Over the course of the last few weeks, we have seen that if you are human, you are broken. The result of sin is brokenness. Brokenness is something we can’t escape and it manifests itself in various ways, from pride to pain, loss, fear and much much more.
So with Paul, we cry “who can save us from this body of death” and all the brokenness found around us?
JESUS!
He is the beautiful answer to all of the ruined, fragmented pieces of our lives. But the only way he could heal us is by becoming broken for us.
Isaiah 53:4-5 New International Version (NIV)
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
John 19:28-30 New International Version (NIV)
28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.” 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
Hebrews 12:1-3 New International Version (NIV)
12 Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, 2 fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
These are just a few verses that are well-known verses, that show the great length Jesus went in order to become our salvation and our healer.
He could have left us to our brokenness and sin, but instead, he became one of us. He experienced hunger, thirst, and fatigue. He knew first hand what it was like to be rejected and mocked, to be treated unfairly and even let down by those closest to him. He knew what it was like to have all sorts of evil done against him though he deserved none of it.
Ultimately he was punished for lies, unkindnesses, adulteries, murders, slanders, complaints, perversions, and all other forms of sin that weren’t even his.
And he did this for you and for me!
1. Through his punishments, we receive peace. His punishments should have been ours! We are the ones who sinned and our sin separated us from God. Instead of peace, there was enmity. But Jesus took it all. He took our sins, our punishments, our separation from God, and gave us his peace and righteousness.
Now we can draw near to God, now we can be confident in his love, now we have divine help at all times. Now we have a glorious future.
2. By his wounds, we are healed. Jesus died so we could have peace with God, but his death also brought us healing. It brought us life. Our brokenness was so severe that it affected every part of our being, from our heart to our soul.
If you know yourself at all, you know you can’t fix yourself. But through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, we now have the power to fight. We can fight temptation and actually win, we can declare war on the sins that lurk in us and begin to have victory, not because we are strong enough, but because the strength of Jesus has been given to us.
Let’s never take for granted Christ’s work on the cross on our behalf.