Isaiah 53:5-6 When our children were very young we frequented a local chili parlor. Our three children would make such a mess with the crackers and shredded cheese that I got into the practice of getting out the restaurant’s broom and sweeper and cleaning up the mess myself. I did not like the idea of someone else cleaning up after our mess.
But the prophet Isaiah predicted what Jesus would do long before Christ was even born. Why would the Messiah suffer? What would happen to us? What are we compared to in verse 6? Who will suffer for us?
There is a certain amount of guilt that comes with knowing what Jesus has done. Because of our inability to be perfect, our inability to be good, Jesus had to suffer so that we might be reconciled to God. Because of God’s love for us, He laid the punishment of our sin on Jesus.
Jesus willingly accepted the punishment for our wrong. He willingly sacrificed himself that he might clean up the mess we have made. Through his suffering, through his wounds, we are healed. We are made pure before God and spared cleaning up our own mess in a sense.
We are like sheep, according to Isaiah. We have gone astray. We have failed to follow and obey God the way we should.
Knowing what Jesus has done for us should make us incredibly grateful. Knowing that we are forgiven, that our debt that is owed because of our fallibility, should fill us with joy and love.
But I also feel that it should fill us with a sense of duty and obligation. We should each strive to put an end to our sinful ways. We should each try to crucify the wrong behaviors and attitudes we maintain so that we might be more holy in our thoughts and actions.
DAILY CHALLENGE: What “mess” can you avoid making by crucifying your sinful nature?
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