Our scripture this morning is 1 Peter 2:24 (NASB1995).
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls.
Peter quotes from the prophet Isaiah to remind us “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5). Jesus accepted a punishment that was not His own, in order that we might be made right with the Father.
Peter could be the poster boy for all of us – a mixture of belief and doubt, confidence and confusion. He went from the high of proclaiming “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16) to the low of “I don’t know him!” (Luke 22:60). Yet Jesus forgave him and made him a leader of the early church.
It is easy for us to ignore our sin, or to despair that it could never be forgiven. God says both are the wrong way to handle it. Jesus came to be the way to the Father, and when we believe in Him, “by His wounds we are healed.”
Loving Lord, we are sorry for the times we have gone our own way instead of the path we have been shown. Forgive us and send us in Your strength to share the Good News everywhere. Amen.
