Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
ISAIAH 53:4–5
“Are You the king of the Jews?” the governor demanded. “You have said so,” Jesus replied. But when confronted by His accusers, the chief priests and elders, Jesus said nothing. Baffled by His silence, the governor asked, “Don’t You hear the testimony they are bringing against You?” Again, Jesus made no reply, not to a single charge (Matthew 27:11–14). After Pilate sentenced Him to death by crucifixion, the soldiers stripped Him, flogged Him with a lead-tipped whip, twisted together a crown of sharp thorns and set it on His head, and put a staff in His right hand. Not once did He defend Himself. He silently endured as they spit on Him, beat Him on the head with a stick, and dropped to their knees in mock worship, hailing Him as the “King of the Jews” (Matthew 27:26–30; Mark 15:15–19). He went willingly to the cross—beaten, bloodied, and so disfigured that no one even knew He was a person (Isaiah 52:14). Upon this Suffering Servant God laid the guilt and sins of the entire world (Isaiah 53:6).
When God revealed His secret plan to the prophet Isaiah, He pulled back the curtain of time. The people of Israel never dreamed that God would save them through a Suffering Servant rather than a mighty king. But God always works opposite of worldly thinking. He used a slave to save them from a great famine and a murderer to lead them out of bondage to the Promised Land (Genesis 39; Exodus 3). He chose a farmer to deliver them from the Midianites and a shepherd boy to be their greatest king (Judges 6:11–14; 1 Samuel 16). Instead of sending a strong warrior to overthrow their Roman oppressors, He sent a gentle carpenter to save the world. Jesus demonstrated His strength through humility and obedience to His mission.
Isaiah knew this unlikely King would come to save you. He has already purchased your healing with His blood. When they whipped Him, you were healed. When He dragged the cross up the hill to Calvary, He carried the weight of your sickness on His back (1 Peter 2:24). When they nailed Him to the cross, He defeated your disease and carried it with Him to the grave. When He arose in triumph, His perfect plan was revealed to the entire world.
Lord, when I think of all You have done for me, I can scarcely breathe. I fall to my knees in humble adoration, overwhelmed with gratefulness for Your obedience to Your earthly mission. Father, because You loved me so much, You orchestrated the perfect plan to redeem me from the sin that had come into the world through one man (Romans 5:12). Your plan must seem so foolish to the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant thinkers. But I know You work opposite of worldly thinking. I know Your plan is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and Your weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength (1 Corinthians 1:18–25).
Lord, You sent an unlikely King to save the world. You sent Your only Son, a gentle carpenter. When He walked the earth as a man, He healed the sick, fulfilling the words of the prophet Isaiah, who said, “He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases” (Matthew 8:17). Jesus, my Savior! God laid upon You the sins of the world. He laid upon You the weight of my sickness. You were beaten, and I found peace. You were whipped, and I was healed. You bled and died for me. Thank You for purchasing my healing with Your blood.