JESUS BEARER OF OUR SINS

JESUS WAS THE BEARER OF ALL OUR SIN
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Isaiah53:6 6
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each
of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has
laid on him the iniquity of us all.
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
Pulpit Commentary Homiletics
Departure And Distance FromGod
Isaiah53:6
W. ClarksonThese words, though very pictorial and poetical, indicate with
greatclearness the cardinal truths of religion and even of Christianity, and
they express for us the thought and feeling common to all devout spirits. We
see in them -
I. THE HOME WHENCE WE HAVE DEPARTED. It is not stated, but it is
clearly implied, that the fold or home whence we have gone astray is.
1. That of God, our Creator, our Father, our Divine Friend; it is that where he
dwells, where he rules, where he sheds the sunshine of his presence and
favour.
2. It is that of righteousness;of gratitude, of love, of reverence, ofobedience,
of submission.
3. It is that of peace;of spiritual order, rest, joy.
II. THE DIFFERENT PATHS WE HAVE PURSUED. "We have turned
every one to his own way." Sinful error takes many directions. Sometimes it
wanders into unbelief and denial; sometimes into rebelliousness ofspirit,
disdainful rejectionof Divine claim; at other times into a sinful indulgence, in
one or other of its various forms; or again into a guilty negligence and
unconcern, or a criminal procrastinationof sacredduty; or yet againinto a

hollow and worthless formalism, which has the show of piety without the
substance of it. But in these various paths of sin there is one thing which is
common to all, viz. the setting up of the human will againstthe will of God.
Every one of us has gone his own way. We have "followedthe devices and
desires of our ownhearts." We have determinately set our own inclination
againstthe will of God. And herein we have -
III. THE GUILT WHICH WE HAVE ALL INCURRED. "All we... have gone
astray." Some men have wanderedfarther awayfrom God than others; some
have gone in an opposite direction to that of others; but all men have guiltily
preferred their own way to the home and the fold of God. All have forsaken
and disregardedand grievedhim. And thus all have sinned; all, without
exception; not only those who have fallen into gross and most shameful
enormities, but they also who have kept to the proprieties of outward
behaviour, and have observedthe decencies andrequirements of the religious
life t - all have withheld from God what is his due, and reservedto themselves
what was not theirs to keep.
IV. THE PROVISION GOD HAS MADE FOR OUR RETURN. "The Lord
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." This does not signify that Jesus Christ
bore the penalty due to all human sin - a part of that penalty it was absolutely
impossible that the Innocent One should beat: It means that the redemptive
work he wrought, and wrought by his submission to sorrow and death, avails
for every child of man who will acceptit; it means that in Christ is forgiveness
of sin, acceptance withGod, entrance into life eternal to every one who
humbly but heartily receives him as Saviour and Lord. - C.
Biblical Illustrator
All we like sheephave gone astray.
Isaiah53:6
Astray from the fold

T. de W. Talmage, D.D.I. The first part of my text is AN INDICTMENT. "All
we like sheephave gone astray." Says some one, "Can't you drop the first
word?" And some one rises and looks off and says, "There is a man who is a
blasphemer, he is astray. Yonder is a man who is impure, he is astray. Yonder
is a man who is fraudulent, he is astray." Look at home, for the first word of
the text takes you and me as well as the rest.
1. I have studied the habits of sheep, and I know they lose their way sometimes
by trying to get other pasture. There are many of you who have been looking
for better pasture. You have wandered on and on. You tried business
successes,you tried worldly associations, youtried the club-house. You said
that the Church was a short commons, and you wanted to find the rank grass
on the bank of distant streams, and to lie down under greatoaks onthe other
side of the hills. Have you found the anticipated pasture that was to be so
superior?
2. I have noticedalso that the sheepgetastray by being frightened with dogs.
Oh, man, that is the way you got astray. You said, "Where is God, that He
allows an honestman to go down, and thieves to prosper?" You were dogged
by creditors; and some of you went into misanthropy, and some of you took to
strong drink, and some of you fled from all Christian associations;and in that
way the sheep gotastray.
II. But the last part of my text OPENS A DOOR WIDE ENOUGHTO LET
US ALL OUT, and wide enough to let all heaven in. "The Lord hath laid on
Him the iniquity of us all." Says some one, "Thatis not generous. Let every
one bear his own burden." And there is something in that. If I owe a debt, and
I have money to pay it, and I come to you and ask you, to cancelmy
obligations, you will be right in saying to me, "Payyour own debts." If I am
walking along the streetwith you, and we are both hale and hearty, and I
want you to carry me, you are right in saying, "Walk on your own feet." But
suppose you and I were in a regiment together, and I was fearfully wounded
in the battle, and I fell unconscious atyour feet with gunshot fractures and
dislocations, five bullets having struck me at once — you would say to your
comrades, "Here, this man is helpless. Let us carry him to the ambulance; let
us take him out to the hospital. Would It have been mean to let you carry me
then. You certainly would not have been so unkind as not to carry me. Now,
that is Christ to the soul If we could pay our spiritual obligations we might go
up to God and say, "Lord, there is so much debt, and here I have the menus
with which to cancelit. Now cross it all out." But the fact is we are pierced
through and through with the sabres of sin. We have gone down under the hot
fire, and we are helpless and undone. We will die on the field unless some help

comes to us. God sends His ambulance, yea, He dispatches His only Son to
carry us out, and bind up our gashes,and take us home. Is there any man who
is under the delusion that he can carry his own sins? You cannot. You might
as well try to transport a boulder of the sea, or carry on one shoulder the
Alleghanies, and on the other shoulder Mount Washington. Then let us shift
the burden.
(T. de W. Talmage, D.D.)
Salvationfor the straying sheep
A. G. Brown.I. LOOK AT THE SHEEP THAT HAVE GONE ASTRAY. The
text implies they were once in the fold. You cannotgo astray exceptyou have
been in the right place first.
II. EACH SHEEP WALKS ITS OWN PATH. There is almost an infinite
variety in sinning. Some go along a path of licentiousness;others the money-
making road; others the gamester's path; others take the Christless morality
road.
III. WHAT IS GOD'S WAY OF SALVATION? "The Lord laid on Him," etc.
Who is that "Him"? The One describedin the previous verses. Let Christ be
the objectof your trust, and you shall be saved.
(A. G. Brown.)
Our misery and its remedyI. OUR MISERYBY SIN.
1. Our sin is chargedupon us collectivelyin common: we have all gone astray.
2. Distributively. "Every one to his own way." We all agree in turning aside
from the right way of pleasing and enjoying of God; and we disagree, as each
one hath a by-path of his own, some running after this lust, some after that,
and so are not only divided from God, but divided from one another, while
every one maketh his will his law.
II. OUR REMEDYBY CHRIST. "The Lord hath laid," etc.
( T. Manton, D.D.)
Departing from GodThis departing from God and His ways is fitly
representedby the straying of sheep. In the generalit implieth —
1. That we are brutish in our sin and defectionfrom God: it could not be
expressedbut by a comparisonfetchedfrom the beasts.
2. Proneness to err. No creature is more prone to wander and lose his way
than a sheepwithout a shepherd.
3. Our inability to return, or to bring ourselves into the right wayagain.

