The Great Love of God in Christ

Isaiah 53:5 states, “But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our wellbeing fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” There are four verbs in this verse which give reference to the pain and agony that the Lord Jesus experienced while He was on the cross.

Pierced for our transgressions. The word pierced speaks to the wounding that Jesus received. He was pierced with a sword in His side. There was definitely physical suffering for our transgressions – a word that means (according to dictionary.com) “a violation of a law, command, or duty.” Christ suffered bodily for our transgressing of the law of God. God demanded a sacrifice for our sins and it was Christ who paid that price.

Crushed for our iniquities. The word crushed literally means (according to Strong’s Hebrew Lexicon) “destroyed, or beaten into pieces.” Christ was beaten to pieces because of our iniquities (our moral evil, our faults, our sin, or as dictionary.com defines it – gross immorality, or wickedness). We must remember that in our sinful state we are evil and wicked, and Christ was crushed for this.

Chastened for our wellbeing. Instead of us receiving the penalty for our wrong deeds, Christ received it. The word chastisement carries with it the notion of receiving reproof, rebuke, and discipline. Wellbeing literally means peace. Christ received the full brunt of God’s wrath so that we might be at peace with God.

Scourged for our healing. The word “scourge” is referring to the whipping and beating that Christ received by the Roman soldiers, but ultimately by God. He was whipped in order to take our punishment.

It is evident in that small verse that Jesus encountered much more than we can imagine. And look at the verse – it uses the pronouns He and His, and our and we. Everything He accomplished reaps an eternal benefit for us. “The love of God is greater far than tongue or pen can ever tell. It goes beyond the highest star and reaches to the lowest hell. The guilty pair, bowed down with care, God gave His Son to win, His erring child He reconciled and pardoned from his sin.”