Preached at Markham Baptist Church, April 13, 2001

"Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed."
(Isaiah 53:1-5) (NRSV)

We have come together today to worship God in light of the cross of Christ. And it is to the cross of Christ that we look. It is to that figure of Christ, pierced, crushed, punished and wounded upon the cross that we focus our attention. We should not do this carelessly, or quickly, but seek to have a steady look this morning at the cross of Christ.

For some of you it may be your first look. For others, you are familiar with the scene and it continues to bring a tear to your eye. Others, perhaps, have grown jaded and hardened to Christ on the cross - whoever you are, and whatever your feelings toward the cross, come today with freshness - let yourself be guided by God's word today and come to the foot of the cross and look to your Saviour.

"He was pieced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5) (NIV)

As we focus our attention upon the cross, see first how he died. He was pierced; he was crushed; he was punished, and he was wounded. There was not a part of Jesus Christ that was not affected by the crucifixion.

His mind and his body were both affected. But think first of his physical suffering. The agony of the cross begins really in the garden of Gethsemane. In a very real way we begin to see his suffering. He is in agony. Blood pours from his brow so profusely that it falls to the ground like beads of sweat. It is very rare for someone to sweat blood; he was in agony.

And before he can wipe off the blood from his face, his accusers come for him and march him into the high priests' hall. There he is spit upon, struck, slapped and mocked. Early in the morning, they bind him and lead him away to Pilate. There he is whipped with a Roman whip - it is made out of leather, twisted into knots, and into these knots are inserted slivers of bone, like our modern day fishhooks. These bury deep in the back and when pulled back make deep furrows in the flesh.

The soldiers strip him, put a scarlet robe on him. They twist together a crown of thorns and set it on his head. They spit in his face, pull his hair, beat him with their fists, and mockingly cry, "Hail the King of the Jews."

All of this is but a preliminary to the crucifixion. In all his weakness, having no food to eat and nothing to drink, they make him carry his own cross, and in their cruelty, seeing that he may die before he hangs on the cross, they make another man carry it for him.

When they get outside the city walls, they throw him down, and nail him to the horizontal beam of the cross. They pierce his hands and lift him up and jolt him into place so that his limbs dislocate.

He hangs in the burning sun till the fever of his bones dissolves his strength.

There he hangs on public display. The nails soon tear through the tender nerves, and then the painful load begins to drag upon his hands, and rips him to pieces.

All the while his enemies stand around, pointing at him mockingly, gloating over his sufferings. He cries, "I thirst," and they give him vinegar. After what must seem like an eternity, he says, "It is finished." Having paid the price he breathes his last.

To describe the outward sufferings of our Lord is not easy; we haven't even come close today. But the sufferings he experienced in his sinless soul - who can imagine, much less describe, what they were? I told you how he sweat drops of blood - that was his heart pounding so hard because of his depression and sorrow. He said, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow, even to the point of death."

Judas betrays him; Peter denies him; the other ten run away. All of this breaks our Lord's heart. But it is the weight of our sin that is the real pressure upon him. Who can describe his agony, as the burden of our sin falls upon him and the presence of the Holy God leaves him, and he cries out, "My God, My God why have you forsaken me"?

That is the most horrible cry. He was made a curse for you and me, for Scripture says, "Cursed is everyone who hangs upon the tree."

Our Lord, he was pierced, crushed, punished, and wounded. Body, mind and spirit.

And while you are looking at the cross you may ask yourself in the midst of the horror of it all, "Why? Why? Why should this man, this innocent man, suffer like this? What is the reason for his death?"

And we find the answer, "He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities." He died because of our sin. The sin that is present in our life right now in the twenty-first century, was the reason he died it the first century.

He died because of our sin, because of my sin, because of your sin. Jesus died.

Because of the lie that you told your wife, Jesus died.

Because of the hatred that you harbour in your heart, Jesus died.

Because of that act of infidelity you committed, He died.

Because of that lust in your heart, Jesus died.

Because of that little bit of greed in you, Jesus died.

Because of your lack of self-control, Jesus died.

Because of your long rebellion against God and his will in your life, Jesus died.

Because of my sin, because of your sin, Jesus died.

But not only because of, but also instead of. He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that was to be ours was borne in him. That agony that he experienced upon the cross should have been our agony. That shame that he experienced upon the cross should have been our shame. That darkness of soul that he experienced should have been our darkness. That death should have been our death. Why?

