Bore Our Sins In His Own Body

The sufferings of Christ should quiet us under the most unjust and cruel sufferings we meet with in the world. He suffered voluntarily, not for himself, but for us, with the utmost readiness, with perfect patience, from all quarters, and all this though he was God-man; shall not we sinners, who deserve the worst, submit to the light afflictions of this life, which work for us unspeakable advantages afterwards?

The example of Christ’s subjection and patience is here explained and amplified: Christ suffered, Wrongfully, and without cause; for he did no sin, He had done no violence, no injustice or wrong to any one—he wrought no iniquity of any sort whatever; neither was guile found in his mouth (Isaiah 53:9), his words, as well as his actions, were all sincere, just, and right. Patiently: When he was reviled, he reviled not again; when they blasphemed him, mocked him, called him foul names, he was dumb, and opened not his mouth; when they went further, to real injuries, beating, buffeting, and crowning him with thorns, he threatened not; but committed both himself and his cause to God that judgeth righteously, who would in time clear his innocency, and avenge him on his enemies. Learn, Our Blessed Redeemer was perfectly holy, and so free from sin that no temptation, no provocation whatsoever, could extort from him so much as the least sinful or indecent word. Provocations to sin can never justify the commission of it. The rudeness, cruelty, and injustice of enemies, will not justify Christians in reviling and revenge; the reasons for sin can never be so great, but we have always stronger reasons to avoid it. The judgment of God will determine justly upon every man and every cause; and thither we ought, with patience and resignation, to refer ourselves.

Lest any should think, from what is said, that Christ’s death was designed merely for an example of patience under sufferings, the apostle here adds a more glorious design and effect of it: Who his own self, etc., where note, The person suffering - Jesus Christ: His own self—in his own body. The expression his own self is emphatic, and necessary to show that he verified all the ancient prophecies, to distinguish him from the Levitical priests (who offered the blood of others, but he by himself purged our sins, Hebrews 1:3), and to exclude all others from participation with him in the work of man’s redemption: it is added, in his body; not but that he suffered in his soul (Matthew 26:38), but the sufferings of the soul were inward and concealed, when those of the body were visible and more obvious to the consideration of these suffering servants, for whose sake this example is produced. The sufferings he underwent were stripes, wounds, and death, the death of the cross-servile and ignominious punishments! The reason of his sufferings: He bore our sins, which teaches, That Christ, in his sufferings, stood charged with our sins, as one who had undertaken to put them away by the sacrifice of himself, Isaiah 53:6. That he bore the punishment of them, and thereby satisfied divine justice. That hereby he takes away our sins, and removes them away from us; as the scape-goat did typically bear the sins of the people on his head, and then carried them quite away, (Leviticus 16:21, 22), so the Lamb of God does first bear our sins in his own body, and thereby take away the sins of the world, John 1:29. The fruits of Christ’s sufferings are, Our sanctification, consisting of the death, the mortification of sin, and a new holy life of righteousness, for both which we have an example, and powerful motives and abilities also, from the death and resurrection of Christ. Our justification. Christ was bruised and crucified as an expiatory sacrifice, and by his stripes we are healed. Learn, First, Jesus Christ bore the sins of all his people, and expiated them by his death upon the cross. Secondly, No man can depend safely upon Christ, as having borne his sin and expiated his guilt, till he dies unto sin and lives unto righteousness. - Matthew Henry