4. Our readiness to follow evil example. Sheeprun one after another, and one
stragglerdrawethawaythe whole flock. Austin saith, "I could wander by
myself, and could not return by myself." And God saith as much (Hosea 13:9).
5. The danger of straying sheep, which when out of the pasture are often in
harm's way, and exposed to a thousand dangers (Jeremiah50:6, 7).
( T. Manton, D.D.)
We have turned every one to his own way
Every man to his own wayThoughthere be one path to heaven, yet there are
severalways of sinning and going to hell. The reasons how this comethto pass
are —
1. Becauseofthe activeness ofman's spirit. It is always a-devising wickedness.
2. It happeneth through diversity of constitution.
3. It happeneth from their business and occasionsin the world. Many men are
engagedto ways of sin because they suit bestwith their employments, the sin
of their calling, as vainglory in a minister.
4. Custom and education.
5. Company example.
( T. Manton, D.D.)
His own wayThis is the sin of men in their natural condition, that they turn to
their own way. The phrase implieth these two things —
1. A defector want of Divine guidance.
2. A rejectionof the ways of God when made knownto us.
( T. Manton, D.D.)
Caiaphas:Cephas:Jesus
W.E.Rawstorne,M.A.The forms of human sinfulness are as numerous and
varied as are men's natural inclinations: but near the cross may be found a
representative of every one of these. Three figures will demand our attention
— Caiaphas, the high priest, with his surroundings; and then, amidst the
obscurity of the twilight scene, and the crowd of spectators, we must single out
the figure of Simon, then at the moment of his deepestshame. And then,
turning our eyes awayfrom these subordinates, we must fix them lastly on
Jesus ofNazareth Himself.
I. CAIAPHAS is the president of the High EcclesiasticalCourt then
assembled, and no judge ever could produce higher credentials than he. The

Gospels allacknowledgehim, without the slightestapparent doubt, as the
legitimate successorofAaron. He is descendantof a priestly dynasty some
1,500 years old, whose origin was confessedlyDivine. Besides, the highest
powerof all had ownedhis legitimate position, by giving to him the spirit of
unconscious prophecy. Now the priesthood of Aaron, which he bore, had
never been a bloodthirsty one. There are, I think, only two examples of that
priesthood shedding blood. One of these was the stroke ofthe spearof
Phinehas — an act of wild justice, suited to the times, which receivedpraise
and blessing from above;and the other, the just punishment by Jehoiada of
Athaliah, who had murdered all the royal family but one. Whateverother
faults they may have had, the priests, the sons of Aaron, had never erred
before on the side of intolerance and cruelty. And Caiaphas himself was no
fanatic. Like all the family to which he belonged, he was a Sadducee. He had
the views of a politician rather than of an ecclesiatic;and, having coolly
judged, severalweeks before, thatthe proceedings ofJesus of Nazarethwere
politically dangerous, he had determined that it would be wellto put Him out
of the way. But, in the council that surrounded him, there were many, and
perhaps a majority, of strong religious belief and feelings. So, for their sakes,
he affecteda horror which he could hardly have felt himself. The high priest
askedHim, "Art Thou the Christ, the Sonof the Blessed?"AndJesus said, "I
am; and ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and
coming in the clouds of heaven." Then the high priest rent his clothes — the
original word in St. Mark seems to imply that one of these was the seamless
tunic of the high priest — in sign of a horror, which canhardly have been
otherwise than hypocritical in a coolman of the world like him, and said,
"What need we any further witnesses. Ye have heard the blasphemy. What
think ye?" And then the question being thus put, they all — the whole council,
all the scribes, all the elders, all the chief priests, the whole representative
body of the universal Church of God — condemned Him to be guilty of death.
What a lessonfor us arises outof this fact, that our Lord's death was wholly a
sin of the religious world under the guidance of their Divinely-appointed
leaders. And in that religious world we may distinguish all the chief tendencies
both of that time and of all times — the Sadducees and the Pharisees, the
liberal and the orthodox, the men with the minimum of belief in the
supernatural, and those with the maximum of that belief, the traditionists and
the anti-traditionists — in fact, the High Church, and the BroadChurch, and
the Low. The lessonis for our times. In those days authority and tradition
utterly failed those who relied upon them, while the light within the heart
lighted those who possessedit to the cross and to the glory of the Lord of
Truth.

II. Let us turn our eyes awaynow from Caiaphas and the splendid array
around him to the lower end of the courtyard near the door, where the lower
classesare collected. All these are within sight of the proceedings atthe upper
end of the hall, which no doubt is well lighted. Perhaps they are also near
enough to hear. Amongst them is one whose speechbetrays him to be a
Galilean. We know his name (though those around him do not) to be SIMON,
SON OF JONAS, who has also the surname Cephas. He is thrice recognized
as a followerof the accused, andthrice denies the charge. Thenthe cock crows
at early morning, and the Masterturns on him with a glance whichhe feels to
single him out, even in the darkness and the crowd;and he goes outat the
door, weeping bitterly. This strange character, so made up of contradictions
as to have been pronounced by that Being who knew him best, at one moment
a "rock," andat the next a Satan, full of boldness and full of cowardice, the
first to confess and the first to deny; this picture of the weaknessofall human
strength, of the frailty of all earthly goodness, is now at the very depths of his
weakness andshame. He stands there a sinner who has just committed a sin
— a very mean and cowardly sin. Yet there is an eye upon him, searching for
him, busied with him. We who have betrayed Him and denied Him, the Lord
hath turned and lookedon. He is seeking,let Him find.
III. We see JESUS in the midst of all this crowd of representative sinners,
amongstwhom a little honestsearchwill soonenable eachof us to detect
himself. Betrayed by covetous Judas, forsakenby unwatchful, unprayerful,
and therefore easilytempted disciples, denied by self-confident, self-willed
Simon, condemned by worldly-minded, unscrupulous Caiaphas, condemned
againby timid time-serving Pilate, persecutedto the death by sanctimonious,
theologically-hating Scribes and Pharisees,shoutedat by a rude, ignorant
multitude, tortured in cruel sport by barbarous soldiers — what species of
human sin is absent there? Let us considerthe exceeding beauty of the figure
presentedto us, and also how that figure is produced. Compare for one
moment any characterin a work of fiction. These, too, are beautiful, but how
is their beauty produced? By word-painting of the most exquisite kind. But in
the narratives of the Gospels there is no word-painting at all, exceptperhaps a
little in St. John. It is not the narratives that are sublime, but the Being who
becomes knownto us through their simple inartificial language. And now the
end of this should be, that every one of us should bring the matter as closelyas
possible home. It was all done for me; it was I that createdthe necessity. Let
Him, in eachof us, see of the travail of His soul, and be satisfied.
(W.E.Rawstorne,M.A.)
The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all

