Passage: Isaiah 53:4-6
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 wounded for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
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 has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Journal: A priest performs sacrificial work for the sinner. Christ, the ultimate and final priest, was the ultimate and final atonement for the sin of His brothers and sisters, the children of God. He suffered not for His own sin but, instead, for my sin. As I sin now, His suffering increases. As I stumble and fall, His knees and elbows are bruised. As I cry out in rebellion, He screams out in anguish. [v. 4-5 -- "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed."]
While God's grace prevailed upon sin to be forgiven, God's justice demands that sin be punished. Thus, our punishment became Christ's punishment. It is one of the three great imputations [transfers] revealed in God's word. Adam's sin was imputed to us all. The sin of God's children was imputed to Christ on the cross. The righteousness of Christ was imputed to God's children. Thus, both the grace of God and the justice of God are preserved. It must be, for God can only be God, and He is never something less than what He is and what He will always be. [v. 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."]
Heard 'Round the House: Last night I was bombarded with riddles. It started with Anna telling me a couple of zingers and then Luke joined in with one of his own. It went something like this . . .
Luke [age 12]: A crime happened in the house one Sunday evening. The Dad was getting the paper. The Mom was cooking. The daughter was watching TV. The son was playing video games. Who did it?
Daddy [pondering]: Well, I am wondering why the Dad would be going to get the paper in the evening.
Luke: You're close , but that's not it. There is no paper on Sunday.
Dad: What do you mean? There is a paper every day of the week.
Song [age 10]: The Sunday paper is the most important paper Luke - it's the biggest.
Anna [age 8]: Luke, it's the mail that doesn't come on Sunday.
Luke: Oh yeah. OK, I meant Dad was getting the mail . . .
