By His Wounds...

“But 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. 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.” (Isaiah 53:5-6) Dear Crosswind Church: These words from the prophet Isaiah were written some 700 years before the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus and he accurately foretold what Jesus did on our behalf on that first Good Friday. This prophecy is a study of contrasts. Every part of Jesus’ suffering brought specific spiritual benefits to His people. He was pierced for our transgressions - transgression is the word used to describe the act of breaking God’s commandments, it is the root of rebellion or willful, premeditated sinning. Jesus’ hands and feet were pierced for transgressions which means that it is now contrary to our nature as God’s redeemed people to break God’s commands willfully. Our transgressions were nailed on the cross and never to be revisited again. He was crushed for our iniquities - iniquities are the innate crookedness in man brought about by the sinful nature. The fact that Jesus suffered for our iniquities gives us the grace to overcome the power of sin. Sin should be rendered powerless in our lives, it should no longer control us. Paul wrote in Romans that since Jesus died for our sins, we should consider ourselves dead to sin and alive in Christ. The words “I am only human” that we toss around should no longer be an excuse for sin because we are now subject to God’s sanctifying grace. Jesus was chastised so we may have peace. This is the essence of the Lord’s atonement, we have been reconciled to the Father. This reconciliation was needed because apart from Jesus, we would have remained enemies of God. Jesus’ act of dying on the cross brought about a lasting truce that we are no longer “at war” or in enmity with our creator. “Having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.. “ (Romans 5:1). Lastly, by His wounds we are healed. This does not only pertain to physical healing although Jesus can bring healing to all of our infirmities. The healing that we need the most is the healing of our souls from the greatest malady of all - sin. Jesus has freed us from the clutches of sin which leads to death. Through Jesus’ perfect work of atonement on the first Good Friday, we have been spiritually healed and made alive forever in Him. We were once lost and have turned to our own way, but God has shown us the way that leads to eternal life. How can you neglect such a salvation? Commit your life to Jesus today. A blessed Good Friday to all. Pastor Ramon