It pleased the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief: when You shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:10-11
This chapter in Isaiah is perhaps the greatest Messianic prophesy of all because of the wide range of the information found here. It speaks of Christ’s early years when it says that He shall grow up…as a tender plant. It speaks of the nature of Israel when He was born, “a root out of dry ground.” It speaks of His treatment at the hands of cruel and uncaring people for He was despised and rejected of them. He was “acquainted with grief thus He is a High Priest that is touched with feelings of our infirmities. It speaks of His sufferings and His death: He was wounded for our transgressions; he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
All of that He suffered and that without opening His mouth in His own defense because of that, “it pleased the LORD to bruise Him.” This statement, of all that is found in this chapter is the hardest for me to comprehend, perhaps because I look at it through human eyes with human emotions.
Twice God spoke from heaven and said, “This is my beloved Son” and yet it “pleased the LORD to bruise Him?” This bruising of Christ speaks of all that He suffered to purchase our redemption for the Father made His soul “an offering for sin.” When it was “finished” God was pleased with the perfect sacrifice that His Son had made to save mankind from His sins. That is why He sent His only begotten Son for then and forevermore, the plan was finished, that is completed.
One may ask why it was all necessary and the answer comes from the Word of God if humanity will just read it and believe: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” That includes you and me, so let us worship and praise the LORD who gave us His Son that we might be saved. Let us thank and praise Jesus who offered Himself willingly to such suffering that we might be saved from our sins. Amen, amen and amen.
