Mystic Chords of Memory

Isaiah 53:5 NLT
(Personalized)

But he was pierced for my rebellion,
crushed for my sins.
He was beaten so I could be whole.
He was whipped so I could be healed.

(Note:  Original version has "our"  and "we" instead of "my" and "I".)

I feel a duty to come to an understanding of Scripture.  I need to be guided as much as possible by those learned in Biblical criticism.  Yet, sometimes I construct what might be called "behavioral criticism".  That is, I look at Scripture in terms of the workings of the human mind.  I will (with apologies to theologians) take this tack in discussing the above passage from Isaiah.  (Most Christians see this passage as a reference to Jesus.).

First let us look at the first two lines of this passage:  

But he was pierced for my rebellion,
crushed for my sins.

Here is the way I see this passage.  The obvious question is how can Jesus' suffering over 2,000 years ago have anything at all to do with my behavior today?  It is absurd to say that I participated in it in any way--that I am to blame for his suffering.  Here's the way I see this.  Let us imagine for a moment that Jesus is represented by a flammable effigy in existence 2,000 years ago.  This effigy is set ablaze and is consumed by fire.  Let us say the fire is actually a concoction of the 7 deadly sins.  That is, the effigy is consumed by those sins, and those sins--like fire itself--existed then with the same destructive force as they do today.  In this sense my fire, my 7 deadly sins, share complete identity with the identity of what destroyed the image of Jesus.  In short, he was pierced for my rebellion, crushed for my sins.


Now for last two lines:

He was beaten so I could be whole.
He was whipped so I could be healed.

Christians often speak of being convicted of their sins which brings about repentance followed by healing and wholeness.  To understand how this process works let us say that I have lived a life in which I have with abandon hurt others and myself.  My identity is very much that of a callous and worthless "Pain Inflicter."  Say I grew up without a dad though I was never told why.  One day I learned the truth.  When I was an infant our house caught fire and my Dad ran into the burning structure to save me.  My Dad escaped shielding me, but he incurred severe burns that soon proved fatal.  I now contemplate that my Dad loved me so much and held I was of such value that he was willing to suffer and die for me.  In my mind I play a recurring video of the scene that tragic night.  For the first time it becomes clear that I have priceless value bestowed by my father's love and his death to save me.  I am through the mysteries of human perception led at once to repentance and to dramatically change my mindset and actions.  My father's suffering and sacrifice redeem me--making me whole and free from destructive drives.

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