The Chastisement of Our Peace

Sometimes a reader will leave a comment at very old post here, and it will remind me that the article might be worth sharing again. This one is from January, 2011…

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He was wounded for our transgressions.

Those words, from the KJV of Isaiah 53:5 are probably among the scripture verses most known by heart.

By his stripes we are healed.

If you grew up Pentecostal or Charismatic, there is no escaping teaching on that part of the verse; no escaping the connect-the-dots between the scourging Christ suffered and the healing that is available to us today, in the 21st century.

But what about the third of the four clauses in that verse? Here’s the whole verse in the new NIV:

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah, in this Messianic prophecy is saying that Christ’s suffering has brought us forgiveness for our transgressions and iniquities as well as (if you’re not dispensationalist) healing of mind and body.

But there it is, in the second-to-last, a reference to peace.

I mention all this because of a post I did this morning at Thinking Out Loud, where a U.S. pastor had his congregation complete an index card indicating the trials they were facing and the burdens they were carrying. If Isaiah 53 applies, then it must apply to the point of bringing peace to the very doubts, anxieties, fears, angers, jealousies, anger, pride, insecurities, addictions, pain, disappointments, attitudes… and everything else that people mentioned on those little 3-by-5 cards.

First, let’s do some translation hopping:

• He took the punishment, and that made us whole (Message)
• The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him (NASB)
• the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him (Amplified)
• He was beaten so we could be whole. (NLT)
• The punishment which gives us the peace has fallen on him (tr. of French – Louis Segond)

Clearly, the intent of this verse is that our peace is part of the finished work of Christ on the cross.

The New International Bible Commentary says:

Peace and healing view sin in terms of the estrangement from God and the marring of sinners themselves that it causes.

The ESV Study Bible notes on this verse concur:

His sufferings went to the root of all human vice.

Lack of peace as sin? Worry and anxiety as sin? That’s what both of these commentators seem to say.

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary makes clear however that the peace that is brought is a general well-being, not simply addressing the consequences of sin.

But in the Evangelical Bible Commentary, something else is suggested, that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is bringing a peace that represents the restoration between God and man.

Many of the other commentaries and study Bibles I own do not directly address this phrase. A broader study of the chapter reveals a Messiah suffering for all of the burdens we bear, such as the ones listed above in the pastor’s survey. (“Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear…”)

I’d be interested if any of you can find any blog posts or online articles where this particular phrase is addressed apart from the wider consideration of the verse as a whole.

At this point, let’s conclude by saying that the finished work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for all manner of needs we face; all types of burdens we carry.

Isaiah 53 and the Revelation of God’s Love Revealed in Jesus

This is our second visit with Ronnie Dauber who is a Christian author who lives in Canada with her family. She has written several young adult novels and seven Inspirational books. Her article below — click to read it directly at source, with images — is an expository devotional. In some cases we update the translation choice of the writer, but with Isaiah 53, I think the ornate quality of the older edition enhances the scripture passage.

Isaiah 53: The Epitome of Love

¹ Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

—He is revealed by the Spirit of God to those who hunger for God.

² For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

—Jesus was born to Joseph and Mary, humble Jews who worked hard to provide for their family. They were not rich, not popular, and did not hold prominent government or religious positions.

³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

—Jesus was killed by men who hated God and who hated that Jesus proclaimed to know God. And today people still hate God and refuse to repent and accept the salvation of Jesus and the Holiness of God.

⁴ Surely He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

—Jesus took all of our griefs and sorrows upon Himself on the cross. We know Him as our Savior, and God sees Him as the Son who gave His life for our sins.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and with His stripes, we are healed.

—Jesus took all of our sins, sickness and stresses upon Himself on the cross. We will no longer be judged because our sins were judged on the cross, and we no longer have to be sick because He also took that curse upon Himself at the cross.

⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

—We have all sinned and are all deserving of judgment, yet Jesus took our sins and offered His life as a sacrifice for our sins. And God accepted His sacrifice and pronounced the judgment for our sins upon His own Son so that we would be free.

⁷ He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth.

—Jesus was beaten, mocked, whipped and spat upon, yet He didn’t fight it or speak out against it. He knew He was the Lamb of God and He was willing to take upon Himself all of our sins. He suffered tremendously with physical pain, mental and spiritual depression, and evil oppression, and yet, He never once cursed the horror of the beatings or anyone. In fact, Jesus asked God to forgive them.

⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His generation? for He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was He stricken.

—Jesus was captured and thrown into prison, and then He was judged, stripped, beaten, mocked, whipped and cursed, and then killed—and all because He loved us so much that He didn’t want a single person to be punished and die lost because of their sins.

