The Will to Crush and Prosper

“Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
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.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away…
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:4-12

How could such agony, affliction, and brokenness be God’s will? It’s unjust! Cruel! The opposite of loving! Yet what is irreconcilable dichotomy to man is righteous justice to God. What man’s imperfect nature cannot comprehend, God’s perfect nature plans and executes. We see clouds and spots, He sees beautiful reality in the full light of love. We are the sinners, we the culprits, we the deserving of wrath. God the magnificent Creator and Sovereign is Master of the Great Exchange, exquisitely substituting in Christ what we deserve. His will to crush His only Son is the same will to prosper that Son as victor and His people for eternity. (Psalm 14:1-3; Romans 3:23; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 John 1:9)

Like in many areas of life, we want for the spiritual realm only what we deem good, easy, comfortable, palatable. For some reason, borne of smugness about ourselves or flagrant denial of God’s holiness, we imagine a god who would never think to allow such pain and would surely turn his back on anything so agonizing as punishment. But God’s will to crush His only Son displays the horror of our estate without His mercy. The offensiveness of the cross is a picture of the offense our sin is against the Almighty. And God’s will to prosper Christ out of the tomb, ascended in glory to heaven, makes the way out for us too.

Can we grasp the beauty borne of buffeting, the peace procured from punishment, the salve secured from suffering? Where need we surrender our will to God’s? (Luke 22:42)

Lord, help me daily say Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven, so Your will prospers and You are glorified. (Matthew 6:10)