But 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. (Isaiah 53:5)
Today we shift from the mindset of the soldiers and Jewish Sanhedrin to the mindset of God the Father who appointed Jesus' crucifixion for His own purpose and did so before the world was made.
An angel said to Joseph in a dream: …Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from their sins. Now all this was done, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet, saying, Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us. (Matthew 1:20-23)
But an angel had told Mary:
…Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end. Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man?
And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:30-35)
The coming Jewish Messiah, the Christ would die as a sacrificial lamb and would also reign upon the throne of his father, David. Was this a conflict? No, this was not a conflict. He would do both but in a time line that the Jews of that day and even of today, did not understand and would not accept.
I have found in talking with people for a long time that most people do not grasp that God planned for Jesus to die on the cross even before He ever made the earth and that it is through his death we are saved.
…But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest (made visible) in these last times for you, (1Peter 1:19-20)
I have also found that most people believe that if they indeed need to be saved, they can only be saved by living a better life than they now live; that they are saved as a result of their living a "good" life. Nothing could be further from the truth. Saved people live a better life than before but they do that because they are saved and not in order to be saved.
Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. (Hebrews 9:12)
Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; (Titus 3:5)
God says that we are saved by His plan by which we become righteous in His sight (by repentance and faith) and we insist on doing it our way. We have turned everyone to his own way (Isaiah 53:6). If you try to be saved, to be right in the sight of God, by turning over a new leaf, you will write on the new leaf what you have been writing on the old leaf. It is a new birth that is needed!
What are Jesus' stripes healing us from? Disease? That would be wonderful and I have been instantly healed of damaged nerves in my eyes from French Polio and have witnessed several other healings. But all the well-meaning, wonderful Christians who believe that Isaiah 53:5 is physical healing—every last one of them die of something that is not healed. Oral Roberts is dead. All the other healers are going to die. Peter tells us exactly what it is:
Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. (1Peter 2:24-25)
We are healed from the ravages of sin to walk in newness of life with him. Not perfect saints, but changed saints. Nothing like what we used to be. A new birth. A new direction. A new destiny. A new Lord.Ω
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