Isaiah 53:5 “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.” Today's episode talks about how much God wants to heal us, He really does. It explains that if we are hoping for a healing we need to keep asking and keep believing we will get it. Don't give up hope!! Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
And By His Bruises We Are Healed
Isaiah 53:5 “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.”
With today being Good Friday, or at least that is the day I am recording this episode, I am not surprised this is the verse of the day. It makes me so sad to think of all Jesus had to go through to save us. It makes me sad to think of all that pain and suffering. Anytime I do the sorrowful mysteries for the rosary I am reminded of each of the painful steps he had to take. I usually use a rosary app to do the rosary and it gives a great description of each of the mysteries. For those of you who do not say the rosary, or maybe those that do not have the app and so don’t get the same commentary, let me share with you the five mysteries and how the app describes them:
First, The agony in the garden: Jesus comes with his disciples to Gethsemane. “Stay here while I go yonder and pray.” Entering the garden with Peter ,James and John Jesus prays, "My soul is sorrowful unto death.” Jesus sees the sins of all mankind, who’s guilt he has taken upon himself. He sees the wrath of the father, which his sufferings much appease. So great is his anguish that his sweat becomes as drops of blood falling to the ground. An angel appears to him from heaven to strengthen him. “Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me, yet not my will but yours be done. Finding the disciples asleep, “Could you not watch one hour with me?” Jesus is betrayed by Judas, cruelly bound and lead away. Father by the merits of the agony of Jesus in the garden, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
The Second Sorrowful Mystery, The scourging at the pillar. Jesus is taken before the high priest where he is falsely accused, buffeted and insulted. The Jewish leaders take Jesus before Pilate, for only he can impose the death penalty. The robber Barabas is preferred to Jesus. Pilate can find no cause in him, yet to appease the Jews he orders Jesus to be scourged. The scourge is made of leather thongs to which are attached small sharp bones. Jesus is bound to a pillar and cruelly scourged until his whole body is covered with deep wounds. The lamb of God offers his suffering for the sins of mankind. Jesus suffers so much in his sacred flesh to satisfy especially for sins of the flesh. The prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins. Father, by the merit of Jesus in this painful scourging, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
The Third Sorrowful Mystery, The Crowning With Thorns. Pilate asks, “Are you a king?” Jesus answers, “I am a king but my kingdom is not of this world.” In the Praetorium, the solders place an old purple robe on Jesus in mockery of his claim to be a king. They fashion a crown out of thorns and forcefully press it down upon his head. In his bound hands the place a reed as a scepter in mockery of his kingship. Kneeling before him in derision the spit on him and cry out, “Hail, King of the Jews.” Taking the reed from his had they strike him on the head, driving the thorns more deeply into his scalp. Pilate brings Jesus before the people, hoping his pitiful sight will soften them. “Behold the man.” Their response, “Crucify him, crucify him.” Our blessed Lord submitted to this terrible humiliation to make reparation for our pride. Father, by the merits of this terrible, painful, humiliation, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
The Fourth Sorrowful Mystery, The Carrying of the Cross. One condemned to death by crucifixion is forced to carry the cross to the place of execution. The suffering of Jesus is intense as the cross is laid on his bruised and wounded back and shoulders. Weak and exhausted from loss of blood, lack of food and rest, Jesus falls three times under the weight of the cross. Jesus meets his afflicted mother causing untold damage in the hearts of son and mother. The countenance of Jesus is disfigured with blood and sweat, with dust and spittle. Veronica wipes his face, leaving on her towel the image of his countenance. Fearing that Jesus might die on the way, the soldiers forced Simeon of Cyrene to carry the cross behind Jesus. Jesus speaks to weeping women, “Weep not for me, but for yourselves and your children. If anyone is to be my disciple, let him take up his cross and follow me. Father by the merits of this painful journey to Calgary have mercy on us and on the whole world.
