“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4).
Isaiah is called “the Gospel of the Old Testament.”
Hundreds of years before Jesus Christ ever took on flesh and dwelt among us, God gave the prophet Isaiah a vision. Isaiah saw into the future, when Jesus would go to the Cross and die for mankind. The prophet told us not only what the Crucifixion looked like, but he told us what Jesus purchased and why He went to the Cross.
Let’s look at this verse carefully: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” A lot of people think that means Jesus just helped us along with our burdens. But borne means to lift up, bear away, convey or remove to a distance.
When Jesus bore our sins, our sicknesses and our pains, He bore them away, or removed them. Both these words, borne and carried, imply substitution, or bearing another’s load.
Now look at this: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” Jesus didn’t have any griefs or sorrows of His own. He didn’t have any sickness, pain, sin, iniquity or disease—we do.
We live in this world; we’re under the curse of the Law. But Jesus bore it all for us. He came in as our substitute and took the curse away from us. He didn’t have to do that; He chose to do it.
He carried our sickness and pain on Himself; died on the Cross; paid the price; descended into the depths of hell; left the sin, sickness and disease there; and arose three days later. He knew we couldn’t carry that burden, but He could.
Jesus became sin for us; He became sickness for us. Jesus took our sickness, took our disease and carried our pain. We deserved the curse; but, as our substitute, Jesus carried it away.
Jesus, the perfect, sinless Lamb of God, took upon Himself my pain,
sickness and disease because He loves me. By faith I receive
the healing and divine health His sacrifice provides for me.
Excerpt permission granted by Harrison House Publishers
For over 40 years, Pastors Mark and Janet Brazee have traveled throughout the world sharing the Word of God and the Spirit of God. Together they've shared the powerful truths of faith and healing in more than 50 nations.
Today Mark and Janet pastor World Outreach Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where they base their ongoing outreach to the world. The Brazees still travel as the Lord leads, and they are raising up a congregation who share their passion to reach Tulsa and the world.