By His Wounds We Have Been Healed

Yesterday I shared that in the Gospel of John, Jesus’ last words from the cross are: It is finished…

His human life on earth, finished… 
His ministry in person, finished…
The pain and suffering, finished…

But there is more, isn’t there?

I have a friend who is about my age, who some years back was going through some serious health issues – clearly suffering. He couldn’t work. Lost his job. And I remember he called me and we were talking. He said, ten years ago, I made this huge mistake. I made this mistake and I betrayed my friend’s trust. And it hurt him deeply. And then he asked, “Do you think God’s punishing me for that now? Is that what this is about? I prayed many times for forgiveness, and I walked away from my mistakes. I’ve apologized. I’ve tried to make amends – but I don’t know.”  

10 years in the past, and it was heavy, heavy on his heart.

One of the most powerful things the cross does is that it shows us this: In Jesus, God experiences the worst of what humans can do… He quite literally bears our sins in his body… the violence, the betrayal, the injustice. And he loves us anyway.

This is a love that knows fully what it is to suffer, to be broken and betrayed. It is a love that takes on our sins, and a love that provides the means for a way forward.

The prophet Isaiah(53:5) put it like this: By his wounds, we have been healed…

Early on in John’s Gospel, John the Baptist, pointing to Jesus and what was to come on the cross, said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.”

As I mentioned yesterday: No longer can we think of God as out to punish, dominate, smite… That way of thinking is finished.

No longer do we need to hold on to old sins and guilt and shame. We’ve been set free to make amends and start anew. It is finished! 

Let us pray: We thank you for your love for us, O God, unconditional, undying. Help us to accept that love, mercy, and grace, and to live our lives in response. In Christ’s name. Amen.