Sin laid on Jesus1.The verse opens with a confessionofsin common to all the
persons intended in the verse.
2. The confessionis also specialand particular.
3. This confessionis very unreserved. There is not a single syllable by wayof
excuse;there is not a word to detract from the force of the confession.
4. It is, moreover, singularly thoughtful, for thoughtless persons do not use a
metaphor so appropriate as the text: "All we like sheephave gone astray." I
hear no dolorous wailings attending this confessionof sin; for the next
sentence makes it almosta song. "The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of
us all." It is the most grievous sentence ofthe three; but it is the most
charming and the most full of comfort. Strange is it that where misery was
concentratedmercy reigned, and where sorrow reachedher climax there it is
that a wearysoul finds sweetestrest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of
bruised hearts.
I. EXPOSITION.
1. It may be well to give the marginal translation of the text, "Jehovahhath
made to meet on Him the iniquity of us all." The first thought that demands
notice is the meeting of sin. Sin I may compare to the rays of some evil sun.
Sin was scatteredthroughout this world as abundantly as light, and Christ is
made to suffer the full effect of the baleful rays which stream from the sun of
sin. God as it were holds up a burning-glass, and concentrates allthe scattered
rays in a focus upon Christ. Take the text in our own version, "The Lord hath
laid on Him the iniquity of us all;" put upon Him as a burden is laid upon a
man's back all the burdens of all His people; put upon His head as the high
priest of old laid upon the scapegoatallthe sin of the beloved ones that he
might bear them in his own person. The two translations are perfectly
consistent;all sins are made to meet, and then having met togetherand been
tied up in one crushing load the whole burden is laid upon Him.
2. The secondthought is that sin was made to meet upon the suffering person
of the innocent Substitute.
3. It has been asked, Was it just that sin should thus be laid upon Christ? We
believe it was rightly so.(1)Becauseit was the act of Him who must do right.
"The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all."(2) Remember, moreover,
that Jesus Christ voluntarily took this sin upon Himself.(3) There was a
relationship betweenour Lord and His people, which is too often forgotten,
but which rendered it natural that He should bear the sin of His people. Why
does the text speak of our sinning like sheep? I think it is because it would call
to our recollectionthat Christ is our Shepherd. It is not that Christ took upon

Himself the sins of strangers. Them always was a union of a most mysterious
and intimate kind betweenthose who sinned and the Christ who suffered.(4)
This plan of salvationis preciselysimilar to the method of our ruin. The fall
which made me a sinner was wholly accomplishedlong before I was born by
the first Adam, and the salvationby which I am delivered was finished long
before I saw the light by the secondAdam on my behalf.
4. Lying upon Christ brought, upon Him all the consequencesconnectedwith
it. God cannotlook where there is sin with any pleasure, and though as far as
Jesus is personally concerned, He is the Father's belovedSon in whom He is
well pleased;yet when He saw sin laid upon His Son, He made that Son cry,
"My God! My God! why hast Thou forsakenMe?'
5. Think of the result of all this. Sin meets on Christ and Christ is punished
with sin, and what then? Sin is put away.
6. The "us" here intended.
II. APPLICATION. There is a countless company whose sins the Lord Jesus
bore; did He bear yours? Do you wish to have an answer? Letme read this
verse to you and see if you can join in it. If there be in you a penitential
confessionwhichleads you to acknowledgethatyou have erred and strayed
like a lostsheep; if there be in you a personal sense ofsin which makes you
feel that you have turned to your own way, and if now you can trust in Jesus,
then a secondquestion is not wanted; the Lord hath laid on Him your
iniquity.
III. CONTEMPLATION. I will give you four things to think of.
1. The astounding mass of sin that must have been laid on Christ.
2. The amazing love of Jesus whichbrought Him to do all this.
3. The matchless security which this plan of salvationoffers.
4. What, then, are she claims of Jesus Christ upon you and me?
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Going astray as sheep1. The sheep is a creature exceedinglyquick-witted upon
the one matter of going astray.
2. The sheep goes astray, it is said, all the more frequently when it is most
dangerous for it to do so;propensities to stray seemto be developedin the
very proportion in which they ought to be subdued. Whereas in our own land
a sheep? might wander with some safety, it wanders less than it will do in the
Oriental plains, where for it to go astrayis to run risks from leopards and
wolves.

3. The sheep goes astrayungratefully. It owes everything to the shepherd, and
yet forsakesthe hand that feeds it and heals its diseases.
4. The sheep goes astrayrepeatedly. If restoredto-day it may not stray to-day
if it cannot, but it will to-morrow if it can.
5. The sheep wanders further and further, from bad to worse. It is not content
with the distance it has reached, it will go yet greaterlengths;there is To limit
to its wandering except its weakness. Seeye not your own selves as in a
mirror!
( C. H. Spurgeon.)
Sin meeting on Jesus
S. H. Tyng, D.D.I. THE MEETING-PLACE OF SIN IS THE CROSS OF
CHRIST. In the margin these words are rendered, "The Lord hath made to
meet on Him the iniquity of us all." The Hebrew, Greek, Latin, Persian, and
Egyptian tongues were spokenabout that cross. The inscription was in
different languages that all might read. This is the representationof the world
now looking upon the Crucified. His embrace encircled the race of man.
1. The cross was the focus of sins.
2. The burdens of sin here meet.
3. Here the responsibilities of the sinner are assumedby one competent to
discharge them.
4. The sufferings of the sinner are gatheredin the agonies ofthe cross.
II. THE MEETING-PLACE OF SIN IS THE MERCY-SEAT OF SINNERS.
Conclusion:
1. The imperative claim Christ has upon the soul.
2. If you will not consentthat your iniquities shall meet on Christ, bear them
you must yourself.
(S. H. Tyng, D.D.)
The nature and power of the atonement
W. J. Knox-Little, M.A.1. It has been suggestedthat there was injustice in the
sacrifice ofOne who had never sinned in the place of sinners, and that it
involved the idea that God liked suffering for its ownsake. This statementis
one-sided: it forgets mercy, it shuts its eyes to the truth that the power of any
sacrifice is in its voluntary and representative character. Factsmust be
respected, and what is the factwhich is before us all? Pain and sorrow!

2. The vicarious sacrifice ofCalvary is the work of the Three Persons ofthe
Trinity. Men speak as if the Sondevised the plan of His own death to save
man from the Father's wrath. It was the work of the whole Three Persons in
the Godhead. If the justice of the Divine life demanded the atonement, the
mercy of the Divine love devisedthe means of pardon and the sacrifice on
Calvary.
3. There is yet another thought which illuminates the gloom. We know the
powerof sin which, like some mysterious shape, some wild and wandering
shadow in a forest, stands or flits about the portals of the opening life of man.
Nature brings us within its reach, our own will places us in its iron grasp, it
paralyzes the spiritual power, it chills our desires for better things; we cannot
rise up as once we could when we are lying under the weight of unforgiven sin.
This sense ofthe awfulness of sin illuminates the powerof the atonement, for
the sacrifice ofthe Son of God must at leastbe commensurate in its awfulness
with what we know of human sin.
4. If the awfulness of sin and the majesty of God bring home the sense ofwhat
vicarious sacrifice is, and we are able in its power to raise our hearts to God
and to feel renewedlife and holier aspirations, how about the past? Florence
rose and wept over the grave of Dante, but Florence could not then undo the
edict which banished the man, and Dante's ashes restbeside the pinewoods
and the Adrian Sea, and Florence is undone. And for eachof you there was a
day when you told your first lie, a day when you actedyour first pretence, a
day when you did your first act of dishonesty, when you first degraded
yourself with some burning vice and destroyedthe innocencywhich God had
given you. In your better moments you look back to such a day, and you feel
as if you were standing by an open grave, as you remember the hard words,
the unkind looks, the want of sympathy, to him or her who lies beneath. The
past is gone beyond recall. How will you meet it? With scorn? Will you turn
awayand drown its memories in pleasure? You cannot. You have a spirit
born for eternity. But there is one other way. Christ on the Cross bore man's
sin in all its intensity, gave Himself as a sacrifice, and purchased for the race
complete forgiveness. No sorrow is so deep but He canassuageit, no memory
so black but He cancleanse it.
(W. J. Knox-Little, M.A.)
The universal burden and its bearer
A. Maclaren, D.D.Itis of prime importance to mark that the only office which
the prophet describes the Servant as filling is the function of suffering. He is
neither TeachernorConqueror nor Lawgivernor, here, King; he is only a

