This might be one of the most important sermons preached in our time. I might just leave it at the top of this blog because we are in a battle for the True Gospel.
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This is an excellent presentation discussing the above question. It also answers some widespread misconceptions of Calvinism. Discussion is encouraged!
This is a question addressed at the gotQuestions site. It is the central question to be asked and answered – What dies scripture have to say about the issue? Below is the answer that was presented and that seems to have been very objective and really address the issue directly from scripture. I believe all the links work and will take you to the referenced scripture or reference cited. Search the scriptures and please discuss!
Answer: The Roman Catholic Church’s teaching about the Pope (“pope” means “father”) is built upon and involves the following Roman Catholic teachings:
1) Christ made Peter the leader of the apostles and of the church (Matthew 16:18-19). In giving Peter the “keys of the kingdom,” Christ not only made him leader, but also made him infallible when he acted or spoke as Christ’s representative on earth (speaking from the seat of authority, or “ex cathedra”). This ability to act on behalf of the church in an infallible way when speaking “ex cathedra” was passed on to Peter’s successors, thus giving the Church an infallible guide on earth. The purpose of the papacy is to lead the Church unerringly.
2) Peter later became the first Bishop of Rome. As Bishop of Rome, he exercised authority over all other bishops and church leaders. The teaching that the Bishop of Rome is above all other bishops in authority is referred to as the “primacy” of the Roman Bishop.
3) Peter passed on his apostolic authority to the next Bishop of Rome, along with the other apostles who passed on their apostolic authority to the bishops that they ordained. These new bishops, in turn, passed on that apostolic authority to those bishops that they later ordained, and so on. This “passing on of apostolic authority” is referred to as “apostolic succession.”
4) Based upon the Roman Catholic claim of an unbroken chain of Roman bishops, they teach that the Roman Catholic Church is the true church, and that all churches that do not accept the primacy of the Pope have broken away from them, the original and one true church.
Having briefly reviewed some of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church concerning the papacy, the question is whether those teachings are in agreement with Scripture. The Roman Catholic Church sees the Papacy and the infallible teaching authority of “mother Church” as being necessary to guide the Church, and use that as logical reasoning for God’s provision of it. But in examining Scripture, you find the following:
1) While Peter was central in the early spread of the gospel (part of the meaning behind Matthew 16:18-19), the teaching of Scripture, taken in context, nowhere declares that he was in authority over the other apostles or over the Church (see Acts 15:1-23; Galatians 2:1-14; 1 Peter 5:1-5). Nor is it ever taught that the Bishop of Rome was to have primacy over the Church. Rather, there is only one reference in Scripture of Peter writing from “Babylon,” a name sometimes applied to Rome, found in 1 Peter 5:13. Primarily upon this, and the historical rise of the influence of the Bishop of Rome (due to the support of Constantine and the Roman emperors who followed him), comes the Roman Catholic Church teaching of the primacy of the Bishop of Rome. However, Scripture shows that Peter’s authority was shared by the other apostles (Ephesians 2:19-20), and that the “loosing and binding” authority attributed to him was likewise shared by the local churches, not just their church leaders (see Matthew 18:15-19; 1 Corinthians 5:1-13; 2 Corinthians 13:10; Titus 2:15; 3:10-11).
2) Nowhere does Scripture state that in order to keep the church from error, the authority of the apostles was passed on to those they ordained (apostolic succession). Apostolic succession is “read into” those verses that the Roman Catholic Church uses to support this doctrine (2 Timothy 2:2; 4:2-5; Titus 1:5; 2:1; 2:15; 1 Timothy 5:19-22). What Scripture DOES teach is that false teachings would arise even from among church leaders and that Christians were to compare the teachings of these later church leaders with Scripture, which alone is cited in the Bible as infallible. The Bible does not teach that the apostles were infallible, apart from what was written by them and incorporated into Scripture. Paul, in talking to the church leaders in the large city of Ephesus, makes note of coming false teachers, and to fight against such error does NOT commend them to “the apostles and those who would carry on their authority,” but rather he commends them to “God and to the word of His grace…” (Acts 20:28-32).
