The suffering of Christ was so great on the cross, that when we looked at it we thought it had to be God who did it; “We thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!” But this is our denial, our failure to take responsibility for our own sinful actions. “But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins.” Our sins crucified Him, and still do. Our sins killed Him and in His great mercy He bore them far away. The cross expresses the pure love of God (Father, Son and Spirit) (John 3:16). It is love so great that it saves the crucifiers.
“He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed. All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.” Isaiah 53:3-6 (NLT)