Sufferer. That is what the Saviourof the world has to be, first of all. The
rabbis have a legend, far wiserthan most of their follies, which tells how
Messiasis to be found sitting amongst the lepers at the gate of the city. The
fable has in it the deep truth that He who saves the world must suffer with,
and for, the world He saves.
I. CONSIDERTHE UNIVERSAL BURDEN. Ofcourse the speakers in my
text are primarily the penitent Jewishnation, who at last have learned how
much at first they had misunderstood the Servantof the Lord. But the "we"
and the "all" may very fairly be widened out so as to include the whole world,
and every individual of the race, and iniquity is the universal burden of us all.
I believe that almost all of the mistakenand unworthy conceptions of
Christianity which have afflicted and do afflict the world are directly
traceable to this — the failure to apprehend the radical fact affecting men's
condition that they are all sinful, and therefore separatedfrom God. The evil
that we do, going forth from us as deed, comes back upon us as guilt. And so,
we are all staggering under this burden. The creatures that live at the bottom
of the doleful sea, fathoms deeperthan plummet has ever sounded, have to
bear a pressure upon their frames all inconceivable by the men that walk
upon the surface of the earth. And the deepera man goes in the dark oceanof
wrongdoing and wrongbeing, the heavier the weightof the compressed
atmosphere above him, crushing him in. And, yet, like those creatures that
crawlon the slime, miles down in the dreary sea, where no light has come,
they know not the weight that rests upon them, and never have dreamed of
how blessedit is to walk in the lighter air with the sun shining above them.
There are some of you, grovelling down at the bottom of the ocean, to whom
the liberty and illumination, the lightness and ligntsomeness ofthe pure life
which is possible, would seemmiraculous. If these things be at all true, then it
seems to me that the fact of universal sinfulness, with all its necessary,
natural, and inevitable consequences,must be the all-important fact about a
man. What we think about sin will settle all our religious ideas.
II. LOOK AT THE ONE BEARER OF THE BURDEN. "The Lord has made
to light upon Him the iniquity ,of us all."
III. MARK THE MEN THAT ARE FREED FROM THE BURDEN. "Us all.
And yet it is possible for a man included in the "all" to have to staggeralong
through life under his burden, and to carry it with him when he goes hence.
"Be not deceived, God is not mocked," says the foremostpreacher of the
doctrine that Christ's death takes awaysin. "Whatsoevera man soweth, that
shall he also reap. Every man shall bear his own burden." So your sins, taken
awayas they are by the sacrifice ofJesus Christ, may yet cling to you and

crush you. There is only one way by which the possibilities open to all men by
the death of Jesus Christ may become the actual .experience ofevery man, or
of any man — and that is, the simple laying your burden, by your own act of
quiet trust, upon the shoulders of Him that is mighty to save.
(A. Maclaren, D.D.)
God's fofgiving love in Christ
Life of R. W. Dale.Rev. G. Barber, assistantto Dr. Dale of Birmingham says:I
remember going to him on one occasionin greatdistress; I wanted to preach
on "Christ died for our sins,' and I thought that if I could only show how,
through the death of Christ, it was made possible for God to forgive sin, many
whom I knew might be led to believe. He replied: Give up troubling, my
friend, about how it was possible for God to forgive sin, and go straight and
tell the people that God does forgive sin, and tell them straight that Christ
died for their sins. It is the fact the people want most to know, and not your
theory, nor mine, as to how it was or is possible."
(Life of R. W. Dale.)
Peace in the true knowledge ofJesus
R. J. Campbell, M.A.I was sent for to see a lady — a stranger— who was
dying in Brighton. I found her to be a person of means and education, but
quite ignorant of the salient facts of the Christian faith. To her, Jesus was
simply a greatmoral teacher, standing in line with other religious masters. Of
Christianity, as the religion of redemption, she had no knowledge. Herlife
story had been a sad one, stained deeply by both sorrow and sin. "Oh," she
sighed, "that it were possible for some great, strong friend to take my
conscienceas though it were his own, that I might have a little peace!" I
learned more from that sentence concerning the mystery of redemption than
up to that moment I had ever thought of. Here was a soul who knew and
statedthe need of just such a salvationas we are bidden to proclaim. She
asked, without knowing that there was any answer, forthe Saviour who was
made sin for us, who could take man's conscience as thoughit were His own
and leave in its place His peace. The sense ofguilt had awakened with power
in this poor dying woman. To have told her that the MostHigh could forgive
her sins would have carried no comfort to her heart. The only possible relief
for her was to hear of Him on whom the Lord hath laid the iniquity of us all
(R. J. Campbell, M.A.)

COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers(6)All we like sheephave gone
astray. . .—The confessionofrepentant Israel(Psalm 119:176), ofrepentant
humanity (1Peter2:25), was also the thought present to the mind of the
Servant, as in Matthew 9:36; John 10:11.
Hath laid on him.—Better, as in the margin, hath made to light on him. The
words express the fact, but do not explain the mystery, of the substitutive
satisfaction. The two sides of that mystery are statedin the form of a seeming
paradox. God does not punish the righteous with the wicked(Genesis 18:25).
He accepts the suffering of the righteous for the wicked(Mark 10:45).
BensonCommentaryHYPERLINK "/isaiah/53-6.htm"Isaiah53:6. All we —
All mankind; like sheep— Which are exceedinglyapt to go astray, and lose
themselves;have gone astray — From God, and from the way of truth and
duty; of wisdom, piety, and virtue; of holiness and happiness. We have turned
every one to his own way — In general, to the way of sin, which may well be
calleda man’s own way, because sin is natural to us, inherent in us, born with
us; and, in particular, to those severalpaths which severalmen choose,
according to their different opinions and circumstances. And the Lord hath
laid — Hebrew, hath made to meet on him, as all the rivers meet in the sea.
The iniquity of us all —
Not properly, for he knew no sin; but the punishment of iniquity, as the word
yltneuqerfsi‫עון‬ used. That which was due for all the sins of all mankind,
which must needs be so heavy a load, that if he had not been God as well as
man he must have sunk under the burden.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary53:4-9 In these verses is an accountof
the sufferings of Christ; also of the designof his sufferings. It was for our sins,
and in our stead, that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned, and have
come short of the glory of God. Sinners have their beloved sin, their own evil
way, of which they are fond. Our sins deserve all griefs and sorrows, eventhe
most severe. We are saved from the ruin, to which by sin we become liable, by
laying our sins on Christ. This atonement was to be made for our sins. And
this is the only way of salvation. Our sins were the thorns in Christ's head, the
nails in his hands and feet, the spearin his side. He was delivered to death for
our offences. Byhis sufferings he purchased for us the Spirit and grace of
God, to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls. We

