Jesus Was Punished Instead of Us

Isaiah 53:5 prophesies about Jesus – “the chastisement of our peace was upon him.” That says Jesus was chastised so we could have peace with God; Jesus was chastised for our sins so we wouldn’t have to be. Since Jesus had zero sin, He certainly wasn’t being chastised for anything He had done. So it had to be for what we have done (substitution). I don’t see any way around that conclusion, do you? The real question is – why would anybody want to try to get around Isaiah 53:5? What do they have to gain?

Some ask how it could be fair that Jesus was chastised for our sins instead of us. But whether we think it was fair or not is irrelevant. The only thing really relevant is that God said it is true. In one sense it is not “fair” for one man to be put to death for another man’s crimes, but that would be true even if you’re talking about a sacrificial death only. Hiram Hutto once explained to me that Jesus’ death was fair because God volunteered himself (not another) to die for us.

Some wonder why Jesus didn’t have to suffer an eternity in Gehenna if He took our place. Well if you’ve ever seen a Hogan’s Heroes rerun on TV, you may have noticed the many times Colonel Hogan (as an officer) was threatened with a lesser punishment than his enlisted men for the same transgression. Perhaps similarly since Jesus is of such a higher rank than us, God considers the punishment Jesus endured a fair trade off. But regardless if that is the reason, we should be thankful God considered it a fair trade off even if we don’t understand how. God doesn’t have to ask our permission you know.

Conclusion: Verse 5 also says Jesus was “wounded for our transgressions,” “bruised for our iniquities”; “with his stripes we are healed” (spiritually, I Peter 2:24). That confirms Jesus was punished for us, right? That’s what we mean by substitution. Either Jesus was chastised for his own sins, or He was chastised for our sins (in our place). Which was it?

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