On the Road to Jerusalem: Stricken & Afflicted

“Surely He has borne our griefs

and carried our sorrows;

yet we esteemed Him stricken,

smitten by God, and afflicted.” 

—Isaiah 53:4

The suffering Christ is not an image that many of us like to think about. We prefer to ponder the newborn baby boy in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. It is much easier to think about shepherds and wise men kneeling down before Him than it is to imagine Pharisees, Sadducees, and Roman soldiers looking on with hatred in their eyes, thoroughly enjoying every aspect of His suffering, foolishly convinced they are executing a blasphemer and interloper, while never realizing they are crucifying the Lord of glory and fulfilling biblical prophecy.

The prophet Isaiah wrote about God’s coming Messiah. He would bear their grief, carry their sorrows, but even as He did so, they considered Him “stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”

Even as He was bearing the penalty for what they deserved, they failed to see it. And it’s the same today. Just as most of the religious leaders in Jesus’ day failed to realize who He was, we too fail to recognize Him. We fail to understand that He had become our sin, as Paul wrote, “For our sake He made Him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God”—2 Corinthians 5:21.

Such was the suffering of Christ. Even as He hung on the cross, those who were supposed to recognize Him—the chief priests, scribes, and elders all mocked Him saying,

“’He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God; let God deliver Him now, if He desires Him. For He said, “I am the Son of God.” And the robbers who were crucified with Him also reviled Him in the same way.’”—Matthew 27:42-44.

Reviled and rejected, He died a criminal’s death in their place. God’s wrath was poured out on Him, and they failed to see it. It was not until the resurrection that everything made sense. When Jesus appeared to two of the disciples on the road to Emmaus, He explained the necessity of His suffering, “Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into His glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, He interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself”—Luke 24:26-27.

Jesus had to suffer and die to bring about our salvation. He had to experience our pains and sorrows to identify with us, and He had to become sin to side with us because we are sinners. Although He knew no sin, by His becoming sin, He took His stead beside us, identifying with us in such a manner that is beyond our ability to fathom. Our minds cannot capture the severity of our situation and the reality of what He did on our behalf. He was stricken and afflicted for us so that we may be saved. How God could suffer for us is inconceivable. How He would dare to die on our behalf is incomprehensible. And knowing that God would do all of that for us while we were His enemies and under His wrath is unfathomable! May God be praised for His incomparable gift!

As we continue on in Lent, may we pause today to remember the reason for which Christ came to die—to save us. May today be a time we remember His sacrifice again, delighting in what He has done to the honor and praise of His great and glorious name. Amen.