He poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. —Isaiah 53:12 ESV
The gospel is both a simple message and a severe one. It is simple in its essence: the sinless One sacrificed Himself for sinners. The severity is in the seeming injustice of it all: the Innocent suffered and the guilty were pardoned.
Isaiah wrote that Christ was numbered with the transgressors, meaning that He willingly became one of us. We were transgressors, at enmity with God, yet He stepped into our mob and made a way for us to leave it. And not only leave it but leave it cloaked in righteousness.
Every religious pursuit apart from belief in Christ amounts to our best efforts to get heaven to open up, hoping all our work and effort will somehow please Him enough that He’ll let us into His presence.
And there again is the simplicity of the gospel. We don’t have to try to gain access; it has already been granted through the One who became one of us.
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Incomparable: 50 Days with Jesus
© 2024 by Revived Hearts Foundation
Scripture taken from The ESV
Make it Personal
Sing a hymn or chorus of praise today, exalting Christ as the perfect sacrifice for our sins.