By: Carole L. Haines
“But He was pierced for our offenses,
He was crushed for our wrongdoings.
The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,
And by His wounds we are healed.
All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all
To fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:5-6)
I just finished watching Ben Hur, the Charlton Heston version. I am amazed at the powerful story of redemption this is still today. One of the most powerful journeys to Calvary ever portrayed. As I was watching this movie, I began to weep, contemplating that
“The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him
and by His Wounds we are Healed.”
We have discovered much of the original meaning of this powerful verse in Scripture. We have learned that there were four distinct wounds of Christ that remedied four maladies of mankind.
- Pierced- for our offenses
- Crushed- for our wrongdoings
- Punished- for our wellbeing
- Wounded- for our healing.
- Today we will meditate on the fact that Jesus was “Punished for our wellbeing and wounded for our healing.” The Word punished means “discipline, correction, chastening.” The Word well-being means “completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, quiet, tranquility, contentment.”
Jesus was punished for our peace. He was corrected for our completeness. Jesus was disciplined for our soundness. He was chastened for our quiet and our tranquility. Do we reflect upon the violence he suffered so that we would not have to suffer it? My joy is that He only had to suffer one time, He is now our Victor over sin and death. Let’s pause and thank Him for His love for us, giving His all.
“By His Scourging we are healed,” This is the phrasing found in the NASB, my favorite version. The scourging is descriptive of the lashes Jesus received.
“Then he released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified.”
(Matthew 27:26)
To mend by stitching, this is one meaning for the word healed in Isaiah 53. Other definitions in Strong’s are- to cure, to cause to heal, to make whole. Our Precious Jesus is the One who spoke us into existence, knitting us together in our mother’s womb. (Psalm 139) This Jesus knew that we would cost Him this agonizing death before He even created us. (see Ephesians 1: 3-5) Imagine Jesus sewing us up as the great Physician. Imagine Him knitting us together in our mother’s womb and when we fell into sin, sacrificing Himself so we could become whole in Him.
Jesus, as with each day this week, so today as well; there are no words that could ever express our gratitude and grateful joy in all you’ve done for us. We lay our lives at Your feet a fragrant offering, which is our spiritual act of worship (Romans 12:1-2). Use our lives, our words, our hands, feet and love to reach those still lost in anger, sin, fear, anxiety, unforgiveness and the like. We need You Jesus, now and always. Grow our love for You and for others. Amen!
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