By His Wounds

His wounds. His pain. His suffering. He bled. He died for me. He spoke words of forgiveness, though, because “they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Sometimes, I don’t think we know. We don’t know exactly what it was that Jesus did for us. We don’t understand how it works that we could possibly be healed by someone else’s suffering. But the stain of my sin and the pain of my guilt were cleansed and relieved because “the punishment that brought us peace was on him” (Isaiah 53:5, NIV). “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6c).

The wounds are God’s wounds! Jesus Christ, the blessed incarnation of God, was crucified in my place. An innocent man suffered for my sins. A holy God bled when I deserved the punishment. A righteous Savior died so I could get away scot-free. He took the blame for my mistakes even before I made them. He suffered the consequences of my evil behavior. The accusing finger was pointing at me, but He was executed!

How could I ever make it up to Him? I feel as though any sacrifice I could ever make would be just a microscopic miniature of what I truly owe. But the only payback He really wants is for me to accept what He has done for me and to follow Him. “To this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you should follow in his steps. ‘He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in his mouth.’ When he was abused, he did not return abuse; when he suffered, he did not threaten; but he entrusted himself to the one who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the cross, so that, free from sins, we might live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:21–24).