may well endure our lighter sufferings, if He has taught us to esteemall things
but loss for him, and to love him who has first loved us.
Barnes'Notes on the BibleAll we, like sheep, have gone astray - This is the
penitent confessionofthose for whom he suffered. It is an acknowledgment
that they were going astrayfrom God; and the reasonwhy the Redeemer
suffered was, that the race had wandered away, and that Yahweh had laid on
him the iniquity of all. Calvin says, 'In order that he might more deeply
impress on the minds of people the benefits derived from the death of Christ,
he shows how necessarywas that healing of which he had just made mention.
There is here an elegantantithesis. Forin ourselves we were scattered;in
Christ we are collectedtogether;by nature we wander, and are driven
headlong toward destruction; in Christ we find the way by which we are led to
the gate of life.' The condition of the race without a Redeemeris here
elegantlycompared to a flock without a shepherd, which wanders where it
chooses, andwhich is exposedto all dangers. This image is not unfrequently
used to denote estrangementfrom God 1 Peter 2:25 : 'For ye were as sheep
going astray, but are now returned to the Shepherd and Bishopof your souls.'
Compare Numbers 27:17;1 Kings 22:17;Psalm119:176;Ezekiel34:5;
Zechariah 10:2; Matthew 9:36. Nothing could more strikingly represent the
condition of human beings. They had wandered from God. They were
following their own paths, and pursuing their own pleasures. Theywere
without a protector, and they were exposedon every hand to danger.
We have turned every one to his own way - We had all gone in the path which
we chose. We were like sheepwhich have no shepherd, and which wander
where they please, with no one to collect, defend, or guide them. One would
wander in one direction, and another in another; and, of course, solitaryand
unprotected. they would be exposedto the more danger. So it was, and is, with
man. The bond which should have united him to the GreatShepherd, the
Creator, has been broken. We have become lonely wanderers, where eachone
pursues his own interest, forms his own plans, and seeks to gratify his own
pleasures, regardlessofthe interest of the whole. If we had not sinned, there
would have been a common bond to unite us to God, and to eachother. But
now we, as a race, have become dissocial, selfish, following our own pleasures,
and eachone living to gratify his Own passions. Whata true and graphic
description of man! How has it been illustrated in all the selfishschemes and
purposes of the race!And how is it still illustrated every day in the plans and
actions of mortals!
And the Lord hath laid on him - Lowth renders this, 'Yahweh hath made to
light on him the iniquity of us all.' Jerome (the Vulgate) renders it, Posuit

Dominns in eo - 'The Lord placedon him the iniquity of us all.' The
Septuagint renders it. Κύριος παρέδωκεν αὐτὸνταῖς ἁμαρτίαις ἡμῶν Kurios
paredōkenauton tais hamartiais hēmōn - 'The Lord gave him for our sins.'
The Chaldee renders it, 'From the presence of the Lord there was a
willingness (‫אעור‬ ra‛ăvâ') to forgive the sins of all of us on accountof him.'
The Syriac has the same word as the Hebrew. The word used here (‫עגע‬ pâga‛)
means, properly, to strike upon or against, to impinge on anyone or anything,
as the Greek πηγνύω pēgnuō. It is used in a hostile sense, to denote an actof
rushing upon a foe (1 Samuel 22:17;to kill, to slay Judges 8:21;Judges 15:12;
2 Samuel 1:15. It also means to light upon, to meet with anyone Genesis 28:11;
Genesis 32:2. Hence, also to make peace with anyone; to strike a league or
compactIsaiah 64:4. It is rendered, in our English version, 'reachethto'
Joshua 19:11, Joshua 19:22, Joshua 19:26-27, Joshua 19:34;'came,'Joshua
16:7; 'met' and 'meet' Genesis 32:1;Exodus 23:4; Numbers 35:19;Joshua
2:16; Joshua 18:10;Ruth 2:22; 1 Samuel10:5; Isaiah64:5; Amos 5:19; 'fail'
Judges 8:21; 1 Samuel 22:17;2 Samuel 1:15; 1 Kings 2:29; 'entreat' Genesis
18:8; Ruth 1:16; Jeremiah 15:11;'make intercession' Isaiah59:16;Isaiah
53:12;Jeremiah 7:16; Jeremiah27:18; Jeremiah36:25; 'he that comes
between'Job 36:22;and 'occur' 1 Kings 5:4. The radical idea seems to be that
of meeting, occurring, encountering; and it means here, as Lowth has
rendered it, that they were causedto meet on him, or perhaps more properly,
that Yahweh causedthem to rush upon him, so as to overwhelm him in
calamity, as one is overcome or overwhelmedin battle. The sense is, that he
was not overcome by his own sins, but that he encounteredours, as if they had
been made to rush to meet him and to prostrate him. That is, he suffered in
our stead;and whateverhe was calledto endure was in consequenceofthe
fact that he had takenthe place of sinners; and having taken their place, he
met or encounteredthe sufferings which were the proper expressions ofGod's
displeasure, and sunk under the mighty burden of the world's atonement.
The iniquity of us all - (See the notes at Isaiah 53:5). This cannotmean that he
became a sinner, or was guilty in the sight of God, for Godalways regarded
him as an innocent being. It canonly mean that he suffered as if he had been a
sinner; or, that he suffered that which, if he had been a sinner, would have
been a proper expressionof the evil of sin. It may be remarkedhere:
1. That it is impossible to find strongerlanguage to denote the fact that his
sufferings were intended to make expiation for sin. Of what martyr could it be
said that Yahweh had causedto meet on him the sins of the world?

2. This language is that which naturally expressesthe idea that he suffered for
all people. It is universal in its nature, and naturally conveys the idea that
there was no limitation in respectto the number of those for whom he died.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary6. Penitent confessionof
believers and of Israel in the last days (Zec 12:10).
sheep… astray—(Ps 119:176;1Pe 2:25). The antithesis is, "In ourselves we
were scattered;in Christ we are collectedtogether;by nature we wander,
driven headlong to destruction; in Christ we find the way to the gate of life"
[Calvin]. True, also, literally of Israelbefore its coming restoration(Eze 34:5,
6; Zec 10:2, 6; compare with Eze 34:23, 24;Jer 23:4, 5; also Mt 9:36).
laid—"hath made to light on Him" [Lowth]. Rather, "hath made to rush
upon Him" [Maurer].
the iniquity—that is, its penalty; or rather, as in 2Co 5:21; He was not merely
a sin offering (which would destroythe antithesis to "righteousness"), but
"sin for us"; sin itself vicariously; the representative of the aggregate sinof all
mankind; not sins in the plural, for the "sin" of the world is one (Ro 5:16, 17);
thus we are made not merely righteous, but righteousness, even"the
righteousness ofGod." The innocent was punished as if guilty, that the guilty
might be rewardedas if innocent. This verse could be said of no mere martyr.
Matthew Poole's CommentaryAll we, all mankind, the Jews no less than the
Gentiles,
like sheep, which are simple and foolish creatures, andexceeding apt to
straggle and lose themselves, have gone astrayfrom God, and from the way of
his precepts, in which he put our first parents, and in which he commanded us
to walk.
To his own way; in general, to the way and course of sin, which may well be
calleda man’s own way, as sins are calledmen’s ownlusts, Jam 1:14 2 Peter
3:3, and elsewhere,becausesin is natural to us, inherent in us, born with us,
and very dear to us; and in particular, to those severalpaths of divers lusts
which severalmen choose andfollow, according to their differing opinions,
inclinations, occasions, and circumstances.
Hath laid, Heb. hath made to meet, as all the rivers meet in the sea.
The iniquity; not properly, for so he knew no sin, 2 Corinthians 5:21; but the
punishment of iniquity, as that word is most frequently used, as Genesis 4:1:3

