Crushed

We had communion in our church this past weekend. It's always a solemn time used for reflection and coming humbly before the Lord in repentance. But this week something new happened.

Our pastor read the following passage from the Book of Isaiah and something occurred to me that I had never thought of before. First read the text.

"Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed." - Isaiah 53:4-5

This passage from Isaiah is a prophetic one, speaking of the crucifixion of Jesus. It says that He was "crushed" for our iniquities. How was He crushed. He was pierced, as the text says, but how exactly was Jesus crushed?

I was thinking about that as I put my piece of unleavened bread into my mouth and then, I crushed it with my teeth. I thought of another verse where Jesus said of the bread He had just broken with His disciples, "This (the bread) is my body." (Luke 22:19)

"As often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes." - 1 Corinthians 11:26

Every time we take communion we are reminded that WE are the ones who crushed Jesus. It was our sin that Jesus died for. Something to remember the next time you take communion.

Isaiah 53 - David Platt