and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 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.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all." --Isaiah 53:4-6 (ESV)
A word spoken through the prophet Isaiah in the Old Testament. A prophecy foretelling the coming of Jesus, our Savior. These verses tell us His purpose. These verses show us that Jesus took OUR sin upon His shoulders. The punishment that we deserved, He took for us. Jesus became something He wasn't (unrighteous) so that we could become something we could never be on our own...righteous. Jesus became full of sin in the one moment that His Father God turned away from Him when He was on the cross. Jesus died for EVERY sin EVERY human being has ever or will ever commit. I once heard the author, David Platt say that when Jesus was sweating drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane, it wasn't because He was afraid to go to the cross and die...Jesus wasn't afraid to die...He was afraid of the moment when God would turn His back on Him because God cannot be in the presence of sin. Jesus had never been separated from His Father before...they had always been One...Jesus couldn't bear the thought of being separated from His Father...can you?
"12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men[e]because all sinned— 13 for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. 14 Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam,who was a type of the one who was to come. 15 But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man's trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift by the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many. 16 And the free gift is not like the result of that one man's sin. For the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation, but the free gift following many trespasses brought justification. 17 For if, because of one man's trespass, death reigned through that one man, much more will those who receive the abundance of grace and the free gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man Jesus Christ. 18 Therefore, as one trespass[f] led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness[g] leads to justification and life for all men. 19 For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. 20 Now the law came in to increase the trespass, but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death,grace also might reign through righteousness leading to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." --Romans 5:12-21 (ESV)
To me, there really is no better set of Scriptures that explains this so plainly than the book of Romans, otherwise known as "The Roman Road". Nothing else supports what I'm trying to say any better. Sin came into the world through Adam...therefore, EVERYONE who was born after Adam was born into sin. Some religions or denominations do not preach this, that even infants are born sinful beings, but this is the supporting Scripture I use that defends that...this is what God's Word says and I'm not about to modify it, compromise it, or disagree with it: "5 Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." --Psalms 51:5 (ESV) There is another Scripture that talks about how sin starts with a desire and how that desire conceives and gives birth to sin and how that sin leads to death: "15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death." --James 1:15 (ESV) So, basically, we're born into sin, we deserve death for our sin, but our death won't justify us because we are sinful. Only ONE Person's sacrifice was sufficient to cover our sin and that's Jesus. Jesus was sinless. Jesus was perfect. He was the ONLY human being born to die for our sin. It was God's plan from the beginning of Creation. As soon as the first sin was committed, there was a need for a Savior. This was God's plan from the beginning of time and Scripture is quite clear about it.
"1 The fool says in his heart, “There is no God."
They are corrupt, doing abominable iniquity;
there is none who does good.
2 God looks down from heaven
on the children of man
to see if there are any who understand,[b]
who seek after God.
3 They have all fallen away
together they have become corrupt;
there is none who does good,
not even one." --Psalms 53:1-3 (ESV)
"For we have already charged that all, both Jews and Greeks, are under sin,
10 as it is written:
'None is righteous, no, not one;
11 no one understands;
no one seeks for God.
12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless;
no one does good,
not even one.'
13 'Their throat is an open grave;
they use their tongues to deceive.'
'The venom of asps is under their lips.'
14 Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.'
15 'Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 in their paths are ruin and misery,
17 and the way of peace they have not known.'
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.'" --Romans 3:9b-18 (ESV)
I don't know about you, but the above verses sound a lot like Newtown, CT to me. An unrighteous man who did not know God, who was swift to shed blood, who never knew and will never know peace, and who did not fear God. A man left to himself, and quite frankly probably a child left to himself. After what happened, I don't know about you, but it makes me long for Jesus' return...after looking in Scripture looks like I'm not alone:
"Oh that you would rend the heavens and come down,
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 [a] as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?[b]
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in[c] the hand of our iniquities." --Isaiah 64:1-7 (ESV)
that the mountains might quake at your presence—
2 [a] as when fire kindles brushwood
and the fire causes water to boil—
to make your name known to your adversaries,
and that the nations might tremble at your presence!
3 When you did awesome things that we did not look for,
you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.
4 From of old no one has heard
or perceived by the ear,
no eye has seen a God besides you,
who acts for those who wait for him.
5 You meet him who joyfully works righteousness,
those who remember you in your ways.
Behold, you were angry, and we sinned;
in our sins we have been a long time, and shall we be saved?[b]
6 We have all become like one who is unclean,
and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
We all fade like a leaf,
and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.
7 There is no one who calls upon your name,
who rouses himself to take hold of you;
for you have hidden your face from us,
and have made us melt in[c] the hand of our iniquities." --Isaiah 64:1-7 (ESV)
We are ALL unclean and all of the good things we can do are like filthy rags in comparison to the GOODNESS, RIGHTEOUSNESS, and HOLINESS of God. There is nothing we can do on our own to be good enough. In this nation, we no longer revere God or fear Him, as in RESPECT Him for His position and give Him the honor that He's due. I'm not talking about going to church, praying, or doing what seems to be all the right things, I'm talking about every day in our DAILY living. In the next blog, I will share the HOPE that can be yours.
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