Scripture: “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:5
Examination: This chapter is Isaiah’s prophecy of the suffering and crucifixion of the coming Messiah. Written approximately 700 years before the birth of Christ, it speaks to the price that was paid for our redemption.
Application: It is easy to believe that Jesus died on a cross, but it is very difficult to fathom the horrific details of what he actually went through beginning with His scourging to His crucifixion.
The Romans were very adept at administering punishments that inflicted the greatest amount of pain while prolonging the life of the individual who had been found guilty of a capital offense. Scourging was usually accomplished with a leather whip embedded with bits of sharpened bone and metal balls. It was often a precursor of crucifixion and designed to weaken the person to the point of shock. Unlike Jewish law, which limited the number of lashings, Roman scourging had no numerical limit, and many times the victims would perish from the flogging.
Crucifixion was the Roman death sentence reserved for the lowest on the social order, slaves, criminals, political rebels, and non-citizens of Rome, etc. This was such a terrifyingly brutal form of death that Josephus, an ancient historian, described it as “the most wretched of deaths”. The condemned individual was affixed to the wooden beams with nails and/or ropes and left to die by suffocation and exposure, most commonly within 24-48 hours.
The suffering a crucified person would experience is unimaginable. Jesus was well aware of what He was about to endure. In the garden of Gethsemane, He prayed to be spared from what was to come, but willingly surrendered to the will of His Father. “Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.” (Luke 22:42). Knowing what was ahead of Him, Jesus was overcome with sorrow and anguish as He prayed to His Father, and God in His great mercy, sent an angel to help strengthen His beloved Son. Luke 22:43 states, “And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.”
The Bible also describes the intensity of Jesus’ suffering as He prayed with a condition known as “hematidrosis”… the sweating of blood. Luke 22:44 states, “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” This rare medical condition is precipitated by extreme fear, severe stress, or intense emotional distress. Although He was God, He was also man, and this culmination of His work was not an easy road to walk. Jesus knew exactly what was about to happen to Him, physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually, yet He still chose to do the will of His Father and become the Saviour of the world (1 John 4:14).
With a better grasp of the suffering that Jesus endured to pay for our sins, we get a small glimpse of the enormity of the love He has for us. God’s holiness required a perfect sinless sacrifice for the remission of sins, and only Jesus could accomplish that. He chose to walk this most difficult of paths, so that we could have the opportunity to live with Him forever.
Memory Verse: “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” – 1 Peter 2:24
Stretching your thoughts:
1. When contemplating the events surrounding the death of Christ, what stirs your heart the most?
King of my life I crown Thee now,
Thine shall the glory be;
Lest I forget Thy thorn-crowned brow,
Lead me to Calvary.
Lest I forget Gethsemane,
Lest I forget Thine agony,
Lest I forget Thy love for me,
Lead me to Calvary.
(from “Lead Me to Calvary” by Jennie Evelyn Hussey)