WHO BRUISED JESUS?
Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief. Isa. 53:10, R.S.V.
Sometime, when the setting is just right, open a modern-speech version of the Bible to Isaiah and read aloud the Suffering Servant passage. Start at Isaiah 52:13 and read thoughtfully and with emphasis through chapter 53. As you read this stunningly and complete prophecy of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, notice in particular the role that the Father played in the salvation drama.
Notice, and be amazed, that it was the Father who "laid upon him the iniquity of us all" (chap. 53:6, R.S.V.). The infinitely gracious arrangement by which the consequences of our wandering should be laid upon Jesus was a plan that the Father Himself endorsed and helped to carry out. This needs to be emphasized, clarified, and repeated anew, because the belief is so widespread that Jesus offered Himself as a means for appeasing the Father.
The great Reformation scholar John Calvin held that the perfect sacrifice of Christ resulted in us having "in heaven a propitious Father instead of a Judge." That is, Christ's ministry was to get the Father to change toward us, becoming loving rather than condemning. Calvin also taught that the Father "finds nothing in man which can incite Him to bless them." But Jesus' perfect life merits such blessing; and Jesus transfers that merit to us, that the Father might have cause to bless us. Once again, the Father is being coaxed, or entitled, to express a redemptive attitude toward us because of Jesus. The result, of course, is that we view Jesus as a refuge from the Father, rather than a pathway to the Father. Though I applaud much of the work of this great Reformer, I am dismayed that this view of our heavenly Father has gained such wide acceptance.
On the cross, the Father joined with Jesus in a united endeavor to reach the minds of men, that we might change toward Him. Equal to the pain of separation that Jesus suffered, the Father endured the pain of separation from His Son, as Jesus gave up the Spirit and slipped into the second death. Together, They revealed to the universe how deadly it is to rebel against the Source of all life. Together, They poured out upon mankind the greatest expression of love ever known. Together, They revealed that God always has been a loving Father! We love Jesus, not for appeasing God. but for revealing Him.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to bruise him; he has put him to grief. Isa. 53:10, R.S.V.
Sometime, when the setting is just right, open a modern-speech version of the Bible to Isaiah and read aloud the Suffering Servant passage. Start at Isaiah 52:13 and read thoughtfully and with emphasis through chapter 53. As you read this stunningly and complete prophecy of the life and ministry of Jesus Christ, notice in particular the role that the Father played in the salvation drama.
Notice, and be amazed, that it was the Father who "laid upon him the iniquity of us all" (chap. 53:6, R.S.V.). The infinitely gracious arrangement by which the consequences of our wandering should be laid upon Jesus was a plan that the Father Himself endorsed and helped to carry out. This needs to be emphasized, clarified, and repeated anew, because the belief is so widespread that Jesus offered Himself as a means for appeasing the Father.
The great Reformation scholar John Calvin held that the perfect sacrifice of Christ resulted in us having "in heaven a propitious Father instead of a Judge." That is, Christ's ministry was to get the Father to change toward us, becoming loving rather than condemning. Calvin also taught that the Father "finds nothing in man which can incite Him to bless them." But Jesus' perfect life merits such blessing; and Jesus transfers that merit to us, that the Father might have cause to bless us. Once again, the Father is being coaxed, or entitled, to express a redemptive attitude toward us because of Jesus. The result, of course, is that we view Jesus as a refuge from the Father, rather than a pathway to the Father. Though I applaud much of the work of this great Reformer, I am dismayed that this view of our heavenly Father has gained such wide acceptance.
On the cross, the Father joined with Jesus in a united endeavor to reach the minds of men, that we might change toward Him. Equal to the pain of separation that Jesus suffered, the Father endured the pain of separation from His Son, as Jesus gave up the Spirit and slipped into the second death. Together, They revealed to the universe how deadly it is to rebel against the Source of all life. Together, They poured out upon mankind the greatest expression of love ever known. Together, They revealed that God always has been a loving Father! We love Jesus, not for appeasing God. but for revealing Him.
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