Because we have all, like sheep, gone astray. Each of us has turned to his or her own way and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

We know from Scripture that the wages of sin is death - we are sinners and the wages we should have withdrawn from this master is death. But Christ died in our place - he died that death for us; he received those wages, and we receive the gift of eternal life through him.

That is the reason for his death - but what is the result?

The text says, "By his wounds we are healed." That's the good news, friends. Those words are wonderful in that they point us to the one who brings healing and wholeness. By his wounds we are healed.

O my friends it is by the suffering death of Christ that we are healed. Do not let society deceive you. The world does not understand the message of Christ crucified. To those in the world it is foolishness.

But do not be deceived for it is the very power of God. (I Cor. 1:18) It is the power to bring healing into your life. There is no wholeness for your heart outside of Jesus Christ. There is only one person in this universe who can heal your emotions; there is only one person in this world who can heal your conscience; there is only one who can heal your character; there is only one who can heal your heart - it is by the wounds of Jesus Christ that we are healed.

God does not say to us, "His wounds help to heal us." But, "By his wounds we are healed."

By his wounds the sin-sick soul is healed. Don't be thinking that there is anything you can do to remove the guilt of sin. There is nothing for you to do - it is by his wounds that we are healed. He bore all the wounds possible. There isn't one wound left for you to bear.

And someone will say, "But we have to believe in him don't we? Isn't that something we can do?" And it is a truth that we must believe in Jesus Christ, but our faith in Christ is not what heals our sin-sick life. The wounds of Jesus Christ are the ointment that heals; faith is only the bandage that holds the ointment in place.

But another would say, "But we must repent." And that is true, we do need to repent. But repentance is the first sign of healing. Again, it is by the wounds of Jesus Christ that we are healed, not repentance. The wounds of Christ, when they are applied to the heart, bring us to repentance; we hate sin because it made Jesus suffer. When we look in our mind's eye at the cross of Christ, aided by the gospels and the Holy Spirit, we are made to fall on our knees and say, "O God I am sorry; I am so sorry."

My friends, Jesus has borne all your sin for you. He has suffered for you; he has suffered God's wrath for you. He has paid the debt of death for you. And, having paid off the debt, God cannot ask us to pay the debt again.

When you accept Christ as suffering for you, you accept a complete debt-free life. He has become our substitute, so we can go free. We are now accepted by God because Jesus was accepted. Now there is, therefore, no condemnation - why? Because Christ has become our condemnation. By his wounds we are healed.

And our lives are living proof of it. By Christ's wounds our character has been healed. The greedy have become generous; the drunk has become sober; the liar has become truthful; the selfish have become selfless; the embittered have become forgiving, all by trusting in the sufferings of Christ.

Not only sin-sickness, not only character, but also conscience is healed. The burden of sin has been taken off our shoulders; the darkness of it all has been replaced by the light of his grace; the spirit of mourning has been replaced with joy, and the conscience has been made clear and clean.

And when this happens, the heart is healed. No longer do we long to sin, but we long to please God, and seek after holiness.

And many of you know how faith in Christ allows you to face tomorrow with steadfastness. Trouble, sorrow and strife are endured because of the presence of Christ. Fear of death is gone. We now rejoice, because the wounds of Christ have been applied to our heart and soul.

Now there is only this left to say, and that is, you are either healed or not. You are either healed by grace, or you are still in your sin. Don't leave the foot of the cross without answering that question. Am I healed by the wounds of Christ or am I not?

If you are, then you are invited to a banquet. It is a banquet to celebrate your healing and remind you of his wounds that he bore on your behalf. To look at it, you might think that this is a meager table. But in reality it is a lavish spread. For it speaks of Christ's grace, which is unending, and it speaks of his love for you, which is enduring, and speaks of Christ's wounds, which are healing.

If you are not healed by the wounds of Christ then be so today. Believe in Christ as your substitute; repent of your sin, and call on him to save you today. Don't wait another day - you've lived without the marvellous grace of Jesus Christ in your life for too long. You have put it off and put it off - today is the day for you to be healed by the wounds of Jesus Christ. This is the day of salvation. Now. He is calling you now. He is calling you to give your life to him, to surrender your life to him.

Simply say to him, "O God, it is because of my sin that you died. Forgive me. I see that by your wounds I am healed. Heal my soul, my heart, today. From now on I will live for you, seeking to obey you as my Lord.

If you feel God calling you, pray that prayer today. I invite you to come to the front as we receive communion today and pray it with me.