“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)
Centuries before Jesus Christ came to earth, Isaiah prophecied about a “Servant of the Lord” who would suffer for the transgressions of sinful people and heal them by His wounds. This is exactly what happened to Jesus. The book of Matthew tells us how He was betrayed by one of His closest friends, treated like a criminal and dragged before a council of religious leaders. They falsely accused Him of blasphemy, spit in His face, struck Him, and then handed Him over to the Roman governor. After further interrogation, Jesus was scourged, mocked and beaten by a group of soldiers, and then led away to be crucified — a brutally cruel form of execution.
Not even the worst criminal should be treated this way, let alone a man repeatedly found to be innocent. And yet Jesus endured all of this voluntarily for the sake of the people who rejected and killed Him. He went to unbelievable lengths to “heal” them and “bring them peace,” as Isaiah prophesied.
Isaiah says that Jesus suffered so intensely “for our transgressions.” Do you agree with him? What effect do your sins have on the events Matthew describes?