The Passion: His Body Was Broken — What Really Disfigured Jesus
Study The Word
Isaiah 52:14; 53:4–6
As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men… Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
The prophet Isaiah gives us the most detailed, the most vivid, the most breathtaking prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And there is something in this prophecy that many people miss. Many people focus on the lashing, on the beating, on the crown of thorns — on what the Roman soldiers did to the body of Jesus. And yes, that was terrible. Those whips with hooks that ripped off His skin, those were terrible. But listen to me carefully: that is not what this prophecy is primarily talking about. There is something else that happened to the body of Jesus. Something else more terrible and horrific that has never happened to any man ever disfigured Him. And this something else marred His appearance beyond recognition.
משחת mishchath marred – disfigurement, corruption, destruction; marring beyond recognition
The prophecy in Isaiah 52:14 says, “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.” More than any man! More than the sons of men! If the Bible says more than any man, it means there has never been a human body so disfigured before. Never. So that means that it couldn’t have been from the lashing then because Jesus was not the first or the last man to be lashed and crucified. So, this prophecy is not referring to the lashing — because other criminals were lashed too. Other criminals received beatings, sometimes even worse beatings than what Jesus received. So this is not talking about the lashing. This is talking about something else that happened to the body of Jesus while He was on the cross. Something spiritual. Something that no other human body had ever experienced.
And what was it? Isaiah 53 verse 4 tells us: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.” And verse 5: “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities.” And verse 6: “The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This is what disfigured His body! When God put the sin of the whole world on Jesus — when He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us — the sicknesses, the diseases, the infirmities, the grief, the sorrows, the pain, the brokenness the shame of all humanity was placed upon His body. And it broke Him. It mangled Him. It disfigured Him more than the sons of men. Not the nails. Not the lashing. The sin of the whole world is what mangled it beyond recognition.
עון ‘avon iniquity – perversity, depravity, guilt, punishment for iniquity; the totality of sin and its consequences
This is what the Apostle Paul was referring to when he says in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” When God makes something into something it becomes that thing! God made Jesus to be sin. He put the sin of the whole world on Him. And that is what disfigured His body beyond anything any human had ever experienced. There is nobody’s body that has ever had the sin of the whole world put on it. Only the body of Jesus.
ραπίσμα rapisma stripes – wounds, welts, bruises; the marks of suffering that bring healing to others
And that is why there is no Christian that should allow any sickness, any disease, any infirmity, any disability to remain. You should refuse it! Because the Bible says that God put it on Jesus. He has borne our griefs. He has carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him. And with His stripes — with those stripes and wounds and injuries that disfigured His body that came from the sin of the world being placed upon His body — we are healed. We are healed! Glory to God forever more!!!
That is what the crucifixion is about. That is what Easter is about. Jesus’ body was broken so that your body could be whole. Glory to God!
Pray The Word
Heavenly Father, I thank You for the revelation that the body of Jesus was broken not by the lashing of soldiers, but by the weight of the sin of the whole world that You placed upon Him for my sake. I thank You that with His stripes I am healed, and I refuse every sickness, every disease, and every infirmity because Jesus already bore them in His own body, in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
Speak The Word
The Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all, and His body was broken for me! I am healed by His stripes. I refuse every sickness, every disease, and every infirmity because Jesus already bore them. His visage was marred for my wholeness. His body was disfigured for my healing. I walk in divine health because of what Jesus endured for me on the cross, in the name of Jesus Christ!