He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, and by his wounds we are healed. This is the most explicitly Christian passage in Isaiah - the suffering servant who takes on the punishment we deserve.
I was in a theology class in seminary where we had to wrestle with whether this was really about Jesus or about Israel or about the servant figure more generally. But what struck me wasn't the academic question. It was the reality: somebody has to take the blow. Somebody has to stand between you and the consequences of your actions. And the claim is that somebody is willing to do that.
I couldn't believe that for a long time. It seemed too good - that someone would actually step in and take punishment for me. But I'm learning to let myself believe it. That's faith - believing that someone loves you that much.
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