Isaiah 53:4-6 "Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (5) 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. (6) All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Be certain that every word of the Bible is important, but
notice the first word of verse 4: "SURELY he hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows..." There can be absolute peace when God says
something is sure or certain. In our verses, something has surely happened and
nothing can change it. Surely, or most certainly, the servant of God (Isaiah
42:1 and 52:13) has done something for us that we could not do. That which
brings grief and sorrow into our hearts was laid upon Him. What is it in our
lives that brings such heaviness and pain? Is it not sin that creeps into our
thinking, our words, and our actions? For the child of God, those things should
bring immediate sorrow and heaviness. We should be grieved within ourselves
when we grieve the Holy Spirit of God.
Be sure that He did this for us; yet, they considered Christ to be "smitten of God, and afflicted." In other words, they thought Jesus to be a deceiver and an absolute sinner as the nails were being driven into His hands and feet. Verse 5 begins with one of my favorite words in the Bible, "But..." This is a conjunction of contrast that takes one side and then flips it to its true meaning. They considered Christ to have been punished by God, BUT in reality, " he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him..." I love the old Hymn that asks the question, "Was it for me my Saviour died?" Yes, it was for me and "... with his stripes we are healed." We all went astray but the LORD laid on Him the iniquity of us all." Was it for me? Yes, all for me and by His death on the cross, my sin debt was paid in full. By the shedding of His blood, my debt has been remitted. See Hebrews 9:22. I have been justified (pardoned) from my sin. I love the old preacher's definition of the word justified. It is "just if I'd never sinned." Thank you Jesus for taking my chastisement upon yourself!