He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:11
As we gather today to worship our Saviour and to remember His death, we will make much of His wounds, His bruises, and His stripes. The physical suffering that our Saviour endured at Golgotha produced marks that He will bear forever. The suffering of His body was intense, but not unique. The Romans crucified many thousands whose bodies entered agonies similar to Christ’s. But the travail of His soul that our text today addresses was unique; none other ever did, or ever could, enter such agony.
What was the knowledge that God’s righteous Servant entered into that produced justification for us? What was the weight of our iniquities that He bore? The knowledge was the wrath that our souls deserved because of the vileness of our sins and our sinful stage. He knew, during those three dark hours on the cross, how offensive our sins are to a righteous and holy God. The weight that He bore there was the totality of humanity’s sin and the totality of the punishment required to make atonement for that sin. None of us could bear that knowledge or carry that weight, nor could we even look upon One who alone was bearing that knowledge and carrying that weight. That is the reason for Calvary’s three dark hours.
Was the travail of His soul worthwhile? It surely was, because God was satisfied. And so are we. -Jim MacIntosh
Here is the link to the video of this message: https://youtu.be/DeO8lnT9aaY