The depth of His death

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:11

I must not forget what it cost my Savior to redeem me and all those who will trust Him. It was more than just ending a human life. It was also an anguish of soul unimaginably vast. The death Jesus died was not just physical. Many people have heroically given up their physical lives. Jesus also experienced an emotional and spiritual death… an anguish of soul… unique to His sacrifice for those who believe.

And where did this anguish of soul find its roots? It was anguish because He bore our sins. In the massive sin debt Jesus took upon Himself He suffered as the Holy One of God. The Lamb of God that took away the sin of the world shouldered an unspeakable evil as the cup of the wrath of God was poured upon Him by the Father. All the sin of all the world of people, from all time, was borne by Jesus on that dark afternoon we know as “Good Friday”. 

Jesus also had an anguish of soul from all the brokenness, all the griefs, all the sorrows He bore all at once. He took on Himself every depression any human ever had or will have. Every tear-filled grieving over loss was nailed to His cross. Every sorrow over a broken relationship was felt in His heart. All human suffering from every war, every atrocity, every genocide, every infidelity, every family rebellion, every broken heart was His anguish as He died to take all our pain, our sorrows, and our iniquities upon Himself. It was God’s will to crush His only Son with the weight of all our sickening sin and grief (Isaiah 53:10).

Lord Jesus,

I really cannot fathom the extent of Your sorrow as You bore my sin, and all sin and sorrow of all time on Your cross. I am in remarkably dumb-founded awe of the intense depth and breadth of Your love as You gave Your life, and of the power of Your resurrection beyond all that darkness, depression, and death! Thank You, Lord! You are worthy of all worship, all commitment, all my heart!

Amen