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Isaiah 53
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (v. 6).
It would hardly be possible to do justice to the biblical teaching on the atonement of Jesus without focusing on what is the most basic point of Scripture’s revelation—namely, that Jesus died as a substitute for His people. There is much to be said about this notion of Jesus as our substitute, but the essential meaning is that Jesus died in our place. He suffered what we deserve, representing us on the cross and experiencing the wrath of God. Instead of pouring out His judgment on His people, God sent His Son to take our place, to do what we sinners never could and to pay the price we were unable to pay. Because Jesus represented us, what He did is regarded as what we have done. His death is our death. His righteousness is our righteousness.
That Christ takes the place of His people, living the perfect life God demands of us and receiving the punishment we are owed according to divine justice, can be found in many biblical passages. One of the key texts is Matthew 3:13–17. Jesus comes to be baptized by John, but John says that he is unworthy to baptize the Lord. Recognizing his own sin, he declares that Jesus should rather baptize him (vv. 13–14). Christ does not dispute John’s comment but says something interesting: “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness” (v. 15). What does this mean? Two things. First, John the Baptist was the final prophet of the old covenant, and through this prophet God had revealed that Israel had to be baptized with a baptism of repentance (Luke 1:5–17; 3:1–17). As a member of the people of Israel, Jesus was no less subject to this command, although He had no sin to repent of. Still, He went through the waters of baptism because the Lord said that Israel needed to go through the waters of baptism. As God’s faithful Son, He had to obey every command of the Lord. Second, in His baptism, Jesus was taking on the role of our substitute. The baptism was a way for Him to fully identify with us, to mark Himself out as the One to obey God’s law in our place.
Vicarious atonement is also taught in Isaiah 53. Just as the sins of Israel were put on the scapegoat on the Day of Atonement and the goat was sent away to the wilderness to die the death those sins deserved, the sins of Israel—all those who trust in Christ—were put on Jesus, who died in our place (v. 6). Jesus died the death we deserved so that we could enjoy the eternal life we do not deserve (John 3:16).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
We stand before the Lord not in our own righteousness but in the righteousness of Christ. He died the death we deserve, and we have received the gift of His righteousness, which has been imputed to us—put on our record—so that we have eternal life. We must remember this work of Christ regularly, striving never to put our hope in any righteous deeds that we have done but to trust only in the perfect righteousness of Christ.
For Further Study
- Exodus 13:1–16
- John 18:14
- 2 Corinthians 5:21
- Galatians 2:20