Healed by His Wounds

Years ago at my son’s 4-year-old checkup, his pediatrician asked if he had any chores. He replied that he didn’t have any chores, but he had a job and a problem. That got the attention of all of us in the room! He explained that his job was to keep his baby sister awake in the car. His problem was that his grandpa had offered him some pickled beets, and they smelled sour.

In the mind of a 4-year-old boy, stinky vegetables are a serious problem.

Maybe you’ve got problems stinking up your life right now. Difficult relationships. Financial strain. Personal struggles that don’t hit pause just because it’s December. 

But God’s Word tells us our most serious problem is our sin. This problem is universal, and it ranks at the top of the Problem List because our sin separates us from our holy God.

If your greatest problem is your bank account balance or the holiday blues, then your solution is a new credit card or some mind-numbing entertainment. If your greatest problem is your sin, you need a Savior. The prophet Isaiah foretold this reason the Messiah would come—to suffer and die for our sin in order to reconcile us to God.

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)

And according to 1 Peter, that is exactly what Christ accomplished on the cross. He provided the way for sinners like you and me to be healed of our greatest problem:

“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.” (1 Peter 2:24)

This is why Christ came. He came to live a perfect life in our place. He came to die so that we might live forever. He came to rise again and show His victory over our greatest problem – the one we could never solve for ourselves. We have hope, joy, and peace even in troubling times, because by His wounds, we have been healed.

No matter what you face this week, by Christ’s wounds you have been healed.

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