Sure enough,
in that surprising gift of grace that is no longer any surprise at all, when
God had me bemoaning how painful the crushing weight of my soul seemed to be,
he spoke this verse into my heart: “he was crushed for our iniquities”.[1] That was the lesson. That was the gift of God to follow his
gracious provision of prayer that pours itself out before the divine throne.
As
soon as I read that verse, I knew that God graciously led me into the conscious
feelings of my own crushed soul in order to give me the greater experience of
wonder that Jesus would willingly take such a feeling on himself. Jesus deliberately
entered into this experience of being crushed so that he could take on himself
my iniquities. He was pierced in all the ways that his crucifixion demanded, so
that he could take on himself my transgressions. He took on himself the
chastisement of God’s wrath in order to give me peace with God. He presented
himself to be wounded so that I could be healed.[2]
A few verses
later God once again refers to Jesus being crushed: "Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him".[3] The
relationship between the three persons of the Godhead leaves us mind-boggled
with their love amongst each other, and their love for their children.
Now, consider
that, between the distinctive persons of the Godhead, and yet in complete
agreement of their wills, it was God the Father’s will to crush his Son in order to cleanse us of sin, and it was the
Son’s will to receive this crushing in order to redeem us as his brothers.[4] It
was God’s will to crush, and be crushed, in order to save those who were
crushed.
Which leads us
to this wonderful revelation of God: “The
Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.”[5]
That is exactly what I needed to hear this morning. And, it makes perfect
sense. If Jesus was willing to become sin for us in order to be crushed under
the weight of God’s judgment against sin, of course he would then come near to
the brokenhearted, and save those who are crushed in spirit. That’s exactly why
he experienced the crushing weight of God’s righteous judgment.
And, that is
exactly why God let me feel the feeling of a crushed soul this morning; so he
could magnify the Son he had crushed as the one who has saved, and will save to
the uttermost, the one who is crushed in spirit. And, writing about this at the
end of the day, that is certainly what God has done.
From my heart,
Monte
© 2013 Monte Vigh ~ Box 517,
Merritt, BC, V1K 1B8 ~ in2freedom@gmail.com
Unless otherwise noted,
Scriptures are from the English Standard Version (The Holy Bible, English
Standard Version Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good
News Publishers.)
[1]
Isaiah 53:5
[2]
“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.”
(Isaiah 53:5)
[3]
Isaiah 53:10
[4]
“For those whom he foreknew
he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he
might be the firstborn among many brothers.”
(Romans 8:29); “10 For it was fitting
that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory,
should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering. 11 For he
who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one source. That is why he
is not ashamed to call them brothers, 12 saying, “I will tell of your name to
my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will sing your praise.” 13 And
again, “I will put my trust in him.” And again, “Behold, I and the children God
has given me.” (Hebrews 2)
[5]
Psalm 34:18
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