Isaiah 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 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.
This passage of scripture describes very graphically for us, the process by which our redemption was purchased. The "Chastisement" and "Stripes" mentioned in the verses represent the recompense or wages for sins that were committed by every person who has ever lived, and who will ever be born on planet earth. The law of sowing and reaping also applies in the spiritual realm, and therefore the fruit of eternal death and damnation is the price that was due on account of our transgressions.
In the Old Testament we observe where God commanded His people to offer sacrifices which pointed them to The Lamb of God who would be slain in our stead. But the blood of bulls and goats could not atone for our sins, because it was human beings who had sinned, and therefore it was human life that was literally required in order to satisfy the just claims of God's broken law. Let's read:
Genesis 2:16 And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat: 17 But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely die.
The good news of salvation is that because of Christ's death for us on Calvary, every person now has the opportunity to pick up where Adam left off, meaning that we can no longer hold him responsible for our eternal destiny, for God has given each of us a fresh new opportunity to choose between life and death, between obedience and disobedience. Let's read:
Romans 5:17 For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall reign in life by one, Jesus Christ.) 18 Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life.
What we do with this new lease on life has a direct bearing on what will become of us in the future, when the numbers are tallied, and God makes up the jewels of His kingdom.
In our day and in our own experience we must be very careful not to treat lightly, the suffering of death that Christ endured for us, for it was through great difficulty, much tears and tribulations that our salvation was purchased. We therefore end with a passage of scripture which calls on us to consider the consequences of taking His sacrifice for granted, with the hope that we would rightly esteem God's great effort to free us from the shackles of sin. Let's read:
Hebrews 2:2 For if the word spoken by angels was stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence of reward; 3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him.
May we ever treasure in our hearts a loving gratitude for what God has done, and continues to do for us, and may this gratitude translate into willing, loving service, now and forevermore. "Good night" and God bless!