But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief… Isaiah 53:10 (NASB)
When Mel Gibson produced his film “The Passion of the Christ” a few years ago, there was a lot of discussion regarding the subject of who actually put Christ to death.
There was some controversy regarding the movie, as many in the Jewish community feared an anti-Semitic backlash as they feared the movie portrayed the Jews as a bloodthirsty group bent on murder, and who preferred to free a murderer in Barabas.
Others said that it was the fault of the Romans, as Pilate committed Jesus to be crucified, even when he found no fault in Jesus. Mel Gibson, himself, stated that it was each and every one of us who nailed Jesus to the cross.
In searching for the answer, perhaps we should more deeply examine the story of Abraham and Isaac. God commanded Abraham to take his son on a mountain to make Isaac a sacrifice to God. Abraham made the journey to Moriah and told his entourage that he and the boy would go to worship the Lord and return. He then built an altar with wood and a fire ready to burn the offering. From there, of course, we remember that before Abraham thrust the knife into his son, he was stopped by an angel of the Lord.
We always focus on Isaac in this story being a picture of Christ, the only son, willingly allowing himself to be sacrificed. But perhaps we miss the loving, graceful picture of Abraham, the father who willingly leads his only son to the slaughter as a sacrifice. He symbolized God, who crushed Him and put Him to grief.
Yes, it is true that Jesus gave up His spirit to the Father, but, ultimately, according to Isaiah, it was God the Father, Himself, who put Jesus through the process of death on the cross. He willingly sacrificed His only begotten Son, so that whosoever would believe in Him could be a partaker of eternal life.
It was God the Father, on Golgotha, with the cross.
Thank you, God!
“Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God…” Isaiah 53:4
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