This is what God did to secure forgiveness for us once and for all, Jesus' execution. He was lifted up in the same way that the snake was lifted up on a pole in Moses' day so that the people could look upon it and be forgiven for their sins. He was disfigured and marred beyond recognition. Jesus allowed his flesh to be crushed, ripped and torn, and in spite of His God-given mission to bring redemption to the world, He was despised and rejected by men.
Jesus mission was to bear the burden of our sins. He took upon himself the punishment we deserved for our sins, and he suffered on behalf of us, suffering that included being whipped all night long by a band of soilder, he was spitt on, slapped with an open hand, mocked and pierced in his side. He endured the excruciating pain of his execution knowing that there might be spiritual restoration, for those who put their trust in him. All of us are sinners, and all are in need of spiritual redemption. Jesus secured that redemption with the shedding of his blood, for without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sin.
Jesus didn't open his mouth and complain about his treatment. Like a lamb being led to slaughter, he yeilded to his fate without resistance. He was the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus was God's sacrificial lamb, a lamb slaughtered on the altar as an atoning sacrifice. He was also the scapegoat, the one who separates sin from the sinner so God can look at us sinners and see us as sinless. All that was needed to purchase redemption for man was done through Jesus' sacrificial death on the cross. Behold the love of God!
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