Again, the Bible teaches that it is Scripture that is to be used as measuring stick to determine truth from error. In Galatians 1:8-9, Paul states that it is not WHO teaches but WHAT is being taught that is to be used to determine truth from error. While the Roman Catholic Church continues to pronounce a curse to hell “anathema” upon those who would reject the authority of the Pope, Scripture reserves that curse for those who would teach a different gospel (Galatians 1:8-9).
3) While the Roman Catholic Church sees apostolic succession as logically necessary in order for God to unerringly guide the Church, Scripture states that God has provided for His church through:
(a) Infallible Scripture, (Acts 20:32; 2 Timothy 3:15-17; Matthew 5:18; John 10:35; Acts 17:10-12; Isaiah 8:20; 40:8; etc.) Note: Peter speaks of Paul’s writings in the same category as other Scripture (2 Peter 3:16),
(b) Christ’s unending high-priesthood in heaven (Hebrews 7:22-28),
(c) The provision of the Holy Spirit who guided the apostles into truth after Christ’s death (John 16:12-14), who gifts believers for the work of the ministry, including teaching (Romans 12:3-8; Ephesians 4:11-16), and who uses the written word as His chief tool (Hebrews 4:12; Ephesians 6:17).
While there have been good (humanly speaking) and moral men who have served as Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, including Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI, the Roman Catholic Church teaching about the office of the Pope should be rejected because it is not “in continuity” with the teachings of the original church, that related to us in the New Testament. This comparison of any church’s teaching is essential, lest we miss the New Testament’s teaching concerning the gospel, and not only miss eternal life in heaven ourselves, but unwittingly lead others down the wrong path (Galatians 1:8-9).
Recommended Resource: The Gospel According to Rome: Comparing Bible pope, Bible papacy and The Word of God by James McCarthy.
My Orders Are To Fight
My orders are to fight;
Then if I bleed, or fail,
Or strongly win, what matters it?
God only doth prevail.
The servant craveth naught
Except to serve with might.
I was not told to win or lose,–
My orders are to fight.
–Welsh poet Ethylwyn Wetherald
________________
I found that posted on a blog with the same title as this blog post. You can visit it here.
Compiled & Edited by Crosswalk Editorial Staff
The year 2008 shaped the future of evangelical America – and the world – in major ways. From the Olympics abroad to the presidential election at home, here are the faces, places, and movements the Crosswalk.com editors believe most impacted Christians around the world.
1. Rick Warren’s Civil Forum exemplifies evangelicals’ growing influence in politics
Bush handily won the faith vote in his day, but Democrats and Republicans alike played to this group in 2008. Nowhere was this heightened awareness of the nebulous “evangelical vote” more apparent than at the Saddleback Civil Forum, hosted by megachurch pastor Rick Warren. Obama’s faith emphasis on the campaign trail didn’t win over weekly churchgoers, but the Democrats’ efforts did undermine a sure bet for the Republicans.
Read more:
Megachurch Reflects on Presidential Event
Backtrack to Saddleback: Secularists Not Pleased
2. Olympics shine the spotlight on religious persecution in China
Blustering to improve their PR before the Olympic Games in August, China tried to sweep its pesky house churches out of the way. But reports of religious persecution persisted in spite of China’s decision to print tens of thousands bilingual Bibles and New Testaments for the Games. President Bush’s visit to an official church in Beijing and his talks with Chinese President Hu Jintao highlighted the persecution of Christians who reject government registration and regulation.
Read more:
China, the Olympics and the Bible
Bush, China, and the Olympics
3. Anglican Communion continues to disintegrate in spite of Lambeth Conference
What Bishop Gene Robinson couldn’t do in 2004, conservative dioceses and parishes did in 2008 — they officially split the Episcopal Church. The once-a-decade Lambeth Conference fizzled as almost half the world’s bishops boycotted the conference in favor of a more conservative conference in Jerusalem. Finally, conservatives gave up on reforming from the inside out, and formed an untraditional province based not on geography, but on theology. Their next step: gaining official recognition from Canterbury.
