"But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed" (vs. 5).
In a Bible full of prophetic allusions to Jesus, the Book of Isaiah stands out as a repository of some truly amazing glimpses of the coming Christ. And coming from a book that is acclaimed for its many messianic prophecies fulfilled in the days of Jesus, Isaiah 53 is in a class by itself.
The idea of a substitutionary atonement - that someone else would willingly stand in our place to receive the penalty for our sins so that we could go free in exchange - is perhaps most developed here in this chapter. I don't pretend to fully understand the atonement of Christ, let alone to be able to explain and teach it to others in its completeness. But I am sure of this - whatever else may be happening on the cross (and, in truth, there could be many grand actions occurring simultaneously), the idea of Christ receiving our punishment in our place is certainly there. He suffered, and we went free. Calvary was the price of God's love.
The horrible beauty of Isaiah 53 is that sin is judged, but the judgment does not fall on us. Speaking in the first person plural, the prophet witnesses the travails of the suffering servant. Again and again, the language sounds so descriptive of the experience of Christ which would happen 700 years later. He is unjustly oppressed, beaten, slaughtered, and buried. Yet that is not the end of the story, for the chapter says that the servant will continue on, even after his death. Who else but Jesus could this chapter possibly be about?
How does it make you feel to know that the Son of God loved you so much He was willing to go through hell for you rather than to heaven without you?
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