Leviticus 20:17, &c.; that which was due for all the sins of all his people,
whether Jews orGentiles, which must needs be so great and heavy a lead, that
if he had not been God as well as man, he must have sunk under the burden of
them. This was actuallyverified in Christ. And both this and divers other
passageshere do as manifestly and fully point at Christ, as if they were not a
prophetical representationof things to come, but an historicalrelation of
them after they were done. Nor do I see how they can be excusedfrom the
fearful wresting of the Scripture that expound these places of the prophet
Jeremiah, of any other person but Christ.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire BibleAll we like sheep have gone astray,.... Here
the prophet represents all the electof God, whether Jews orGentiles;whom
he compares to "sheep", notfor their goodqualities, but for their foolishness
and stupidity; and particularly for their being subject to go astray from the
shepherd, and the fold, and from their goodpastures, and who never return of
themselves, until they are lookedup, and brought back by the shepherd, or
ownerof them; so the people of God, in a state of nature, are like the silly
sheep, they go astray from God, are alienatedfrom the life of him, deviate
from the rule of his word, err from the right way, and go into crookedpaths,
which lead to destruction; and never return of themselves, of their own will,
and by their own power, until they are returned, by powerful and efficacious
grace, unto the great Shepherd and Bishop of souls;see 1 Peter2:25 where the
apostle has a manifest respectto this passage:
we have turned everyone to his own way; and that is an evil one, a dark and
slippery one, a crookedone, the end of it is ruin; yet this is a way of a man's
own choosing and approving, and in which he delights; and it may not only
intend the way of wickednessin general, common to all men in a state of
nature, but a particular way of sinning, peculiar to each;some are addicted to
one sin, and some to another, and have their own way of committing the same
sin; men turn their faces from God, and their backs upon him, and look to
their own way, and set their faces towards it, and their hearts on it; and which
seems right and pleasing to them, yet the end of it are the ways of death; and
so bent are men on these ways, though so destructive, that nothing but
omnipotent grace canturn them out of them, and to the Lord; and which is
done in consequence ofwhat follows:
and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all; that is, God the Father,
againstwhom we have sinned, from whom we have turned, and whose justice
must be satisfied; he has laid on Christ, his ownSon, the sins of all his elect
ones;which are as it were collectedtogether, and made one bundle and
burden of, and therefore expressedin the singular number, "iniquity", and

laid on Christ, and were bore by him, even all the sins of all God's elect;a
heavy burden this! which none but the mighty Godcould bear; this was
typified by laying of hands, and laying of sins upon the sacrifice, andputting
the iniquities of Israelupon the head of the scapegoat, by whom they were
bore, and carried away. The words may be rendered, "he made to meet upon
him the iniquity of us all" (r); the electof God, as they live in every part of the
world, their sins are representedas coming from all quarters, east, west,
north, and south; and as meeting in Christ, as they did, when he suffered as
their representative on the cross:or "he made to rush, or fall upon him the
iniquity of us all" (s); our sins, like a large and mighty army, besethim
around, and fell upon him in a hostile manner, and were the cause ofhis
death; by which means the law and justice of God had full satisfaction, and
our recoveryfrom ruin and destruction is procured, which otherwise must
have been the consequenceofturning to our own ways;so the ancient Jews
understood this of the Messiah. R. Cahana (t) on these words, "binding his
ass's coltto the choice vine", Genesis 49:11 says,
"as the ass bears burdens, and the garments of travellers, so the King Messiah
will bear upon him the sins of the whole world; as it is said, "the Lord hath
laid on him the iniquity of us all",'' Isaiah53:6.
(r) "fecit occarrerein eum iniquitatem omnium hostrum", Montanus;
"occurrere fecitei, vel irruere fecit in ilium", Vatablus. (s) "Incurrere fecit in
eum", Cocceius, Vitringa, Forerius;"irruere fecit in ilium", Vatablus; sic Syr.
"fecitut incurreret iniquitas", Piscator. (t) Apud Galatin. de Cathol. Ver. I.
10. c. 6. p. 663, and Siphre in ib. l. 8. c. 20. p. 599.
Geneva Study BibleAll we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned every
one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the {i} iniquity of us all.
(i) Meaning, the punishment of our iniquity, and not the fault itself.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges6. Looking back ontheir former
irreligious condition the people see that their rejectionof the Servant was the
natural outcome of the heedless and inconsiderate selfishnessin which they
were living. For the figure of the strayed sheep, cf. Psalm119:176;Matthew
9:36; Matthew 10:6; Luke 15:4.
For have gone … have turned, read had gone … had turned.
every one to his own way] selfishly following his individual impulses and
interests;cf. Isaiah 56:11.

hath laid on him the iniquity] made to light on him the guilt.
Pulpit CommentaryVerse 6. - All we like sheephave gone astray. "All we"
means either the whole nation of Israel, which "wentastray" in the wilderness
of sin (Psalm107:4; Psalm119:176;Ezekiel34:6), or else the whole race of
mankind, which had wandered from the right path, and needed atonement
and redemption even more than Israelitself We have turned every one to his
own way. Collectivelyand individually, the whole world had sinned. There
was "none that did good" absolutely - "no, not one" (Psalm14:3). All had
quitted "the way of the Lord" (Isaiah40:3) to walk in their "ownways"
(Isaiah 66:3). The Lord hath laid on him; literally, the Lord causedto light
upon him. God the Father, as the primary Disposerof all things, lays upon the
Son the burden, which the Son voluntarily accepts. He comes into the world to
do the Father's will. He prays to the Father, "Let this cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt" (Matthew 26:39). So St. John says
that the Father "sentthe Son to be the Propitiation for our sins" (1 John
4:10). And St. Paul tells us that God (the Father) "made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin" (2 Corinthians 5:21). It does not lessenthe Son's exceeding
mercy and loving-kindness in accepting the burden, that it was laid upon him
by the Father. The iniquity of us all (compare the initial "All we"). The
redemption is as universal as the sin, at any rate potentially. Christ on the
cross made "a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice... forthe sins of the whole
world."
Keil and DelitzschBiblical Commentary on the Old TestamentThe prophecy
concerning him passesnow into an address to him, as in Isaiah 49:8 (cf.,
Isaiah49:7), which sinks againimmediately into an objective tone. "Just as
many were astonishedat thee: so disfigured, his appearance was not human,
and his form not like that of the children of men: so will he make many
nations to tremble; kings will shut their mouth at him: for they see what has
not been told them, and discoverwhat they have not heard." Both Oehler and
Hahn suppose that the first clause is addressedto Israel, and that it is here
pointed awayfrom its own degradation, which excitedsuch astonishment, to
the depth of suffering endured by the One man. Hahn's principal reason,
which Oehler adopts, is the sudden leap that we should otherwise have to
assume from the secondperson to the third - an example of "negligence"
which we can hardly impute to the prophet. But a single glance at Isaiah42:20
and Isaiah1:29 is sufficient to show how little force there is in this principal
argument. We should no doubt expect ‫םכילע‬ or ‫ךילע‬ after what has gone
before, if the nation were addressed;but it is difficult to see what end a

