The Terrible Price of our Redemption

 

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. 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. He was oppressed and afflicted yet he did not open his mouth; he was like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.  Isaiah 53:5-7

 Jesus didn’t live an easy life on earth. When He was a baby, His family had to flee to Egypt to escape Herod’s wrath. Once Herod died they returned to Nazareth where His earthly dad, Joseph, presumably resumed his work as a carpenter. This would likely have provided sufficiently for their family, but they would not have any luxuries of this world. The Bible doesn’t explicitly state what happened to Joseph, but all circumstances point to him dying before Jesus began His ministry at about the age of 30. Losing your dad before you’re 30 would be hard, but in those times Jesus would have also been looked upon to provide for the family in Joseph’s absence, a weight to bear with so many siblings and a mother. Then, at one point, Jesus knew it was time for Him to step away from what had been His regular life and step out as the rabbi, the teacher that He had come to be. I’m quite certain that He endured a fair amount of criticism for this as it would have looked like walking away from His responsibilities, but what people didn’t know is that His responsibilities extended way further than His little family, or Nazareth, or even Israel. During His ministry, He didn’t have a home base, a place to lay His head. He didn’t have a steady income and relied on the provision of His Father through people brought across His path. He got hungry. He felt pain. He cast out demons and people hated Him for it, forcing Him and His followers out of town. He did kind things like healing people, and the rulers stirred up the people to attack Him. Jesus’ life was hard, and it didn’t end any easier. A kangaroo court, horrible beatings and mocking, and then being actually nailed to a cross and hung up to die. But the worst was to come as the weight of all of our sin was placed upon Him and the Father had to turn away – their perfect communion broken. All of it was done for us, and people didn’t appreciate it any more then than they do now. Jesus had walked among them for years, loving on them, teaching them, healing them, and they cried out, “Crucify Him!” in the end. He could have given them what they deserved. He could have called down the armies of Heaven and wiped every last one of them out. But He didn’t. Silent as a lamb before its shearers, Jesus endured the horror – for us. Isaiah tells us that Jesus was pierced for our transgressions, our sins, what we had done wrong. He didn’t deserve any bit of it. By His stripes, the horrible wounds slashed across His back, we receive healing. He did it for us. He didn’t give us what we wanted, what we asked for, praise God! He gave us what we truly needed. He offered forgiveness and peace, cleansing and righteousness. True healing, not just from a headache but from the sickness of sin and death. He gave us salvation and paid for it mightily.

Here's the Thing: What Jesus did for us wasn’t easy – even for Him. Even though He was perfect, what He had to do was terribly hard and excruciatingly costly. But it wasn’t a surprise to Him. God had told the prophet Isaiah 700 years before Jesus was born all about the hardships He would endure, and He chose to come anyways. Because of His great love for us.