He bore the sins of many.

Isaiah 53:12

The last time we were in Virginia visiting our daughter and her family with our 3 grandchildren, it inevitable came time to leave, and our granddaughter made it that much more difficult. Little Hannah, 2 yrs old, unbeknownst to us, had gone upstairs, packed her own little travel bag with the toys that she thought would be necessary and came down, towing her bag behind her with her little jacket, all ready to get in the car with us. When she was told that she wasn’t going to be able to go home with us, she burst into tears, totally shocked by that revelation.

There is often a price to be paid when you love so much. We may often feel the pain when we have to say goodbye to someone we love because of the separation from them. Jesus, however, felt the ultimate separation when He paid the highest price of love on the cross. Scripture tells us that Jesus was both human and God and He fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy about 700 years after Isaiah originally gave it. He did that when He bore the sins of many (Is. 53:12). When we read Isaiah 53, we see many indications of Jesus as the suffering servant, such as when He was pierced for our rebellion in vs. 5, which happened when he was nailed to the cross, when one of the soldiers thrust a spear into His side, when the crown of thorns was shoved down on His head, and when He was whipped, so we could be healed (vs. 5).

Because of love, Jesus humbled Himself and came to earth and was born as a baby. Because of love, He accepted the abuse of the teachers of the law, the crowds, and the soldiers. Because of love, He suffered and died to be the perfect sacrifice, standing in our place in front of the Father. We live because of Love.

But it was the Lord’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the Lord’s good plan will prosper in his hands. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins. I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.

Isaiah 53:9-12 (NLT)