In Isaiah 53:7, the prophet wrote, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is led as a LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER…” In John 1:29, John the Baptist called “the LAMB OF GOD who takes away the sins of the world.”
In Revelation 5:12, John the Revelator proclaimed, “Worthy is the LAMB that was slain.” In 1Corinthians 5:7, Paul called Him our paschal LAMB. In 1 Peter1:19, Peter called Christ the “LAMB without blemish and without spot.” Y eshua was the perfect sacrifice. He was INTERNALLY pure in His motives and EXTERNALLY acceptable in His actions.
He was bruised, shed His own blood INTERNALLY and EXTERNALLY. Peter proclaimed in 1 Peter 2:24, “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree…by whose stripes ye were healed.” The Greek word for 'sins' is 'hamartia' which means: “to miss the mark.” It means the inability to hit the target.
Y eshua's 'stripes' were the 'marks' He endured in His body. He not only took our sins and sickness through His 'stripes' or 'marks', He literally became our 'MARK'. Each violent blow was a 'mark' on His body. His body was beaten beyond recognition, bruised by fists…battered by clubs and rods…broken by lashes. He became the 'mark' when we had missed the 'mark'.
Not only did He 'hit the target' for us but He became the target. Now He is the target we must aim for.
But here is some really good news…
Even when we 'miss the mark', “we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” (1 John 2:1)
He hit the target by being 'marked' for me and you!
Contributed by: Pastor Dale Croft