Surely it is only because you know and trust in the goodness of God and in His Son who died for you, who lived on this earth for you, who experienced rejection, loss, abandonment, hunger, poverty, pain, torture, and death … for you! It is only because of the blood shed on the cross for your sins and mine that we have access to the Father to receive grace and mercy and help for our time of need. We are undeserving… totally undeserving, yet He chose YOU and ME because He believed we were worth it! That you are worth it!
So let me ask you this morning, does knowing that kind of love exists for you affect what you do with your life? Does knowing that kind of love exists for you affect what you live for?
Turn with me now to … [2Corinthians 5:14-21 NASB20]
14 For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; 15 and He died for all, so that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose on their behalf. 16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one by the flesh; even though we have known Christ by the flesh, yet now we know [Him in this way] no longer.
17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, [this person is] a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all [these] things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their wrongdoings against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin [to be] sin in our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
The love of Christ controls us… compels us… propels us… motivates us… shapes us…
to do what? To live for Him who died for us and be His ambassadors here on earth!
And then Paul describes that love. He describes the conclusion that all need to come to before the they can truly call themselves followers of Christ.
That one died for all. Therefore all of us have died.
Romans 6:23 says- The Wages of sin is death! Death is the penalty for sin. That penalty was paid for on the cross. He took our death. He took our penalty. He took the wages that must be paid for the sins that we’ve committed. That debt is Paid In Full.
Jesus Paid it all! And He died for all… Why? So that those who live would no longer live for themselves, but for Him… who died and rose on their behalf. No longer for themselves, but for Him! THIS IS THE GOSPEL, FOLKS! THE GOOD NEWS!
Paul says we don’t look at people the same way now. We don’t look at people from a fleshly, earthly perspective. No, we see people… people who don’t know Christ and people who do from a Godly perspective, from a spiritual standpoint, from a heavenly perspective.
Do they know Christ? Do they know what is it to be saved? Do they know what was done for them to save them? Do they know the God that loves them and the way to be saved?
Paul’s saying, “Can’t you see? Can’t you see? This is what is at stake and why we need to share Christ with others. Because if anyone is in Christ… that person is made new. They’re given a new life. They’re given a new purpose, a new plan, a new reason. They are new creations in Christ. And without Him they are lost and have no access to the Father. They are outside of God’s mercy and grace! Therefore, therefore, plead… beg… implore people be reconciled to God! Don’t you see what has been done for you? God made Christ to be our sin… our sin offering… the very sacrifice to atone for our sins so that we might become the righteousness of God. That we might be saved. And By His Wounds We Are Healed!!”
CONCLUSION:
How can wounding someone else bring healing? Think back to the story of Cliff Barrows and his two kids. What changed to make them not want to disobey daddy again? Why did them punishing their dad make all the difference? Because they realized that he was taking their punishment, the whipping that they deserved. And they realized that this is about love, not just about keeping them from doing what they want to do. That image of daddy being hurt by their misbehavior made them stop and think, “I don’t want to do that ever again.” Today I’d like you to imagine holding the whip that scarred the back of Christ your Savior and say these words softly to yourself, “He did this for me!” Would you please stand?
