PUNISHMENT, PEACE PASSION
Isaiah 52:13-53:6
“The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.”
A defendant was on trial for murder in Oklahoma. There was strong evidence indicating guilt, but there was no corpse. In the defense’s closing statement the lawyer, knowing that his client would probably be convicted, resorted to a trick. "Ladies and gentlemen of the jury, I have a surprise for you all," the lawyer said as he looked at his watch. "Within one minute, the person presumed dead in this case will walk into this courtroom." He looked toward the courtroom door. The jurors, somewhat stunned, all looked on eagerly. A minute passed. Nothing happened. Finally the lawyer said, "Actually, I made up the previous statement. But you all looked on with anticipation. I, therefore, put it to you that there is reasonable doubt in this case as to whether anyone was killed and insist that you return a verdict of not guilty." The jury, clearly confused, retired to deliberate. A few minutes later, the jury returned and pronounced a verdict of guilty. "But how?" inquired the lawyer. "You must have had some doubt; I saw all of you stare at the door." The jury foreman answered: "Oh, we did look. But your client didn’t."...
Now it’s pretty obvious that the reason the client didn’t look had to do with the fact that he was indeed guilty of the crime, and he knew it. So he knew that no one was going to walk through that door.
I wonder what would happen today, if we were all on trial for sin. The crimes we have all been guilty of in our lives; pride, greed, envy, lust, laziness, hatefulness, abandoning God in favor of other things, whatever you have been guilty of in your life has been pronounced. The guilt which you now feel, after hearing these crimes is overwhelming, for you realize that, yes, I am guilty of such things.
And just before the final sentence is to be announced come the closing statements. Well, in steps the prosecuting attorney. Dressed to the nines!!! $2,000 dollar suit, and a pair of $1500 gucci shoes. A Rolex on his wrist, and a charm about him that could melt any jury’s hard demeanor. And talk about intelligence! This guy is as sharp as a tack. He has degrees which would boggle the mind, and he knows each and everyone of your sins by heart! So there you sit, looking at this guy in fear and awe, and waiting for your lawyer, and hoping that he will give this guy a run for his money, yet not knowing what to expect.
The door opens again, and in steps your lawyer. He doesn’t look like much. Doesn’t look like he even has a law degree!! He is not in the finest suit, but rather comes in looking like he has just been walking on the street! And you groan……”I’m a goner!”
The judge asks for closing statements before the sentence is announced. The prosecuting attorney stands up, and says
“Your honor. The crimes which this defendant is guilty of are well known by you. They are both wide-ranging and wicked. From his very first day on this earth, the defendant has been open to displays of anger, visciousness, indecency, and lewdness. He has been rude to his neighbors, and shows an ugly side to his family. He cheats on his taxes, looks at women with lustful thoughts, craves attention only for himself. His punishment, your honor, should fit the crime! I demand therefore that this client be found guilty and sentenced to death.
The prosecutor then sits down, looks over at you, and sneers. Knowing how solid his case is, he has no doubt that you will be quickly sentenced and done with.
Then, your attorney stands up. He steps forward, and begins to speak.
“Your Honor” he says, “The accused admits that the crimes which he has committed are exactly what he has been sentenced with. He realizes that he has acted contrary to what is right. He also knows that he deserves to be sentenced to death.”
“Oh great” you think, “I mean, that’s true, but now I’m sunk for sure!”
“However your honor” your attorney continues, “I am willing to end this case here and now by taking the punishment for his crimes.”
You look up startled. “Did he say what I think he said?”
This simple looking attorney then looks over at you. He looks into your eyes and you see such incredible love there that any hardness in your heart towards others melts.
“Trust me” he says.
And you know then that despite your guilt, and despite how horrible you feel about the crimes you have committed, that you can indeed trust this man.
“Very well” the judge says. He then looks at you. “I hereby pronounce you not guilty.”
You sit there…..stunned. Then, you begin to smile, then laugh, then you leap for joy in the middle of the courtroom.
“However” says the judge to your attorney, “The sentence for such crimes which you have taken on yourself is death. Take him away!”
Now, the prosecutor, while a little dismayed, is overjoyed that the sentence has at least been passed on to someone else. It will still be carried out. And you are left in that courtroom with a feeling of relief, but also an immense pain of sadness. For your lawyer has taken the penalty for your crimes.
In 1 John 2:1-2, Jesus is called our “advocate” which also means our attorney, our defender. Only that in Christ’s case advocate means not only the one who stands up for us, but the one who stands in our place when sentence is passed. He stands in our place and takes the hit for our crimes in order that we can have a restored relationship with God.
Now when you look at this day in our calendar, Good Friday, we can certainly see that Christ took a lot of punishment on our behalf. He was tried before 6 courts, three Jewish courts, and three Roman. To get a better perspective of what he actually went through here, these trials would have lasted about 18 hours, and were consecutive…one after the other.
Through all these trials he was handed over to the Jewish leaders who spit on him, mocked and ridiculed him, struck him with their fists, and mercilessly slapped him. Then, he was given over to the Romans, who also mocked him and spit on him, but then went on to press a crown of thorns into his skull, and beat him mercilessly with a whip.