Read more:
Gay Issues Left Undecided at Lambeth Conference
It’s about Theology, Not Territory
4. Sarah Palin wins over Christian conservatives — and James Dobson
This seventh-inning surprise nomination gave jittery conservatives and Christians an enthusiastic reason to vote for the moderate McCain and temporarily reinvigorated the Bush base. Palin’s nomination even managed to exact an official flip-flop from Focus on the Family’s James Dobson, who had previously said he would not vote for McCain under any circumstances. Although the economic implosion overshadowed her impact, her nomination showed that openly Christian conservatives still have a place in the Republican Party.
Read more:
Palin Energizes Evangelical Support, Crosswalk Survey Shows
Dobson Changes Course: I Would Pull the Lever for McCain-Palin
5. Pope Benedict XVI visits the States
In his first visit to the U.S., Pope Benedict embraced U.S. evangelicals with open arms — and they embraced him too. The pope received a warm reception at the White House in April, where he was hailed as a common ally in the fight for traditional marriage and pro-life causes. The bridge-building trip focused on what evangelicals and Catholics share, but Benedict did not skirt the more delicate issue. He issued a public apology to those hurt by abuse scandals in the Church.
Read more:
Pope’s Visit Highlights Evangelical-Catholic Differences, Similarities
Pedophilia and the Pope
6. Thousands of Christians in Iraq and India displaced by persecution
The mass exodus of Christians from Mosul, Iraq, skyrocketed after two weeks of murders in October. Almost half of Christians in the area fled for Turkey, Syria or the West, abandoning one of the world’s oldest Christians communities. Meanwhile, in India, Christians became scapegoats for Hindu extremists after their leader was murdered by Maoists in August. Continuing violence has killed as many as 500, destroyed at least 117 churches, and displaced tens of thousands now living in refugee camps or the jungle.
Read more:
India’s Campaign to Eliminate Christians
India: A Timeline of Persecution
No Respect for Iraq’s Oldest Community
7. Double disasters in Burma and China present huge challenges to relief workers
Cyclone Nargis claimed an estimated 150,000 lives when it hit Burma in early May. Ten days later, a massive earthquake in Sichuan province of China killed 87,000, many of them only children under China’s one-child policy. Burma’s junta turned away literally tons of aid from the U.S. government and hampered outside relief efforts even in hard-hit Irrawaddy Delta region. China, trying to avoid any more bad publicity before the Olympics, welcomed in relief workers and gave journalists a comparatively free rein.
Read more:
Myanmar Cyclone: Relief Assessment Begins
Aid Reaches China Earthquake Victims
8. Fallout continues after the passage of California’s Proposition 8
Proposition 8 may have toppled the might and money of Hollywood, but retribution from Prop 8 opponents rages on. Protestant and Mormon churches largely responsible for the motion’s success have found themselves targeted by angry mobs and riots. Lawsuits against the voter-approved amendment have swiftly followed. The motion has passed, but the literal fight on the gay marriage issue isn’t over yet.
Read more:
So Much for Tolerance: The Aftermath of Prop 8
Jack Black, Jesus and Proposition 8
9. Jeremiah Wright controversy garners national attention for black liberation theology
Obama’s long relationship with mentor Rev. Jeremiah Wright, who infamously proclaimed “God d*** America,” highlighted the prevalence of a social/political gospel in the African American mega-church. Although Obama eventually divorced himself from Wright and Trinity Church because of the surrounding controversy, America got an insider’s view of a theology which celebrates black empowerment — and revolution — over a still-oppressive government.
Read more:
Obama, Rev. Wright, and a Dubious Political Theology
Is Jeremiah Wright Mainstream?
