Laid on Him
Today's Bible Reading: ISAIAH 52:13-57:21
Isaiah 53:6
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.
There is so much discussion about what we declare as sin. It seems that what we have determined to be an act of sin has shifted over the centuries. What was declared to be sinful behavior in the past appears to have been downgraded to something far less sinister or offensive. But regardless of how societal norms fluctuate and the number of sins that they declassify, God’s determination of what is sinful remains unchanged. Sin has no expiration date for existence. What was sin in the past is still sin now. Cultural acceptance or legalization of what God declares sinful remains sinful.
With this in mind we must acknowledge that the remedy for sin remains uncharged. What atoned for sin before atones for it now. Minimizing sin doesn’t marginalize the solution for sin. The Bible tells us, ". . . without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins." (Heb 9:22). The blood of a sinless sacrifice still atones for our sins.
Our text tells us two very important aspects of these insights. It states first, the universality of our sin and second, the uniqueness of our solution. When we consider our iniquity our text reminds us that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way;” As someone once said, “All means all” There is not one person who hasn’t sinned. As stated, we may change what we call sin, but that doesn’t change the fact of sin. We may say that we have not sinned but that doesn’t negate the fact that we have sinned.
Sheep are notorious for simply straying away. They just wander off. It is the way of sheep. We are here all compared to sheep having “gone astray”. We have slipped into sin, by wandering away from God’s standard. It also says that each of us “have turned—every one—to his own way;”. We have turned away for God’s way. We have chosen to go our “own way”. We all sin differently and distinctly. I’m tempted in different ways then you are and thus my sins will be different than your sins. But it is not the variation or the volume of our sins that is considered in our text, but the fact that we are all sinners and that there is provided the same solution for our sin. Our sins may be different but our Savior is the same.
Consider the uniqueness of our solution for our sin. Our text says, "and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Our distinct sins have the same solution for all of them. It is “him”. The “him” of our text we have come to know is Jesus. He is uniquely qualified to make atone for our sins because of His birth and His behavior. He was born sinless and remained sinless throughout His life. He never sinned (2 Cor 5:21, Heb 4:15). This exempted Him from the death penalty that we all had incurred because our sinful birth and sinful behavior. This is why the Lord could lay “on him (Jesus) the iniquity of us all." Our sins were laid upon a sinless Jesus who freely gave Himself as the atoning sacrifice for our sins on His cross. His death paid our debt. All of the sins of all of us who follow Him are finally and forever forgiven by Christ’s life, death and resurrection. As the previous verse vividly details, ". . . 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. (Is 53:5). His sacrifice brought peace and healing to our broken relationship with the Lord.
Today thank the Lord that our sins have a solution, His name is Jesus. Thank Him that He “laid” our sins upon Jesus rather than leave them on us. Bless the Lord that we have peace with God through Jesus.
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