Words of Hope Daily Devotional
The Suffering Savior
Read: Isaiah 53:4-5
With his wounds we are healed. (v. 5)
The Apostles’ Creed, the most ancient summary of Christian belief, describes the entire earthly life of Jesus between his birth and death with just one word: he suffered. When the Creed speaks of the suffering of Christ, it is referring above all to his passion—from passio, the Latin word for “suffering”—the final torment Jesus endured when he was condemned, tortured, and crucified by the authorities in Jerusalem. This is the suffering to which Isaiah points in the heart of his 53rd chapter. In these Old Testament verses, we see most clearly a portrait not just of the life but of the death of Jesus of Nazareth.
In his passion, Jesus suffered both physically and psychologically—the beating, the excruciating pain of crucifixion, the desertion by his friends, the mocking of the crowd. But the most important and profound way he suffered was spiritually: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46; Ps. 22:1). When Jesus spoke those words, he was doing more than just giving vent to his feelings or quoting words from the Bible; he was testifying to something that was actually happening. In some mysterious way beyond our understanding, beyond even our imagining, God had forsaken him. Jesus was experiencing hell—the absence of God—as the punishment of sin. But it was our sins he was paying for, not his own: “He was wounded for our transgressions . . . upon him was the punishment that made us whole” (Isa. 53:5 NRSV).
That’s the gospel according to Isaiah.
As you pray, reflect in silence and thank Jesus for his suffering.
About the Author
Rev. David Bast
David Bast is a writer and pastor who served for 23 years as the President and Broadcast Minister for Words of Hope. In his more than 40 years of devotional writing and preaching, he has been encouraging believers around the world to be shaped by God and his Word.
Prior to his ministry and work at Words of Hope, Dave served as a pastor for 18 years in congregations in the Reformed Church in America. A graduate of Hope College and Western Theological Seminary, he is the author of nine devotional books and Bible studies, includingWhy Doesn't God Act More Like God,Christ in the Psalms, andA Gospel for the World.
Dave and his wife, Betty Jo, have four children and eight grandchildren. Dave enjoys reading, growing tomatoes, and avidly follows the Detroit Tigers.
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