10. Christian film “Fireproof” makes a highly successful run in theaters
The third film from the media arm of a Sherwood Baptist George in Georgia, “Fireproof” proved that Christian-themed films can hold their own with American families. The film won the number 4 spot at the box office its opening weekend, and beat out the opening of “Religulous” the following weekend. Critics dismissed the film, but “Fireproof” stayed in the top 10 for three weeks.
Read more:
Fireproof Befuddles Many Critics
“And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” – 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
Those who are perishing refers to those who do not believe in Christ (John 3:18). The god of this world is Satan. They cannot see the light of the Gospel of Christ and by extension cannot understand what they cannot see. How selbstverstandlich (self-understood) is that? DUH!!!!! Of course we can’t understand what we cannot see!
When it comes to things spiritual, the implications of that principle are huge, especially when believers in Christ attempt to engage in intellectual discussions over matters of faith with unbelievers. It’s like driving up to the home of a friend who is physically totally blind in a new car and exclaiming “Look at what I just bought!” It ain’t happenin’! We do have a possible solution when we know that our friend is not yet a believer and ‘spiritually’ blind. When we are called to share the Gospel with him/her (I said when not if) we can pray and ask God to open that person’s heart to receive the Gospel that we will share. I call that the Lydia Prayer (see Acts 16). We can then share the Gospel confident that God will accomplish the rest in His time, thus avoiding the trap of thinking we can actually ‘persuade’ someone to follow Christ.
We run into more serious issues when we discuss things spiritual with someone who professes Christ,but might have been the ‘victim’ of a false conversion. That is often the case when someone is led to the Lord with promises of ‘their best life now’, finding their ‘special purpose, or any other evangelistic method that leaves out sin, judgment and the need for repentance. We assume because someone professes Christ that he/she actually possesses Christ. So what you have is a discussion ensuing between a “sighted” person and a “blind” person. The problem is that you both think you are equally “sighted”.
It’s not difficult to imagine the outcome of such a discussion. I won’t go into all the details – you have probably been there. I will say that such a discussion often includes multiple exclamations of “Can’t you SEE it?”, or “It’s right there in the text on the page!” While it is expected, and not necessarily wrong, that there not to be total agreement on every little point of the text, important (to God anyway) central truths of the text are completely missed by the ‘blind’ person in the discussion.
The one who can
as Savior. That person might even sincerely believe they know Christ
Some wisdom, not just for preachers, but for all of us who think we have something important to say. . .B4B
‘Tethered’ Preaching: John Calvin & the Entertaining Pastor
by John Piper
The Bible tethers us to reality. We are not free to think and speak whatever might enter our minds or what might be pleasing to any given audience–except God.
By personal calling and Scripture, I am bound to the word of God and to the preaching of what the Bible says. There are few things that burden me more or refresh me more than saying what I see in the Bible. I love to see what God says in the Bible. I love to savor it. And I love to say it.
I believe with all my heart that this is the way God has appointed for me not to waste my life. His word is true. The Bible is the only completely true book in the world. It is inspired by God. Rightly understood and followed, it will lead us to everlasting joy with him. There is no greater book or greater truth.
The implications of this for preaching are immense. John Calvin, with the other Reformers, rescued the Scriptures from their subordination to tradition in the medieval church. The Reformation, let us thank God, was the recovery of the unique and supreme authority of Scripture over church authority.
Commenting on John 17:20, Calvin wrote,
Woe to the Papists who have no other rule of faith than the tradition of the Church. As for us, let us remember that the Son of God, who alone can and ought to pronounce in this matter, approves of no other faith but that which comes from the doctrine of the Apostles, of which we find no certain testimony except in their writings. (Commentary on John)
Calvin’s preaching inspires me to press on with this great and glorious task of heralding the word of God. I feel what he says when he writes to Cardinal Sadolet
O Lord, you have enlightened me with the brightness of your Spirit. You have put your Word as a lamp to my feet. The clouds which before now veiled your glory have been dispelled by it, and the blessings of your Anointed have shone clearly upon my eyes. What I have learnt from your mouth (that is to say, from your Word) I will distribute faithfully to your church. (“Letter to Cardinal Jacopo Sadoleto,” quoted in J. H. Merle D’Augigne, Let Christ Be Magnified, Banner of Truth, 2007, p. 13).
