“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.” Isaiah 53:5
October 30, 2026
“Gradually the crowd thinned out, their curiosity glutted. At last silence fell and darkness came- darkness perhaps because no eye should see, and silence because no tongue could tell, the anguish of soul which the sinless Savior now endured.”** What was happening in the dense darkness of the cross? The Servant of God was making a substitutionary sacrifice for our sins. The centrality of the atonement of Christ is accentuated by the middle chapter and the middle verse of Isaiah 40-66 (53:5). In what is the greatest prophecy of the Bible (Isaiah 53) the Savior was considered to be under God’s curse. But He was hanging in agony for our transgressions. It was violent and painful, but the greatest horror of all was the due punishment for our rebellion against God. “Crushed for our iniquities” the infinite weight of the accumulated guilt of sinners was crushing down upon Him, for those twisted and ugly things that are part of me. He was punished for what I have done and for what I am. “Calvary is punishment. He was a man smashed by the hammer of God’s anger. . . The cross threw its shadow back over HIs entire life.” (S. Rees)
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Reflect:
Are there sins in your life that you have considered too great to be forgiven? Why should Isaiah 53:5 change your mind about your sins?
The double ** in a quote from John Stott’s The Cross of Christ.