181. Afflicted for us
Isaiah 63:9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.
“In all their affliction he was afflicted.” This is said about the Messiah, and it could well be said about Jesus and us today. We are always afflicted throughout life because of our sin and because of sin all around us in the world. But the Son of God entered humanity to be afflicted for us. We see Jesus’ suffering and we think, on a purely human historical level, that He was afflicted by God; but no, He was afflicted for us and afflicted in our place as punishment for our sin.
In reference to the Exodus Salvation Event the Lord saw the suffering of His people, and He suffered with them. And then He saved, and redeemed, and carried them. The Lord sent the angel of His presence to work out that great salvation event in the days of Moses. It can be said that the Lord suffers with us. When we suffer He suffers. When we are afflicted He is afflicted. It is for this reason that God hates Sin so much, because of what it does to destroy us. It is a strange thing to say, that God could suffer and be afflicted, but it is true: God “hurts” when we hurt. This painful love compelled the Lord God to come to earth and be born as one of us.
So Jesus Christ endured the pain of sin and the pity of love to be afflicted as us. By doing so He could save us from bondage to Sin, subjection to Death, and the ownership of Satan. He could redeem us by paying the price of shedding innocent blood for our sakes. And He could carry us through this vale of tears, the wilderness of the world, and the valley of the shadow of death to the Promised Land. He did it in Egypt; He did it at Calvary; and He does it for us wherever we are today. He promises to carry us through the sin and death of this world unto Himself in heaven. So let Him do what He promises: to save, to redeem, and to carry.