Long before Christ was even born,
the Prophet Isaiah predicted what would be accomplished through
His death on the cross: “He
was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities,
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His
wounds wounds we are healed” (see
Isaiah 53:5).
You see, there
are only two ways to pay the debt of sin. One is for you to pay
your own debt through an eternity of pain and suffering far worse
than
anything you can experience in this lifetime. The other is for
someone
else to take the punishment you deserved. Either way, someone
has to pay your debt of sin before God.
And Christ did just that.
He lived a perfect life in your place and then went to the cross
to endure your punishment for you.
Christ paid
your debt to God. Christ took the consequences of your sin upon
Himself so that you could receive the reward His perfect life
earned.
More than that, the book of Hebrews tells us that Christ
experienced the cross “for the joy set before Him” (see
Hebrews 12:2). While the cross was in no way a joyous experience for
Christ, the
work accomplished upon it was. Christ saw the bigger picture—He
knew that His sacrifice would fulfill God’s will
and that through His death your sin would be paid for
and through his resurrection you could be with Him for
eternity.
What comfort, what peace, what joy, what freedom … to know
that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, took our sin upon Himself, bringing
us peace with God, and rose from the dead to give us new life.
