In our last visit we began studying Isaiah 53, focusing on what Isaiah says about God the Father. When I reflected further on what we discovered it sounded so ruthless. It was hard for me to comprehend.
I concluded that God the Father was not lashing out at Jesus Christ because of who He was. The Father considered Jesus Christ to be His servant who would act wisely, according to Isaiah 52:13. He did what He did, because He had our need in mind. It was the only way we could be forgiven and experience peace and healing.
God’s love for Jesus Christ never waned. But for His will to be accomplished He had to put our sin on Jesus Christ and make Him a guilt offering. As He did this it must have broken His heart. This was His one and only Son. He knew that as Jesus bore our sin and was dying on the cross He would have to turn His back on Jesus, His one and only Son, and forsake Him.
Try to imagine what was going on in the Father’s heart as He heard Jesus cry out from the cross, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus knew why, and so did the Father. Habakkuk the prophet said in Habakkuk 1:13, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.”
Up until the moment Jesus bore our sin in Himself on the cross, He and the Father had experienced perfect harmony in holiness. Nothing ever came between them. They were totally transparent and congruent with each other.
It was to provide for our salvation that caused this excruciating rupture in their relationship. And it was God the Father who made it happen..
