The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
Before Jim Caviezel played Jesus in the film The Passion of the Christ, director Mel Gibson warned that the role would be extremely difficult and could negatively impact his career in Hollywood. Caviezel took on the role anyway, saying, “I think we have to make it, even if it is difficult.”
During the filming, Caviezel was struck by lightning, lost forty-five pounds, and was accidentally whipped during the flogging scene. Afterwards, he stated, “I didn’t want people to see me. I just wanted them to see Jesus. Conversions will happen through that.” The film deeply affected Caviezel and others on the set, and only God knows how many of the millions who watched it experienced changed lives.
The passion of Christ refers to the time of Jesus’ greatest suffering, from His triumphal entry on Palm Sunday and including His betrayal, mocking, flogging, and crucifixion. Accounts are found in all four gospels.
In Isaiah 53, His suffering and its outcome are foretold: “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” (v. 5). All of us, “like sheep, have gone astray” (v. 6). But because of Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, we can have peace with God. His suffering opened the way for us to be with Him.
Read: ISAIAH 53:4-7, 10-12 (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.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes[a] his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life[b] and be satisfied[c];
by his knowledge[d] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[e]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,[f]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
INSIGHT
- What aspect of Christ’s life most impacts you?
- How does His suffering affect you?
The Song of the Suffering Servant we most often associate with Isaiah 53 actually begins in the previous chapter at verse 13. There, the servant is introduced as one who is wise and who will be “raised and lifted up and highly exalted” (52:13). If that final phrase sounds familiar, that’s because it’s one of Isaiah’s favorite ways to describe his encounters with Yahweh (God) Himself.
In Isaiah 6:1, the prophet recounts seeing the God of Israel in His temple “high [rum] and exalted [nasa’]”; in 52:13, the niv translates the same two Hebrew words as “raised and lifted up.” Isaiah associates the exaltation of the Suffering Servant with the very person of Yahweh, looking ahead to the Son Himself, Jesus.
PRAYER
Precious Savior, it’s hard to express how grateful I am that You suffered, died, and rose again for me. Thank You. In Your name, I pray. Amen!!
Read: ISAIAH 53:4-7, 10-12 (NIV) | Bible in a Year: JUDGES 9-10; LUKE 5:17-39
