"The Punishment"

"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." Isaiah 53:10

Years ago when I watched the movie "The Passion" and saw a visual presentation of what the crucifixion of Jesus was really like, it compelled me to ask the Father a question. The question was this- "Why was what Jesus went through so horrible? If you were the One who set the punishment for sin, if you were the One who decided what He should go through, why didn't you make it a little lighter on Him? Why was He beaten until He was unrecognizable? Why did He have to be nailed to the cross?" He answered me with this- "Because that is just how horrible sin is." What He was saying to me was that in order for the punishment of our sins to be acceptable, the punishment must fit the crime.

The punishment that Jesus faced was equal to the crime of sin. Therefore, Jesus had to drink the whole cup of wrath and punishment for our sins. And He had to drink all the way to the bottom, every last dreg. All the punishment had to be fulfilled.

When we look at the cross, when we see the horror of it, when we see what Jesus endured, we must always remember that sin to God is no little matter. Therefore, when we sin, we must immediately confess it and repent of it. We cannot take sin in our lives lightly, not even what we consider to be a small sin. God doesn't see it that way.

Had He not laid our sins on Jesus, had He not put our iniquities on Him, had He not taken our punishment, then we would be punished for our own sins and hell would be the punishment that we would receive for them- remember, the punishment had to fit the crime.

Don't take sin in your life for granted. Jesus took your punishment so that you could go free. But if you refuse the forgiveness/pardon that came through Jesus' punishment for you then you will wind up paying for your own sins one day. "Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." (Matthew 25:41)

Have a great day. The punishment that Jesus went through at the cross was equal to the crime of sin that we had committed, so don't take sin lightly.

For further reading:
Isaiah 53
Romans 6:23