Who, when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness--by whose stripes you were healed. (1 Peter 2:23-24, NKJV)
Jesus bore our sins! It was not make-believe, not surreal nor pretend! Jesus really did bear our sins. And for that he was reviled, despised, slandered, maligned, smeared and libelled. Even though he was completely blameless. He knew no sin. Instead he only knew love, truth and righteousness. He was the innocent lamb led to the slaughter. However, He did not demand His rights nor declare his innocence.
His friends and followers forsook him. Judas betrayed him and Peter denied him. His own people turned against him. The religious elite falsely tried him. Rome’s soldiers beat and pommelled him without mercy. Into his flesh tore the metal barbs of their whip. The crown of twisted thorns brutally penetrated his brow. How greatly he bled!
He was tortured, disfigured and emaciated. He suffered a lack of sleep, a lack of food and water, a lack of love and kindness. And he was violently nailed to the tree. The spikes pounded through His hands and feet. With a horrific thud he and the cross were forcefully plunged into the ground. Nakedly suspended he hung between Heaven and Earth, as the sword of our guilt pierced through his heart.
Jesus was spit upon, humiliated and defiled. He was mocked and taunted by the wild pack of unrestrained humanity beneath his feet. Yet, Jesus did not revile back. He did not curse those who hung him out to die. He did not retaliate or curse his enemies. Instead he forgave us and died for us.
To believe in Jesus is to commit ourselves to him. It is to leave all and follow him. It is to leave behind resentment, ill feeling, vengefulness, bitterness, prejudice, hatred, unforgiveness and the like. It is to hang such things on the cross, as he did, instead of hanging them in our hearts. We are healed by his stripes. Therefore, let us live as he did.
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