In Isaiah 53:5 it says, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” A transgression can be understood as any or all of the following; a wrongdoing, misbehavior, disobedience, momentary failure, failure, slip, mistake, blunder, error, slip-up, breaking, flouting, breach, infringement, disobedient, misdemeanor, indiscretion, offense and/or crime. That covers a LOT of territory. From slip-ups to disobedience, from misdemeanor to crime, from blunder to flouting. Basically it describes the human nature, doesn’t it? At least the human nature as we understand it. Yet Jesus was wounded for each of these in our lives. The message of the cross actually began at the table with Jesus’ disciples. There He knew Satan had entered into Judas Iscariot and would betray Him. There He knew that Peter would deny he ever knew Him. It intensified in the garden as He prayed, “Saying, ‘Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.’” (Luke 22:42) When Judas betrayed Him with a kiss Jesus did not give up a fight, but asked only that those who came for Him leave the others, that is His disciples alone. (John 18:4-8) From there Jesus was led to the house of Anna, father in law to Caiaphas the high priest (John 18:13) and from there to the palace of Caiaphas the high priest himself. (John 18:14) It was here that Jesus was first hit by one of the palace guards.

From there on things just became rougher. If any of you have seen the movie, “The Passion of the Christ” I want you to know that as hard as they tried to depict the sufferings of Jesus, they only scraped the surface. We all have heard how Jesus went back and forth between the Pharisees and the Romans, receiving beatings each time. Finally, Jesus was made to carry His own cross up to Calvary. There is a reason for this. The Bible says, “And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, ‘Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.’” (Mark 8:34) Have you ever noticed that the bosses you work for and like are the ones who are willing to do everything they ask you to do? So it was with Jesus. He was not willing to ask us to take up our cross unless He also took up His!

Once at Golgotha Jesus was nailed to that cross, hand and foot, and they hung Him there until He died. Instead of screaming out threats or yelling in pain the Bible says, “Then said Jesus, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’" (Luke 23:34) Forgiveness was the main mission of Jesus. It was above even raising the dead, calming the seas and casting out demons. It was so important that He taught it to the disciples when they asked Him how they should pray, saying, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)

When you feel low, or have slipped up, stumbled or otherwise fallen along the way, know that Jesus paid the price for that too. Yet, as you remember this I want you to remember that that we caused that suffering. In other words, don’t go on sinning, stumbling, falling down or whatever, simply because Jesus paid the price for your forgiveness. Instead, seek His forgiveness in the humility that you should feel when realizing what He went through for you, and ask Him for the strength to walk uprightly before Him. Tell Him you don’t want to hurt Him any more and that you wish to serve Him in the best way possible. Say it with your heart, not just your mind or your mouth. Let it take root in you. Learn the message of forgiveness. For as you forgive, so shall you also be forgiven.