“However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore, and our pains that He carried; yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted, struck down by God, and humiliated. But He was pierced for our offenses, He was crushed for our wrongdoings; the punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the wrongdoing of us all to fall on Him.” (Isaiah 53:4-6 NASB)
“So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He has anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” Then He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant and sat down. And the eyes of all who were in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” (Luke 4:16-21 NKJV)
“When evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed. And He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were sick, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “He Himself took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses.” (Matthew 8:16 NKJV)
“You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9 NLT)
“He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 BSB)
There are so many passages of scripture that describe what was delivered (restored) to me through the suffering and death OF Christ that I had a difficult time deciding which ones to include in this message today. Those that I selected are intended to act as a springboard from which you will be able to dive into the depth of God’s promises for yourself.
The main point that I want to make is that those things that Jesus took upon himself in his sinless life, death, burial, resurrection, and ascension were taken so that we would no longer suffer and die as he did.
Jesus came to this earth to reveal the true nature and character of the Father. He came to reveal the Father’s heart for those he created. He came to demonstrate the desire and design (will) that his Father has for all of his children.
At the cross Jesus made the greatest exchange ever made. He took all of the destructive consequences of the first Adam’s trespass and treason to the cross and exchanged them for all of the Father’s original design for you and me. In his resurrection and ascension he delivered to us all of the original blessing that was our Father’s desire for us.
I am simply going to list some things that Jesus took from us through his suffering and death and some things that he delivered to us through his resurrection and ascension (this is not an exhaustive list). I will leave it up to each of us to pick up from here and dig in deeper (remember, he took these things so that we would not need to keep them ourselves).
Taken…
…sin (individual acts, iniquities, shortcomings, etc.)
…physical sickness (illness, disease, deformity, etc.)
…mental illness (schizophrenia, bipolar, depression, etc.)
…emotional disorder (grief, sorrow, anxiety, etc.)
…weakness (feebleness, age related disorders, deterioration, etc.)
…poverty (financial, emotional, mindset, etc.)
…death (spirit, soul, body, etc.)
This is only the beginning. What can you add to this list?
Delivered…
…righteousness (forgiveness, right standing, dominion, etc.)
…health (healing, restoration, divine health, etc.)
…deliverance (freedom, clarity of thought, wholeness, etc.)
…peace (soundness of mind, joy, calm, etc.)
…strength (renewed youth, vigor, vitality, etc.)
…provision (financial, emotional, mindset, etc.)
…life (spirit, soul, body, etc.)
Again, this list is just the beginning. What else is revealed in scripture?
Here are the million dollar questions…
…Am I still experiencing any of the things that Jesus took upon himself through his suffering and death?
…Am I experiencing the things that Jesus delivered to me through his resurrection and ascension?
Holy Spirit – please open our eyes to all that we possess in Christ. Help us to recognize who we are as the result of his suffering and death. Help us to realize what we possess as the result of his resurrection and ascension. Give us the desire and drive to move out of needless suffering and death into the glorious blessing and life that is ours in Christ.
I ask this in Jesus Name. Amen (so be it)
Come alive with me as we go deeper in what we have been reminded of in…
…Eric’s Life Lesson # 403: Discerned Suffering: Sufferings OF Christ continued