Pierced and Crushed
Pierced and Crushed
Rich Trotter
“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.”
In considering the crucifixion of Christ and the agonies He endured, some have asked, “Is God some impulsive, mean-spirited, and unpredictable god to do such a thing to Jesus?” “Is God committing cosmic child abuse by sending His only begotten Son to be crucified?” “Isn’t God a loving God? That doesn’t sound like a loving God to me if He would allow the Son of God to be pierced, crushed, and wounded.”
Some people may look at it that way. But by His very nature, God is vigorously opposed to evil, meaning that His judgment against sin is severe, or wrathful. So in keeping with God’s perfect moral character, He cannot have even the slightest tendency to simply overlook our sin. God is completely and perfectly holy. Therefore, as a perfectly righteous and just God, His character requires that He must have zero tolerance for sin—even a very small, tiny sin. (see Revelation 4:8, James 2:10).
Since we are all guilty of sin (see, for example, Romans 3:10; 5:12; 1 John 1:8; etc.), that means each one of us stands condemned before God. In Romans 3:9-20, the Bible says that all of us are trapped under the power of sin and deserve to be punished. Nevertheless, God in His grace is ready to forgive our sins. How? If God’s perfect righteousness and holiness cannot allow sin to be overlooked, then how can guilty sinners be forgiven?
The answer is that the debt of our sin and our disobedience toward God has been paid in full by Christ. Jesus was our substitute on the cross. He endured the punishment that should have been the penalty for our sin. In an amazing show of His love, God offers this deliverance from His wrath to all who confess their sin and believe. In exchange, we receive the free gift of Christ’s perfect obedience and righteousness. Our spiritual wounds are then bound up, and God the Father has been satisfied with the payment that Christ made on our behalf (see 2 Corinthians 5:21, 1 Peter 2:24-25, 3:18).
We can conclude, therefore, that God the Father did not find some twisted delight in allowing His beloved Son to endure the pain and suffering on the cross. Rather we can be assured that the Father was well pleased with His Son’s obedience which accomplished His redemptive plan from eternity past. And we can rejoice in the fact that the entire work of Christ has been completed with His words, “It is finished.” (John 19:30).
Reflection: What is your view on the purpose of the cross? Did Jesus simply have an unfortunate death as a martyr? Do you have a clear understanding of what God says in the Bible about why Jesus had to be the sacrificial payment for our sins?