ON top of all this, after he was sentenced, he was to carry a cross to Golgotha, also known as the “place of the skull” since it was a hillside that resembled a corpse’s cranium. This was execution, Roman style! I emphasize Roman style here because the Romans who were the rulers of the land at this time were the only ones allowed to carry out a crucifixion. It was in fact such a gruesome death that it was only reserved for non-Romans and criminals; enemies of the state, the lowest of the low.
The other interesting thing is that this “place of the skull” was considered to be a public place. IT wasn’t like it is for instance in the United States today where they give some prisoners the death penalty in a maximum security facility. Instead, Jesus would be hung on the cross in a public place like Golgotha which was there to both humiliate criminals before crowds of onlookers, and deter others from getting involved in criminal activity against the state. People would head up the hill beside Christ as he carried the cross, some grieving this cruel torture and others wanting it to happen.
In the meantime the Romans, before the crucifixion took place would be consistently beating him because he was considered to be an enemy of the state. They would be doing this in order to try and break the prisoner’s will to live. This also would be seen as a warning to others. “Don’t defy us, or this will happen to you!” Though “The Passion” is not a film to see for the weak of heart, it is a pretty accurate historical portrayal of what did happen when the Romans crucified someone like Jesus, who they wrongly considered to be a threat.
Now this is what the cross meant to the Romans, but what do you think it meant to the Jews? According to the Bible, in Deuteronomy 21:22-23, those who “hung on a tree” (remember the cross was made with wood from a tree), were under God’s curse. This went far beyond what the Romans intended for the cross. They only believed it was punishment for defying their laws. For the Jewish leaders who wanted Christ executed by crucifixion, they believed that this signified Christ had been rejected by God! For them, the cross was the ultimate mockery of Jesus’ claim to be God’s Son. This is why those who went against Christ wanted Him hung.
Now I believe that this punishment for Christ…the hanging on a tree was actually far worse a punishment than any of the beatings he incurred. The fact that God the Father, while Christ was on the cross, turned away from Jesus because Jesus bore our sins. You may in fact remember that Jesus, when He was in the garden of Gethsemane, prayed so intensely and so intimately to God the Father that this cup of death would be taken from him. I believe that the reason he prayed this way had to do with the fact that for this instance in time, when all the sins of the world would be placed upon him, he would be separated from the relationship he had with the Father. I don’t think it was the sins that dismayed him as much as the separation from God. You imagine, being separated from the one who is closest to you, most intimate with you. Who loves you more than words can say. The one who knows you inside and out. Then you will get just a taste of what Christ went through for our sake. To save us from sin and hell, he became separated from His closest love…the love of the Father. This is the punishment He endured for our sake. For us, to save us from sin.
ILLUSTRATION
A poet wrote this sometime ago, and I think it’s fitting to read it at this time.
Someone once said, Does God really love us? I say look to the crucified Jesus. Look to the old rugged cross.
-By every thorn that punctured His brow.
-By every mark of the back lacerating scourge.
-By every hair of his beard plucked from his cheeks by cruel fingers.
-By every bruise which heavy fists made upon His head.
God said, "I love you!"
-By all the spit that landed on his face.
-By every drop of sinless blood that fell to the ground.
-By every breath of pain which Jesus drew upon the cross.
-By every beat of His loving heart.
God said, I love you!"
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Now in Isaiah 53 it talks about the punishment which Christ endured to show us that God loves us. But it also speaks of the peace which Christ brought to us as a gift. In Isaiah 53:5 it says “The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him.” I pray that we can all live this out. So many people today live without a sense of peace in their lives. In some cases we live in turmoil with others. In other cases we live in constant stress. Studies show that of all the countries in the world both Canada and the United States, the countries with more than all others are the most stressed out!!! And this doesn’t just apply to non-Christians either….you see it in the churches too!!! We are way too stressed! Way too worried about things!
The great Christian reformer, Martin Luther, in fact, once spent three days in a black depression over something that had gone wrong. On the third day his wife came downstairs dressed in mourning clothes.
"Who’s dead?" he asked her.
"God," she replied.
Luther rebuked her, saying, "What do you mean, God is dead? God cannot die."
"Well," she replied, "the way you’ve been acting I was sure He had!"
Sometimes this is true of us also. We act as if God were not there, when He should be very evident in every Christians life. Where Scripture says that “the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him” the emphasis for us should be the peace!!! Because this peace spoken of in Isaiah 53 involves restoration to God. And if you are restored in a relationship with God through the blood of Jesus Christ, then this peace should inspire in you a freedom from distress and fear, a security being in Christ’s care. This new hope should come through in everything you do, in everything you say, in everything you are!! We can only become rightly related to God when we recognize that Jesus took our sins on Him at the cross. And when we know that our sins are fully forgiven and forgotten by God, then Jesus will give us His peace. It’s not a matter of our asking God for peace in our lives. By the cross, Jesus has already given this to us. It is our position to take hold of what He freely gives. Take hold of God’s peace, and you will be able to live a righteous life! Our God is the God of peace. He is the one who wants us reconciled
