To my great joy, I have seen this principle in action: The way God defeats His enemies is by making them His friends.
Paul writes that not only does Jesus make peace with God possible, but He is our peace.
“But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
For he is our peace; in his flesh he has made both into one and has broken down the dividing wall, that is, the hostility between us” (Ephesians 2:13-14).
Peace and friendship with God came at a great expense, one that Isaiah powerfully described.
Surely he has borne our infirmities
and carried our diseases,
yet we accounted him stricken,
struck down by God, and afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions,
crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the punishment that made us whole,
and by his bruises we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4-5)
Martin Luther was right when he prayed, “Thou, Lord Jesus, art my righteousness, but I am Thy sin. Thou hast taken upon Thyself what is mine and hast given to me what is Thine. Thou hast taken upon Thyself what Thou wast not and hast given to me what I was not.”
Jesus took our physical, emotional, and spiritual brokenness. He was wounded for our willful rebellion, arrogance, and moral corruption.
By a perversion of justice he was taken away.
Who could have imagined his future?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people. (Isaiah 53:8)
Luther advised a friend to pray daily the prayer I quoted above. He did so because we often misunderstand and fail to appreciate what Jesus endured to provide forgiveness and peace with God for us.
We do well to meditate on everything that Jesus experienced on our behalf. Truly, He took upon Himself what was our rightful punishment and gave to us forgiveness, righteousness, and peace with God.
Our Needs, His Provision
A slow and prayerful reading of Jesus’ suffering for us will help us appreciate what He has done for us.
Our spiritual, emotional, and physical condition incorporates these incredibly serious problems:
- Infirmities
- Diseases
- Transgressions
- Iniquities
If the above list is not enough, we can add our willingness to stray far away from God and His purpose for our lives.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have all turned to our own way,
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)
I have been following the Lord for many years, but I am ashamed to say that there are times when I willfully walk away from what I know God wants from me.
Like King David’s confession of sin in Psalm 51, I know God is justified to pronounce my behavior guilty and worthy of punishment.
For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.
Against you, you alone, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you are justified in your sentence
and blameless when you pass judgment. (Psalm 51:3-4)
It humbles me to think that the six hours Jesus spent on the cross allow a sinner like me to go free and become one of God’s friends.
Join me in praising Jesus for His willingness to be our substitute on the cross. We can use Paul’s hymn of praise as our guide.
Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,
So that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
And every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father. (Philippians 2:9-11)
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 