⁹ And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.

—Jesus was perfect. He was sinless, and there was no sin or violence or deceit in Him, yet because of our sin that He took upon Himself, He was crucified between two criminals. And He would have been buried in a common grave, but instead, His body was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, a rich politician who loved God.

¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He hath put Him to grief: when thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

—Jesus chose to die for our sins because He loves us, and it pleased God because now those who accept the salvation of Jesus will live with Him forever, and with Jesus, who is now our King.

¹¹ He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.

—Jesus suffered beyond all measure on that cross, and yet He wanted to do it for us so that we would never have to suffer the punishment for our sins. Jesus defeated sin and death when He took them down to Hell and then rose back to life again! And so now, all those who receive His salvation shall be saved! And God was pleased that Jesus had made a way for His children to now come Home.

¹² Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He hath poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

—Jesus was faithful and made a way that we can all be redeemed back to God, and God has made Jesus King over the earth. And all of us who believe in Jesus will be saved from our sins and will share the blessings of God, both here on earth and throughout eternity. Jesus died on the cross for everyone, yet, only some will accept it and be saved.

The enemy is deceiving many so that they not only can’t see the truth but don’t want to see the truth. The glitter of this world, and the ease of wealth, and the lust of the flesh are more important than the truth. Yet, one day they will know the truth and it will be too late for them. They will regret it with everything that’s in them because they will stand at the Judgment Seat of Christ and they will all know that Jesus IS the Messiah, the Lord of lords and King of kings that they refused to accept when they had the chance. And the Bible says there will be crying and gnashing of teeth because those who refused to accept Him on earth will be sentenced to eternity in Hell.

We can put lots of things off until tomorrow, but if you don’t know Jesus as your personal Lord and Savior, then do NOT put that off. It’s too late to choose once you die; the opportunity is now!

And when you know Jesus, then you’ll see the things of this world as the shallow deceptions that they are, and you will be alive in a freedom that you never thought was possible!

And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.—Hebrews 9:27-28

 

The Chastisement Of Our Peace

He was wounded for our transgressions.

Those words, from the KJV of Isaiah 53:5 are probably among the scripture verses most known by heart.

By his stripes we are healed.

If you grew up Pentecostal or Charismatic, there is no escaping teaching on that part of the verse; no escaping the connect-the-dots between the scourging Christ suffered and the healing that is available to us today, in the 21st century.

But what about the third of the four clauses in that verse?  Here’s the whole verse in the new NIV:

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

Isaiah, in this Messianic prophecy is saying that Christ’s suffering has brought us forgiveness for our transgressions and iniquities as well as (if you’re not dispensationalist) healing of mind and body.

But there it is, in the second-to-last, a reference to peace.

I mention all this because of a post I did this morning at Thinking Out Loud, where a U.S. pastor had his congregation complete an index card indicating the trials they were facing and the burdens they were carrying.  If Isaiah 53 applies, then it must apply to the point of bringing peace to the very doubts, anxieties, fears, angers, jealousies, anger, pride, insecurities, addictions, pain, disappointments, attitudes… and everything else that people mentioned on those little 3-by-5 cards.

First, let’s do some translation hopping:

• He took the punishment, and that made us whole (Message)
• The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him (NASB)
• the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him (Amplified)
• He was beaten so we could be whole.  (NLT)
• The punishment which gives us the peace has fallen on him (tr. of French – Louis Segond)

Clearly, the intent of this verse is that our peace is part of the finished work of Christ on the cross.

The New International Bible Commentary says:

Peace and healing view sin in terms of the estrangement from God and the marring of sinners themselves that it causes.

The ESV Study Bible notes on this verse concur:

His sufferings went to the root of all human vice.

Lack of peace as sin?  Worry and anxiety as sin?  That’s what both of these commentators seem to say.

The Wycliffe Bible Commentary makes clear however that the peace that is brought is a general well-being, not simply addressing the consequences of sin.

But in the Evangelical Bible Commentary, something else is suggested, that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is bringing a peace that represents the restoration between God and man.

Many of the other commentaries and study Bibles I own do not directly address this phrase.  A broader study of the chapter reveals a Messiah suffering for all of the burdens we bear, such as the ones listed above in the pastor’s survey.  (“Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear…”)

I’d be interested if any of you can find any blog posts or online articles where this particular phrase is addressed apart from the wider consideration of the verse as a whole.

At this point, let’s conclude by saying that the finished work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for all manner of needs we face; all types of burdens we carry.