Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted…He shall see of teh travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because…He bare the sin of many.
—Isaiah 53:4, 11-12
Are you familiar with the beautiful fifty-third chapter of Isaiah? Enlightened by the Spirit of God, Isaiah predicted the sufferings of the Lamb of God and described the divine grace that would result from them.
The words to bear had to appear in this prophecy. These words must accompany the mention of sin, whether committed directly by the sinner, or as transmitted to a substitute. The transgressor, the priest, and the atoning victim must all bear the sin. In the same way, it is because the Lamb of God has borne our sins that God smote Him for the iniquity of us all. Sin was not found in Him, but it was put on Him; He took it voluntarily. It is because He bore it that He has the power to save us. “My righteous servant [shall] justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities…He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because…He bare the sin of many.” It is because our sins have been borne by Christ that we are delivered from them as soon as we believe this truth; consequently, we no longer have to bear them ourselves.
It is said not only that the Lord’s righteous Servant bore our sins (verse 12), but also that He bore our griefs, or sicknesses (verse 4). Although He was without sin, He has borne our sins, and has done the same with our sicknesses.
Sin had attacked and ruined the soul and body equally. Jesus came to save both. Having taken sickness as well as sin on Himself, He is in a position to set us free from the one as well as the other. In order for Him to accomplish this double deliverance, He expects only one thing from us: our faith.
As soon as a sick believer understands the meaning of the words, “Jesus has borne my sins,” he is not afraid to say, “I no longer need to bear my sins.” As soon as he fully believes that Jesus has borne our sicknesses, he is not afraid to say, “I no longer need to bear my sickness.” Jesus, in bearing sin, bore sickness also. He has made payment for both, and He delivers us from both.