8 Reasons Jesus Died: Reflections on Isaiah

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November 20, 2017 by Jack Lee
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The cross of Christ is a critical distinguishing factor of Christianity. If you deny the reality of
the event or the historical existence of the person, and you end up something very anti-
Christian. In the most beautiful demonstration of love the world has ever seen, God became
man to suffer in place of His people. I have heard it said that justice and love kissed on the
cross. Justice demands punishment for sin and love offers a perfect substitute.

Using Isaiah 53, which was written hundreds of years before Christ walked the earth,
let’s examine 8 reasons Christ died on the cross. I encourage you to read the chapter below
slowly, as if reading for the first time.

1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been
revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no
form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as
one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 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.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and
the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led
to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 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.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul
makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of
the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the
righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their
iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the
strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet
he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isaiah 53, ESV)
1. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows

The word “borne” literally means to bear or carry. At Calvary, Jesus carried our guilt and
shame. The weight of His people’s sorrows were heavy and painful, but He did not drop
them. Faced with no source of comfort, He persevered until His work was finished. Christian,
please know that there is no shame, guilt, or suffering you can experience that He can not
sympathize and offer hope (Hebrews 4:15).

Joseph Benson had this to say about the verse in his commentary:

“Whereas it may seem an incredible thing, that so excellent and glorious, and so innocent and
holy a person should meet with this usage, it must be known that his griefs and miseries were
not laid upon him for his own sake, but wholly for the sake of sinful men, in whose stead he
stood, and for whose sins he suffered”

2. He was stricken, smitten, and afflicted by God

The assault upon Christ had several fronts. It came in the way of words as God was mocked
and dishonored. It also came upon him from the hands of men, as He was beaten, blow after
blow. Yet not one of these afflictions were deserved; Christ Jesus was the spotless Lamb of
God who remained silent before the slaughter. As mentioned later in the chapter, “It was the
will of the LORD to crush Him”.

3. He was pierced for our transgressions

God made Him who knew no sin to be sin (1 Cor 5:21). At Calvary, Christ became our
substitute and was pierced for our transgressions and our sin. His back bore stripes from the
Roman scourging, His hands and feet had nails driven through them to hold Him to the cross,
and His side was pierced and blood and water poured out of it. Scripture teaches us that is
some ways His body still bears the scars and will for all of eternity. 10,000 years from now
we will still be able to examine the holes in His hands, feet, and side. These will be permanent
reminders of greatness of our King.

4. He was crushed for our iniquities

For our immoral thoughts, deeds, and omissions, He was stricken mentally and physically to
the point of physical deformation. He was crushed and broken beyond what any man has
experienced as He took the curse of the law for us. He knew from eternity past this day would
come (Rev 13:8). Still, He did not flee from it, but pursued and endured the shame of the
cross for the joy set before Him. Echoing the words of Isaiah 50, Luke writes, “…when the
days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51).

5. He endured the chastisement that brings us peace

Puritan Matthew Henry said this best in his commentary on Isaiah 53:

“Hereby we have peace: The chastisement of our peace was upon him; He, by submitting to
these chastisements, slew the enmity, and settled an amity, between God and man; He made
peace by the blood of His cross. Whereas by sin we had become odious to God’s holiness and
obnoxious to his justice, through Christ God is reconciled to us, and not only forgives our sins
and saves us from ruin, but takes us into friendship and fellowship with Himself, and
thereby peace (that is, all good) comes unto us (Col. 1:20). He is our peace (Eph. 2:14). Christ
was in pain that we might be at ease; He gave satisfaction to the justice of God that we might
have satisfaction in our own minds, might be of good cheer, knowing that through Him our
sins are forgiven us. It was through this event that peace was secured. “

6. He brings us healing through the cross

It’s through the cross we find healing. The grossness of sin is more than just iniquity and
transgression, it is also a terrible disease. The sickness of sin entered the world in the garden
of Eden so many years ago and continues to wreaks havoc in our fallen world. But God, in the
greatest demonstration of love ever made, provides the nourishment our souls need to be
restored to health. Not only this, the dominion that sin has over our lives is broken. We are no
longer slaves to sin but, in Christ, are slaves to righteousness (Rom 6:18).

7. He would cause many to be counted as righteous

We find here some of the sweetest words in all of Holy Scripture. It was through this act on
the cross that we are considered, or regarded, as righteous. 1 Corinthians 5:21 explains how
this happens, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him.” Isaiah goes on to say, “Therefore I will divide him
a portion with the many and he shall divide the spoil with the strong” (Isa. 53:12). Not only
have our sorrows, guilt, sin, and chastisement been poured out on Christ, but by faith, we are
imputed with the righteousness of God. What’s more than this: we are also made heirs to the
Kingdom of God! We are accepted and adopted as sons and daughters by our Father in
heaven.

8. He was numbered with the transgressors

If there were any doubt in the calculated accuracy and planning of this event, the Word of
God reminds us that there is an exact number of people whose sin was borne on the cross. No
one but God Himself knows the precise number, but we can take joy in the fact that whatever
it may be, it is as vast as the stars in space (Gen 15:5). God has called His children from every
tribe, tongue, and nation for eons – and we shall all undoubtedly sing His praises for the good
news of the gospel.

Read more at http://www.patheos.com/blogs/chorusinthechaos/8-reasons-isaiah-

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