The Fifth Sorrowful Mastery, The Crucifixion. Then hands and feet of Jesus are nailed to the cross in the presence of his afflicted mother. “Father forgive them, for they know now what they do. This day you will be with me in paradise. Woman, behold your son, son behold your mother. My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? I thirst. It is finished. Father, into your hands I commend my Spirit.” The side of Jesus is pierced by a lance. His body is taken down and placed in the arms of his mother. Father, by the merits of the crucifixion and the death of Jesus, have mercy on us and on the whole world.
I am not sure why I felt called to share those mysteries with you. I guess I just thought it would be good to remember all Christ went through for us before getting into the verse. Not that any of us could really forget what Jesus did for us. The verse says, “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.” This verse came out of Isaiah. Did you know Isaiah lived 740 years before Jesus was even born. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine knowing what was going to happen over 750 years before it happens? It is not as if Jesus just appeared one day without any notice. This is what makes it hard for me to understand why more Jewish people, especially the leaders, didn’t know who he was. Their were scriptures about him and what he would come and do, and yet people still didn’t believe.
I talked the other day about the fact that Jesus was wounded for our transgressions and crushed for our iniquities. Remember, we are the ones responsible for his death as he took our sins to the cross, each and every one of us. The next line in today’s verse says, “Upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we were healed.” Did you know we were already made whole? I know it may not feel like it, but we were! I have been hearing the last part of the verse a lot lately. “By his bruises we were healed.” We tend to think God doesn’t want to heal us. We tend to ask timidly for healings or we don’t ask at all. We think God doesn’t want to heal us or that our ailment isn’t that bad and there are others far worse off than we are. We think God is too busy to heal us, so we don’t ask. Another reason we might not ask is because we are afraid to ask. What if the answer is no? What if we ask God to heal us and then we don’t get better, what do we do then? All of these are real concerns.
What this verse is telling us is that God does want to heal us. We are healed by his bruises. We are made whole by the punishment he endured. God did not send his only son to die on the cross so we can live a life full of sickness. God wants to heal us, not only forgive our sins. If you need a healing or someone you know needs a healing ask God for it and then keep asking God for it. Sometimes we need to be persistent. God rewards persistence, there are numerous examples of this in the bible. If you don’t get your healing the first time, or the 10th time you ask, keep asking. We can be tempted to stop asking and to assume that if God wanted to heal us He would have done it already. God does want to heal you, that is not the question. When does he want to heal you is the question. We don’t know the answer to this so we just need to keep asking and He will show us. The verse says, “And by his bruises we are healed.” Don’t stop asking. What if you gave up just before the healing. What if you asked 100 times and God was planning to heal you after you asked 101. You healing could be right around the corner.
One thing I have come to realize in my own personal life is that God rewards perseverance. I don’t give up and I don’t take no for an answer. I refused to believe my family would be broken forever, and I kept asking for God to fix it. I refused to believe I would be lost on a mountain in Bosnia Herzegovina and I prayed till I got off the mountain. I refused to believe that my niece was not going to make it and she did. I am not saying I am the reason for these miracles, I give all the glory to God. What I am saying is that He rewards us when we don’t give up. If you are too tired to keep asking, ask someone else to ask for awhile. But don’t give up hope, He does want to heal you!!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless all those who are listening to this episode today. Lord, help us to not give up. Help us to keep asking. Help us to believe that you want to heal us. Help us to see you love your children and don’t want any of them to be hurting. Lord, give us strength and grace to persevere, to not stop asking, no matter how long it takes to get those answers. Help us to keep hoping, even when it is hard to hope. Lord, teach us to rely on others and to have them ask when we can’t. Help us to realize we don’t have to go through anything alone. You are always there with us. We love you Lord and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. I look forward to meeting you here again on Monday. I wish you all a very happy Easter! Remember, Jesus loves you, and there is no greater time to remember that than this weekend when we remember all he sacrificed for us, for you, yes you! I love you and I hope you have a very blessed weekend.