In the Gospels Jesus described the things He would soon suffer at the hands of sinful men as “the Lord’s doing which is marvelous in our eyes.”

Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Matthew 21:33-42).

The Lord’s doing was “carried out” in how Jesus was unjustly treated by sinful men.

Those who opposed Jesus and were eventually responsible for His death were the children of those who had killed the prophets before Christ.

When Stephen was put on trial before those who accused Him of “blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law,” he recounted the history of Israel and their perpetual rejection of God along with those whom God sent to them. This all culminated in their rejection of Jesus. Stephen spoke boldly and sternly to these men, despite their fierce, murderous anger toward him and the one who inspired him to say these words:

“Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:51-52)

Stephen said to those who were about to stone him that they were betrayers and murderers of Jesus, the Holy One. He asserted their fathers had persecuted the prophets who had prophesied of the Lord’s coming, and they had followed in their ancestors’ footsteps by their violent rejection of Christ. Stephen fervently asked them how long they would continue to resist the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had said to the leaders of the Jewish people that by their rejection of Him they would be accounted as guilty of the blood of all the prophets, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah (Luke 11:46). By their resistance to Stephen’s preaching about Jesus, those who killed Stephen continued to resist the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the book of Acts much of the persecution against Christians came from the religious Jews who rejected Jesus as Messiah. Stephen was stoned because of such persecution.

Jesus is the chosen stone, the cornerstone, which God has chosen but the people refused.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, WHOM YE CRUCIFIED, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this (formerly lame) man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was SET AT NOUGHT OF YOU BUILDERS, which is become the head of the corner (the cornerstone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:10-12).

Jesus came to bear witness to the truth of God and those who rejected him rejected God. Rejected and unjustly condemned by men, Jesus was vindicated and exalted by God in His resurrection. God overturned their counsel by raising Jesus from the dead (see 1 Corinthians 1:18-24) and “this is the Lord’s doing which is marvelous in our eyes.”

The stone which the builders rejected is the Cornerstone whom God has chosen

“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say,  “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, the stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy” (1 PETER 2:4-10).

Faith in the crucified Christ is a stumbling block for those who trust in their own righteousness and it is foolishness to those who pride themselves in their earthly wisdom, but to all who believe it is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus who was crucified for our sins is the foundation stone which God has laid in Zion and whoever believes in Him will never be put to shame. (Isaiah 28:16; Romans 9:30-31).

The apostle Peter tells us that Jesus is our example to follow when we suffer wrongfully because he also suffered wrongfully when he died for our sins (see 1 Peter 2:19-24). The gospels and the book of Acts reveal that Jesus was unjustly condemned by the hands of sinful men.

Consider Acts 8:33: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.

Other translations say:

• He was humiliated and received no justice…(NLT)
• In His humiliation He was taken away by distressing and oppressive judgment and justice was denied Him …(Amplified Bible)
• In His humiliation justice was denied Him …(Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Acts 8:33 is a quote from Isaiah 53:8 which says, “ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

Some other translations of Isaiah 53:8 say the following:

• Unjustly condemned, he was led away…(New Living Translation)
• By oppression and judgment He was taken away…(Amplified Bible)
• He was condemned to death without a fair trial… (Contemporary English Version).

Those who killed Jesus hated him without a cause because they hated both He and the Father (John 15:24-25). Jesus died an unjust death at their hands because they were gathered against God and against His Christ. ~ Acts 4:26-27

Christ was vindicated in his resurrection when God raised him from the dead and exalted Him at His own right hand. This is why the apostles (throughout the book of Acts) lay blame for the death of Jesus on the people, and the resurrection they attribute to God in opposition to what they had done in crucifying him.

In 1 Peter 2, the apostle Peter (who learned firsthand from Jesus what had happened at the cross) says that Jesus suffering wrongfully. The apostle Peter goes on to tell us that Jesus committed Himself to the ONE who judges righteously (a reference to God the righteous Judge). Peter makes these statements in view of the cross saying “Jesus bore our sins in His body.”

For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:19-24

Notice that the apostle Peter actually says that Jesus is our example of how we are to endure when we suffer wrongfully. According to Peter, Jesus bore our sins as one who suffered wrongly and Jesus committed himself to the One who judges righteously.

 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

The words ‘‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me,” come from the first verse of Psalm 22. The Jews who were acquainted with the Torah would have recognized these words and would have immediately thought of Psalm 22 in its entirety.

These words have often been used to support position that Jesus was abandoned by the Father at the cross. However, if God had abandoned Jesus, this would have only justified the condemnation of the religious Jewish leaders who led the charge in condemning Jesus to death. It would have proven he was not the Messiah.

This is an important point because Jesus made the claim that his death on the cross would prove he was the Son of God (John 8:28-29). If his death on the cross did indeed prove that he is the Son of God, then the words he recited from Psalm 22 must have been a part of this undeniable evidence.

Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 are the two places in the New Testament where Psalm 22:1 is recorded. In both instances the scriptures record the response of the Centurion Soldier who heard Jesus cry out these words. His conclusion, according to Mark’s gospel was “truly this man was the Son of God.” (see Mark 15:34-39)

We need to ask ourselves: what persuaded the Centurion Soldier that Jesus was the Son of God?

Consider the following which give evidence that God was indeed present with Jesus as he was dying on the cross:

GOD DID NOT HIDE HIS FACE FROM HIM

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; NEITHER HATH HE HID HIS FACE FROM HIM; but when he cried unto him, he heard (Psalm 22:24).

HE WAS HEARD

Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and WAS HEARD in that he feared; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9).

