By Judge Phil Ginn for THRIVE! NEWS
Listen to how the Bible describes the crucifixion of Christ, the Messiah:
Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—everyone—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth. . . . And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief. . . .
Strangely enough, this vivid description of the crucifixion is not taken from one of the Gospels, but from Isaiah’s prophecy found in 53:4-7, 9-10 of his book, written some six centuries before that awful day.
The remembrance of this momentous occasion for us in America falls on Good Friday. Sadly, however, it is mostly not a day of reflection on the sacrifice of Christ any longer, and we simply go about the business of a regular day. Also, ironically, there was nothing in it that could be considered good for the Savior except for this one thing — He finished the task that had been given to Him by the Father — He completed the perfection of salvation for those who would become His followers.
It has been said that if anyone would question whether or not God hates sin, then all you need to do is just look at the darling of His eye hanging on that horrid cross. Oh, but if you want to know how much God really loves you, then likewise, you need to look at the cross where Jesus took your place, and the Father laid on Him “the iniquity of us all.”
