Through The Bible in a Year - April 7, 2026

“He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter... so he opened not his mouth.” – Isaiah 53:7

This is Jesus, the Creator of the universe. The One who by His Word brought light into being, created the stars, the sun, and our world. With just a word,

He could have called 12 legions of angels to take Him from the cross and defeat His enemies. But He was silent. He did nothing to save Himself. He willingly became the substitute for our sin, taking the suffering we deserved.

Isaiah 53:8 explains God’s reason for Christ’s suffering: “…He was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.” He was stricken to fulfill God’s own plan and purpose.

The prophet also explains in words almost too intense and intentional to take in: “It was the will of the LORD to crush him.” Christ’s suffering was not simply the will of Christ’s enemies. Not blind fate. Not a failure. It was the will of the Father.

He was the Lamb slain from the creation of the world. The purposed intention of God was to wound, to slay, and to require the death of His Son. Because ultimately, for the guilt of our sin to be satisfied, Jesus would fulfill his Father’s plan to pay the full penalty of our sin with the ultimate cost: His own life.

It had to be Him. It couldn’t be somebody else. If the crushing weight of our sin were put on us, we would be crushed. If the debt of our sin had to be paid, then we could not even manage our own debt, much less everyone else’s.

The weight and the debt had to be borne by someone who could bear it and was not already in debt. Someone who had done no wrong and was able to bear our load. Only one person ever qualified: the Son of God, Jesus! It was always God’s will to provide him for us, and always Jesus’s heart to suffer for us.

Respond: Have you grasped that Jesus did this willingly to obey the will of his Father and to express His love for us? He could have stopped the suffering at any moment. But He chose the cross. He allowed the nails. He endured the thorns. He accepted the spear. For you and for me. Does that change how you see your sin? Does that change how you estimate His love? It may also change how we pray, knowing how great is the love of the One who rose from death to intercede for us now in heaven.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, You could have called angels to rescue You. You could have spoken a word and ended it all. But You didn’t. You chose the cross. You chose the nails. You endured the penalty of my sin. You willingly became my substitute. I cannot fully understand the depth of your love, but I receive it with the prayer that you will deepen such love in me. Thank You for your gift of yourself. I pray, in Jesus’s Name. Amen.