I AM NOT ALONE BECAUSE THE FATHER IS WITH ME

I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I AM NOT ALONE, BECAUSE THE FATHER IS WITH ME. (John 16:28-32)

THE FATHER HAS NOT LEFT ME ALONE

Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: THE FATHER HATH NOT LEFT ME ALONE; for I do always those things that please him. (John 8:28-29)

HE IS NEAR WHO JUSTIFIES ME

The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. HE IS NEAR THAT JUSTIFIETH ME; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. BEHOLD THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. (Isaiah 50:5-9)

BY THE GRACE OF GOD HE TASTED DEATH FOR EVERY MAN

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he BY THE GRACE OF GOD should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9).

GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST,  reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT JESUS OFFERED HIMSELF TO GOD

How much more shall the blood of Christ, WHO THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OFFERED HIMSELF WITHOUT SPOT TO GOD, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD AS AN UNBLEMISHED LAMB

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. (1 Peter 1:18-20),

THE DEATH OF JESUS WAS A SWEET FRAGRANCE TO GOD

Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (Ephesians 5:2).

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THE WORDS “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?” IS ONLY ONE OF SEVERAL STATEMENTS MADE BY JESUS FROM THE CROSS.

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF FORGIVENESS

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:34)

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF PROVISION

Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:27)

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:39-43)

JESUS SPOKE WORDS FROM THE SCRIPTURES

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (John 19:28-30). And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 15:46).

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF TRUST IN GOD

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46)

Consider the following:

1. Jesus was delivered to the cross, not from the cross.

2. It was the will of God for Jesus to lay down His life and to take it up again.

3. God did not intervene to rescue Jesus from the agony of the Cross.

4. Jesus was protected from those who wanted to destroy Him until the time came that He should lay down His life (John 7:30).

5. Jesus endured the grief of human suffering for He is a High Priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

6. The sense of abandonment experienced by Christ was provisional not relational. God withdraw his protective hand when the time came for Jesus to lay down his life; in this sense he was delivered over to death by God as our sacrifice. Jesus was not relationally separated from God.

Had God rejected Jesus on the cross, we would still be in our sins!

Throughout the Old Testament the offerings which foreshadowed Jesus were ACCEPTED to make atonement. Those offerings which were rejected did not make atonement.

And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be ACCEPTED for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1:4).

And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, IT SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity (Leviticus 7:18).

Rejected sacrifices and offerings DID NOT make atonement. Those which were accepted as a sweet savor did!

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour (Ephesians 5:2).

ISAIAH 53:12

Isaiah 53:12 tells us, “He BARE  the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

The Hebrew word for bare in Isaiah 53:12 is “naw-saw” and is translated as forgiveness in it’s various forms multiple times in the Old Testament. For instance, it is translated as “forgiving” in Exodus 34:6-7:

And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, FORGIVING iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

It is also translated as forgive, forgiven, and forgavest in Psalm 25:16-18 and Psalm 32:1 &5.

Psalm 25:16-18 says:

Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and FORGIVE all my sins.

Psalm 32:1, 2, & 5 says:

Blessed is he whose transgression is FORGIVEN, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile…I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou FORGAVEST the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

In Romans 4 Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 in view of the righteousness which comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Hebrews word “naw-saw” translated “bare” in Isaiah 53:12 appears in 610 passages of scripture in the Old Testament and is referenced a total of 653 times.

Here are some examples of how it is used elsewhere in the Old Testament:

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and BARE UP the ark, and it was lift up above the earth (Genesis 7:17).

And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, WHICH TOOK AWAY the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt (Exodus 10:19).

Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I BARE you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself (Exodus 19:4).

And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark MAY BE BORNE with them (Exodus 25:14).

Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to BEAR you myself alone: The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) How can I myself alone BEAR your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you (Deuteronomy 1:8-13).

The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God BARE thee, as a man doth BEAR his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day (Deuteronomy 1:30-33).

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to BEAR them (Isaiah 1:13-14). 

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and CARRY them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young (Isaiah 40:9-11).

Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, WHICH ARE CARRIED from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I WILL BEAR; even I will carry, and will deliver you (Isaiah 46:3-4).

I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and CARRIED them all the days of old (Isaiah 63:7-9).

Contrary to the often misplaced interpretation of this word, it doesn’t mean “to transfer” or “to substitute” or “to exchange.” Rather, it has to do with lifting the burden, removing, taking away, carrying, etc.

Jesus “bare” our sins by giving Himself as an “offering for our sins” and by His precious blood, He Has taken them away. Jesus also to “bear” us in our weaknesses. He is our High priest who is able to save us to the uttermost for He ever lives to make intercession for us.

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ISAIAH 53:4

In Isaiah 53:4, the Hebrew word “naw-saw” is rendered as “borne.”

Surely he hath BORNE our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

In Matthew 8:16-17 Matthew interprets Isaiah 53:4 in view of healing and deliverance.

When the evening was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself TOOK our infirmities, and BARE our sicknesses.

According to Matthew’s interpretation of Isaiah 53:4, Jesus did not take the peoples infirmities and bare their sicknesses by becoming afflicted and sick (by becoming a substitute with the sicknesses and infirmities of the people transferred to Him). Instead, Jesus “took” and “bare” the infirmities and sicknesses of the people by delivering them from demons and healing them.

From Matthew’s interpretation of Isaiah 53:4 we can see Matthew understood the words of Isaiah in view the antidote which was healing and deliverance.

In the same way, Jesus bore our sins by giving Himself as an unblemished sacrifice so that we could be cleansed from our sins by His precious blood and made alive with Him through his resurrection from the dead.

It is in view of the salvation which Jesus obtained for us through the laying down of His life that we should understand what it means that He bore our sins.

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1 PETER 2:24

1 Peter 2:24 says “Who his own self  BARE  our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

The Greek word for bare is “anaphero” and it means to take up, bear, bring, (carry, lead) up, offer (up).

It is used 9 other times in the New Testament in 8 different verses.