| Lets Have a Bible Study! |
On Thursday, I posted the results of a U.S. pastor’s congregational survey of the “burdens” that members of his church identified as things they were dealing with. Later that day, I considered the list in the light of a particular scripture verse in Isaiah, and posted my thoughts at Christianity 201. | I’m reprinting it here not because it’s one of my best posts or an example of my finest writing, but because it basically shows my Bible study process taking place. Some simple steps here — not in order — include (a) checking the context; (b) using multiple translations; (c) using study Bible notes; and (d) using Bible commentaries. And of course, (e) asking blog readers for their suggestions! |
He was wounded for our transgressions.
Those words, from the KJV of Isaiah 53:5 are probably among the scripture verses most known by heart.
By his stripes we are healed.
If you grew up Pentecostal or Charismatic, there is no escaping teaching on that part of the verse; no escaping the connect-the-dots between the scourging Christ suffered and the healing that is available to us today, in the 21st century.
But what about the third of the four clauses in that verse? Here’s the whole verse in the new NIV:
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Isaiah, in this Messianic prophecy is saying that Christ’s suffering has brought us forgiveness for our transgressions and iniquities as well as (if you’re not dispensationalist) healing of mind and body.
But there it is, in the second-to-last, a reference to peace.
I mention all this because of a post I did at Thinking Out Loud, where a U.S. pastor had his congregation complete an index card indicating the trials they were facing and the burdens they were carrying. If Isaiah 53 applies, then it must apply to the point of bringing peace to the very doubts, anxieties, fears, angers, jealousies, anger, pride, insecurities, addictions, pain, disappointments, attitudes… and everything else that people mentioned on those little 3-by-5 cards.
First, let’s do some translation hopping:
- He took the punishment, and that made us whole (Message)
- The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him (NASB)
- the chastisement [needful to obtain] peace and well-being for us was upon Him (Amplified)
- He was beaten so we could be whole. (NLT)
- The punishment which gives us the peace has fallen on him (tr. of French – Louis Segond)
Clearly, the intent of this verse is that our peace is part of the finished work of Christ on the cross.
The New International Bible Commentary says:
Peace and healing view sin in terms of the estrangement from God and the marring of sinners themselves that it causes.
The ESV Study Bible notes on this verse concur:
His sufferings went to the root of all human vice.
Lack of peace as sin? Worry and anxiety as sin? That’s what both of these commentators seem to say.
The Wycliffe Bible Commentary makes clear however that the peace that is brought is a general well-being, not simply addressing the consequences of sin.
But in the Evangelical Bible Commentary, something else is suggested, that the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 is bringing a peace that represents the restoration between God and man.
Many of the other commentaries and study Bibles I own do not directly address this phrase. A broader study of the chapter reveals a Messiah suffering for all of the burdens we bear, such as the ones listed above in the pastor’s survey. (“Oh, what peace we often forfeit; oh, what needless pain we bear…”)
I’d be interested if any of you can find any blog posts or online articles where this particular phrase is addressed apart from the wider consideration of the verse as a whole.
At this point, let’s conclude by saying that the finished work of Christ on the cross is sufficient for all manner of needs we face; all types of burdens we carry.
Thinking Out Loud 