For Calvin, preaching was tethered to the Bible. That is why he preached through books of the Bible so relentlessly. In honor of tethered preaching, I would like to suggest the difference I hear between preaching tethered to the word of God and preaching that ranges free and leans toward entertainment.
The difference between an entertainment-oriented preacher and a Bible-oriented preacher is the manifest connection of the preacher’s words to the Bible as what authorizes what he says.
The entertainment-oriented preacher gives the impression that he is not tethered to an authoritative book in what he says. What he says doesn’t seem to be shaped and constrained by an authority outside himself. He gives the impression that what he says has significance for reasons other than that it manifestly expresses the meaning and significance of the Bible. So he seems untethered to objective authority.
The entertainment-oriented preacher seems to be at ease talking about many things that are not drawn out of the Bible. In his message, he seems to enjoy more talking about other things than what the Bible teaches. His words seem to have a self-standing worth as interesting or fun. They are entertaining. But they don’t give the impression that this man stands as the representative of God before God’s people to deliver God’s message.
The Bible-oriented preacher, on the other hand, does see himself that way–“I am God’s representative sent to God’s people to deliver a message from God.” He knows that the only way a man can dare to assume such a position is with a trembling sense of unworthy servanthood under the authority of the Bible. He knows that the only way he can deliver God’s message to God’s people is by rooting it in and saturating it with God’s own revelation in the Bible.
The Bible-oriented preacher wants the congregation to know that his words, if they have any abiding worth, are in accord with God’s words. He wants this to be obvious to them. That is part of his humility and his authority. Therefore, he constantly tries to show the people that his ideas are coming from the Bible. He is hesitant to go too far toward points that are not demonstrable from the Bible.
His stories and illustrations are constrained and reined in by his hesitancy to lead the consciousness of his hearers away from the sense that this message is based on and expressive of what the Bible says. A sense of submission to the Bible and a sense that the Bible alone has words of true and lasting significance for our people mark the Bible-oriented preacher, but not the entertainment-oriented preacher.
People leave the preaching of the Bible-oriented preacher with a sense that the Bible is supremely authoritative and important and wonderfully good news. They feel less entertained than struck at the greatness of God and the weighty power of his word.
Lord, tether us to your mighty word. Cause me and all preachers to show the people that our word is powerless and insignificant in comparison with yours. Grant us to stand before our people as messengers sent with God’s message to God’s people in God’s name by God’s Spirit. Grant us to tremble at this responsibility. Protect us from trifling with this holy moment before your people.
Pastor John
By John Piper. © Desiring God. Website: www.desiringGod.org. Email: mail@desiringGod.org. Toll Free: 1.888.346.4700.
In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. – 1 John 4:10
The word propitiation carries the basic idea of appeasement, or satisfaction, specifically towards God. Propitiation is a two-part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended person and being reconciled to him.
The word propitiation is used in several key verses to explain what Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross. For example, in Romans 3:24-25 we see that believers in Christ have been “justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed.” These verses are a key point in Paul’s argument in the Book of Romans and are really at the heart of the Gospel message.
In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul has made the argument that everybody, both Jew and Gentile alike, is under the condemnation of God and deserving of His wrath (Romans 1:18). Everyone has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). All of us deserve His wrath and punishment. God in His infinite grace and mercy has provided a way that His wrath can be appeased and we can be reconciled to Him. That way is through the sacrificial death of His Son, Jesus Christ, as the atonement or payment for sins. It is through faith in Jesus Christ as God’s perfect sacrifice, foretold in the Old Testament and fulfilled in the New Testament, that we can be reconciled to God. It is only because of Christ’s perfect life, His death on the cross, and His resurrection on the third day that a lost sinner deserving of hell can be reconciled to a Holy God. The wonderful truth of the Gospel message is that Christians are saved from God’s wrath and reconciled to God not because “we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10).
