By His Wounds We Are Healed

Okay readers. I have some homework for you. I'd like you to read Isaiah 53. The whole thing. It's only twelve verses long. Will ya? Pretty please, with cherries on top?

In my humble opinion, Isaish 53 is one of THE MOST important passages in the entire Bible. It's a passage that all believers should know and understand.

Why?

Because it foretells us about Jesus! Yes, Jesus is in the Old Testament! No, He is not called by name, but it's Him, make no mistake about it. It tells us that He will live, that He will die, and that He will live again.

I encourage you to read the whole passage, but some of the verses that really speak to my heart are:

"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." (v. 2)

I find that extremely interesting, especially in today's society. These days people are OBESESSED with outward beauty! Billions of dollars are spent every year on plastic surgery procedures, cosmetics, skin treatments, hair styles, finger nails and even toe nails, jewelry, clothing, shoes. On and on the list goes. Hollywood is especially obesessed with outward beauty. It doesn't matter how disgusting and bad a person is on the inside as long as they are beautiful or handsome on the outside.

But the verse I quoted from Isaiah 53:2 tells us that Jesus was not handsome. He wasn't kingly. He didn't have movie star good looks, fancy clothes or anything that would attract us to his outward self. He was just an average Jewish carpenter from Nazareth who ultimately would save the world. I love that!

"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows." (v. 4)

That verse goes along with my last post about being weary. Jesus has always been willing to carry our burdens. Isaiah wrote these words hundreds of years before the man Jesus was even born yet it foretells us that He will carry our sorrows and infirmities. That was the plan all along. I find that extremely comforting to my soul.

The verse that truly speaks to my heart is verse 5:

"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed."

Peace. Healing. That is what we get out of Jesus' death on the cross. This verse describes what Jesus will go through because of our sin. He'll be pierced. Crushed. Suffer punishment. All because of our transgressions. He took OUR punishment upon himself so we could have peace. So we could be healed. Hundreds of years before he actually hung on the cross, Jesus was already prepared to take the fall for us. He was already willing to say to you: "I love you enough to die for your sins." Wow! That is THE MOST amazing love you will ever encounter!!

Finally, verse 11 gives us eternal hope!

"After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied."

Jesus didn't stay dead. His body was not in the grave the day the stone rolled away. The tomb was empty because, like this verse tells us, Jesus once again saw the light of life. The same light Jesus himself talked about in John 8:12:

"I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life."

Do you have the light of life? You can! All you have to do is BELIEVE! Believe that Jesus is God! Believe that Jesus' life was foretold in Isaiah 53. Believe that He came to earth as a man to take our iniquities upon him so that we can have peace.

It's yours for the asking.

Now...go do your homework! =)