comparisonbetweenthe sufferings of the nation and those of the One man,
which merely places the sufferings of the two in an external relation to one
another, could be intended to answer;whilst the secondkēn(so), which
evidently introduces an antithesis, is altogetherunexplained. The words are
certainly addressedto the servantof Jehovah;and the meaning of the sicut
(just as)in Isaiah52:14, and of the sic (so) which introduces the principal
sentence in Isaiah 52:15, is, that just as His degradationwas the deepest
degradationpossible, so His glorificationwould be of the loftiestkind. The
height of the exaltation is held up as presenting a perfect contrastto the depth
of the degradation. The words, "so distortedwas his face, more than that of a
man," form, as has been almostunanimously admitted since the time of
Vitringa, a parenthesis, containing the reasonfor the astonishment excited by
the servantof Jehovah. Stieris wrong in supposing that this first "so" (kēn)
refers to ka'ăsher(just as), in the sense of"If men were astonishedat thee,
there was ground for the astonishment." Isaiah52:15 would not stand out as
an antithesis, if we adopted this explanation; moreover, the thought that the
fact correspondedto the impression which men received, is a very tame and
unnecessaryone;and the change of persons in sentencesrelatedto one
another in this manner is intolerably harsh; whereas, with our view of the
relation in which the sentences standto one another, the parenthesis prepares
the wayfor the sudden change from a direct address to a declaration.
Hitherto many had been astonishedat the servant of Jehovah:shâmēm, to be
desolate orwaste, to be thrown by anything into a desolate orbenumbed
condition, to be startled, confused, as it were petrified, by paralyzing
astonishment (Leviticus 26:32;Ezekiel26:16). To such a degree (kēn, adeo)
was his appearance mishchath mē'ı̄sh, and his form mibbenē 'âdâm (sc.,
mishchath). We might take mishchath as the constructof mishchâth, as Hitzig
does, since this connecting form is sometimes used (e.g., Isaiah33:6) even
without any genitive relation; but it may also be the absolute, syncopatedfrom
‫ּתתחׁשמ‬ equals ‫ּתתחׁשׁש‬ (Hvernick and Stier), like moshchath in Malachi1:14, or,
what we prefer, after the form mirmas (Isaiah 10:6), with the original ă,
without the usual lengthening (Ewald, 160, c, Anm. 4). His appearance and his
form were altogetherdistortion (strongerthan moshchâth, distorted), away
from men, out beyond men, i.e., a distortion that destroys all likeness to a
man;
(Note:The church before the time of Constantine pictured to itself the Lord,
as He walkedon earth, as repulsive in His appearance;whereas the church
after Constantine pictured Him as having quite an ideal beauty (see my tract,
Jesus and Hillel, 1865, p. 4). They were both right: unattractive in

appearance, thoughnot deformed, He no doubt was in the days of His flesh;
but He is ideally beautiful in His glorification. The body in which He was born
of Mary was no royal form, though faith could see the doxa shining through.
It was no royal form, for the suffering of death was the portion of the Lamb of
God, even from His mother's womb; but the glorified One is infinitely exalted
above all the idea of art.)
'ı̄sh does not signify man as distinguished from womanhere, but a human
being generally.
The antithesis follows in Isaiah 52:15 : viz., the state of glory in which this
form of wretchedness has passedaway. As a parallel to the "many" in Isaiah
52:14, we have here "many nations," indicating the excess ofthe glory by the
greaterfulness of the expression;and as a parallel to "were astonishedat
thee," "he shall make to tremble" (yazzeh), in other words, the effectwhich
He produces by what He does to the effectproduced by what He suffers. The
hiphil hizzâh generallymeans to spirt or sprinkle (adspergere), and is applied
to the sprinkling of the blood with the finger, more especiallyupon the
capporeth and altar of incense on the day of atonement (differing in this
respectfrom zâraq, the swinging of the blood out of a bowl), also to the
sprinkling of the water of purification upon a leper with the bunch of hyssop
(Leviticus 14:7), and of the ashes ofthe red heifer upon those defiled through
touching a corpse (Numbers 19:18); in fact, generally, to sprinkling for the
purpose of expiation and sanctification. And Vitringa, Hengstenberg, and
others, accordinglyfollow the Syriac and Vulgate in adopting the rendering
adsperget(he will sprinkle). They have the usage of the language in their
favour; and this explanation also commends itself from a reference to ‫עגגע‬ in
Isaiah53:4, and ‫עגע‬ in Isaiah53:8 (words which are generallyused of leprosy,
and on accountof which the suffering Messiahis calledin b. Sanhedrin 98bby
an emblematical name adopted from the old synagogue, "the leper of Rabbi's
school"), since it yields the significantantithesis, that he who was himself
regardedas unclean, even as a secondJob, would sprinkle and sanctify whole
nations, and thus abolish the wall of partition betweenIsraeland the heathen,
and gathertogetherinto one holy church with Israel those who had hitherto
been pronounced "unclean" (Isaiah 52:1). But, on the other hand, this
explanation has so far the usage of the language againstit, that hizzâh is never
construed with the accusative ofthe person or thing sprinkled (like
adspergere aliqua re aliquem; since 'eth in Leviticus 4:6, Leviticus 4:17 is a
preposition like ‛al, ‛el elsewhere);moreover, there would be something very
abrupt in this sudden representationof the servant as a priest. Such
explanations as "he will scatterasunder" (disperget, Targum, etc.), or "he will