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6). The only way for God’s wrath against sinful man to be appeased and for us to be reconciled to God is through Jesus Christ. There is no other way. This truth is also communicated in 1 John 2:2; “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.” An important part of Christ’s saving work includes deliverance from God’s wrath that the unbelieving sinner is under, because Jesus’ atonement on the cross is the only thing that can turn away God’s divine wrath. Those that reject Christ as their Savior and refuse to believe in Him have no hope of salvation. They can only look forward to facing the wrath of God that they have stored up for the coming day of judgment (Romans 2:5). There is no other propitiation or sacrifice that can be made for their sins.
Recommended Resource: Seeing and Savoring Jesus Christ by John Piper.
Luke 19:10 “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” – Jesus
We have two verbs here describing the purpose of Christ’s coming – “to seek” and “to save”, with a single object “the lost”. Christ came with a specific purpose to seek out and deliver “lost” people from their “lost condition. We must ask – “Who are these “lost” ones?” The Apostle Paul would have us believe that the “lost” means everyone who has not seen their sinful condition, recognized God’s solution in Christ, and, having been regenerated by the Holy Spirit, placed their trust in Christ alone for their salvation. in Romans chapter 3, Paul and describes the lost in terms straight out of Scripture, stating what was already written:
Rom 3:10 as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; (Psa 14:1)
Rom 3:11 no one understands; no one seeks for God. (Psa 14:2)
Rom 3:12 All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Psa 14:3)
Rom 3:13 “Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.” “The venom of asps is under their lips.” (Psa 5:9)
Rom 3:14 “Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.” (Psa 10:7)
Rom 3:15 “Their feet are swift to shed blood; (Isa 59:7)
Rom 3:16 in their paths are ruin and misery, (Isa 59:7)
Rom 3:17 and the way of peace they have not known.” (Isa 59:8)
Rom 3:18 “There is no fear of God before their eyes.” (Psa 36:1)
According to Scripture, there are two groups of people – the saved and the lost, those who believe in the one God sent as Savior and those who don’t. Paul in the above passages from Romans described characteristics of those who remain lost to God, spiritually dead in their sin. A verse in the Gospel of John describes the present state of the saved and the lost:
Joh 3:18 “Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.”
Both the passage in Luke and the one of the Romans passages (v. 13) speak of “seeking”. the Luke passage tells us that Jesus came to seek and save the lost, while the Romans passage tells us that no person, on their own (in their natural state from the womb),
A last question here. If Paul is correct in his description of the lost, how does any person come to trust in Christ when Christ “finds” him/her?
And that’s a discussion unto itself. . .
ISAIAH 53
1 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned–every one–to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Some translations render the highlighted portion of verse 10 as “it pleased the LORD to crush Him”. John Gill, in his commentary has this to say:
“Isa 53:10 – Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him,…. The sufferings of Christ are signified by his being “bruised”; See Gill on Isa_53:5, and as it was foretold he should have his heel bruised by the serpent, Gen_3:15, but here it is ascribed to the Lord: he was bruised in body, when buffeted and scourged, and nailed to the cross; and was bruised and broken in spirit, when the sins of his people were laid on him, and the wrath of God came upon him for them: the Lord had a hand in his sufferings; he not only permitted them, but they were according to the counsel of his will; they were predetermined by him, Act_2:23, yea, they were pleasing to him, he took a kind of delight and pleasure in them; not in them simply considered as sufferings, but as they were an accomplishment of his purposes, a fulfilment of his covenant and promises, and of the prophecies in his word; and, particularly, as hereby the salvation of his people was brought about; see Joh_10:17.”
With all our talk about how much God loves us and how much He wants to bless us, do we even have words that can begin to express what must have been in the heart of God to send His own Son to die for us?
The Battle Cry 