A Pleasant Bruise

Isaiah 53:10

"Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand."

"Now, that's going to leave a bruise."

This is what we say after we have hit a part of our body on something hard. The next day after the hit you find a big ugly bruise on the spot that you hit. The thing about a bruise is that it is only temporary. The bruise will heal and leave no damage.

The verse above says, "Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him..." This verse is saying that God the Father was pleased to bruise His Son, Jesus Christ. The bruising that Jesus took was temporary for Him, but it was eternal for us. It pleased the Father to bruise His Son because He knew that the bruising would provide a way for the restoration of fellowship with mankind. God the Father knew that when He bruised His Son, that bruising would allow you and I to be able to have a relationship with Him.

Moreover, the Son allowed the Father to bruise Him. It is amazing to me that Jesus allowed the Father to hurt Him so that we could have fellowship with the Father. Not only would the bruising allow fellowship with the Father once again, but it would also allow us to have a relationship with Jesus Christ. When the Father told the Son that He would have to bruise Him so the world could have a relationship restored to them, the Son told the Father to go ahead.

How was this bruising administered? It says in the verse above, "when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Christian, this was not just a normal bruise, for this bruise would be administered through death. Jesus had to die so that we could have a relationship with Him and the Father. This is nothing short of astounding! The Father would have to bruise His Son Jesus Christ by killing Him and making Him the payment for our sins. Jesus Christ had to yield to the Father's administering of this payment. Why would they go through all of this? They went through this because They loved the world. Yes, Jesus Christ became the offering for sin so that you could go to Heaven. He was willing to do all of this simply because He loved you.

Here is the good thing. The bruise is not lethal. Yes, Jesus died, but it was a bruise. That bruise only lasted for three days and three nights. On Sunday morning when Jesus rose from the dead, the bruise was gone. Forever the sins of mankind were paid. That is why it pleased the LORD to bruise Jesus.

Futhermore, it pleased the LORD to bruise Jesus because that bruise also bruised the head of Satan. Genesis 3:15 says, "...it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." A bruised head is lethal. The bruising Jesus took was to pay for our eternity, but it was also so that we could have victory over Satan. Satan's power died when Jesus overcame the bruising.

Christian, I point all this out because we need to be regularly reminded of what Jesus did for us. Because Jesus was bruised, you have victory through Him. Let me encourage you to think about this throughout the day, and take some time to thank God that He was willing to be bruised for you.