spill" (sc., their blood), are altogetherout of the question; such thoughts as
these would be quite out of place in a spiritual picture of salvation and glory,
painted upon the dark ground we have here. The verb nâzâh signified
primarily to leap or spring; hence hizzâh, with the causative meaning to
sprinkle. The kalcombines the intransitive and transitive meanings of the
word "spirt," and is used in the former sense in Isaiah 63:3, to signify the
springing up or sprouting up of any liquid scatteredabout in drops. The
Arabic nazâ (see Ges. Thes.)shows thatthis verb may also be applied to the
springing or leaping of living beings, causedby excess ofemotion. And
accordinglywe follow the majority of the commentators in adopting the
rendering exsilire faciet. The fact that whole nations are the object, and not
merely individuals, proves nothing to the contrary, as Habakkuk 3:6 clearly
shows. The reference is to their leaping up in amazement (lxx θαυμάσονται);
and the verb denotes less an external than an internal movement. They will
tremble with astonishmentwithin themselves (cf., pâchădū verâgezūin
Jeremiah33:9), being electrified, as it were, by the surprising change that has
takenplace in the servant of Jehovah. The reasonwhy kings "shut their
mouths at him" is expressly stated, viz., what was never relatedthey see, and
what was never heard of they perceive;i.e., it was something going far beyond
all that had ever been reported to them outside the world of nations, or come
to their knowledge within it. Hitzig's explanation, that they do not trust
themselves to begin to speak before him or along with him, gives too feeble a
sense, and would lead us rather to expect‫ויעעל‬ than ‫.וילע‬ The shutting of the
mouth is the involuntary effect of the overpowering impression, or the
manifestation of their extreme amazement at one so suddenly brought out of
the depths, and lifted up to so greata height. The strongestemotionis that
which remains shut up within ourselves, because,from its very intensity, it
throws the whole nature into a suffering state, and drowns all reflectionin
emotion (cf., yachărı̄shin Zephaniah 3:17). The parallel in Isaiah49:7 is not
opposedto this; the speechless astonishment, at what is unheard and
inconceivable, changes into adoring homage, as soonas they have become to
some extent familiar with it. The first turn in the prophecy closes here:The
servant of Jehovah, whose inhuman sufferings excite such astonishment, is
exalted on high; so that from utter amazementthe nations tremble, and their
kings are struck dumb.
PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES

BRUCE HURT MD
Isaiah53:6 All of us like sheephave gone astray, Eachof us has turned to his
own way; But the LORD has causedthe iniquity of us all To fall on Him.
KJV Isaiah53:6 All we like sheephave gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all.
• All of us like sheephave gone astray Ps 119:176;Mt 18:12-14;Luke
15:3-7; Ro 3:10-19;1 Pet 2:25
• Eachof us has turned to his own way Isaiah 55:7; 56:11;Ezek 3:18; Ro
4:25; James 5:20; 1 Pet3:18
• But the LORD has causedthe iniquity of us all To fall on Him. Ps 69:4
• Isaiah53 Resources -Multiple Sermons and Commentaries
THE SINNER'S
"SHEEP-LIKE" NATURE
Motyer has an interesting note introducing his comments on this verse - What
the Servantdid, the Lord did. After the concentrationon the Servant in Isa
53:4–5, the change of subjecthere is very striking, as is also the precedence
given to us and our self-will as compared with the precedence of the Servant’s
saving work in Isa 53:4–5. Coupled with the new subject, this has the force of
saying with astonishment, ‘To think that he woulddothat for peoplelikeus!’
(TOTC-Isaiah)
All of us like sheephave gone astray (All of us had wanderedoff like sheep =
NET)- Note this future saved Jewishremnant confessesit is all with no
exceptions who have strayedfrom the GreatShepherd. This explains the Jews
many centuries of being a scattedflock, like sheep without a shepherd (See
MacArthur's sermon for a backgroundleading up to Israel's future
salvation). They rejectedthe Shepherd! Sheep are not very smart and have a
built in tendency to wander awayfrom the security, safetyand provision
provided by the flock under the shepherd's watchful eye. In that sense a dumb
sheephas less culpability. We are like sheepin that we too are born with a
propensity to wander! But when men wander, they do so out of choice to not
submit to the Shepherd. And of course this passagedescribes notjust the
Christ rejecting nation of Israel, but every person born in the image of Adam
-- ALL OF US have gone astray! ALL OF US are guilty and deserving eternal
death. Sin is a choice, and always a bad choice!

Jesus usedthis same metaphorical descriptionin Matthew -- "Seeing the
people, He felt compassionfor them, because theywere distressedand
dispirited like sheepwithout a shepherd." (Mt 9:36) Like sheepthey followed
the sinful path of their fleshly, fallen hearts. So just as sheepwander, sinners
(all of us) wander from God's way, "they way, the truth and the life," which is
the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6). So in the confessionofthe savedJewish
remnant, they acknowledgetheir sin and sinful nature, which is the beginning
of the road to repentance.
Constable - Sheep are notoriously shortsighted; they go after the next clump
of grass without regard to where their feetmay lead them. They are also self-
centered;their only thought is how they can satisfythemselves with no
concernfor the welfare of other sheep. Consequently sheepoften get lost.
Humans are the same. (Isaiah 53 Commentary)(ED: cf Pr 16:25, Jdg 21:25)
Motyer says all of us like sheep describes "the folly and thoughtlessnessofsin
leading to the dangerinherent in being sheepwithout a shepherd." (Ibid)
Warren Wiersbe - Under the Law of Moses, the sheepdied for the shepherd;
but under grace, the GoodShepherd died for the sheep (John 10:1-18).
• Devotional"God's Remedy for Man's Sin" (discussesdumb sheep!)
Even the psalmist (who Spurgeonthinks was David) confessed
"I have gone astray like a lostsheep; seek Your servant, For I do not
forgetYour commandments." (Ps 119:176)
I was a wandering sheep,
I did not love the fold;
I did not love my Shepherd’s voice,
I would not be controlled.
I was a waywardchild,
I did not love my home;
I did not love my Father’s voice,
I loved afar to roam.
--Horatius Bonar
Gone astray ((08582)(ta'ah)means literally to wander, to wander off, to
stagger, to roam about, to travel about without any specific goal(e.g., physical
roaming = Ex 23:4). Figuratively ta'ah means to err or go astray (active) or in
passive sense, to be led astrayor to be deceived)as when false prophets led the
people astrayby their false words and false gods (idols) (Jer 23:13, 32, Mic
3:5; false shepherds in Jer50:6). In short, figuratively taah refers to mental,
moral, or spiritual wandering (Ps 95:10)or ethicalwandering (Ezek 44:10).

The picture is wandering off spiritually (or being lead awayfrom) the correct
path, the godly path (eg see the "Highway of Holiness" Isa 35:8). (Ps 95:10;
119:110;Pr 7:25; 14:22;21:16; Isa 29:24; 35:8; 47:15;53:6; Ezek 14:11;
44:10,15;48:11). In EzekielJehovahgives a prophetic promise "that the house
of Israel may no longerstray from Me and no longer defile themselves with all
their transgressions. Thus they will be My people, and I shall be their God."
(Ezek 14:11). Ta'ah is used 13x in Isaiah - Isa. 3:12; Isa. 9:16; Isa. 16:8; Isa.
19:13;Isa. 19:14;Isa. 21:4; Isa. 28:7; Isa. 29:24;Isa. 30:28;Isa. 35:8; Isa.
47:15;Isa. 53:6; Isa. 63:17.
The Septuagint translates ta'ahin Isaiah 53:6 with planao meaning to be led
astray, misled, causedto wander. Planao canalso describe those who are
deceivedand indeed our hearts are more deceptive (Jer 17:9) and sin itself is
deceptive (Heb 3:13HYPERLINK "/hebrews_312-13#3:13"+).
Peterpicks up this theme in the NT writing to believers "Foryou were
continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd
and Guardian of your souls." (1 Peter2:25HYPERLINK "/1_peter_224-
25#2:25"+)
S Lewis Johnson - You know, a sheep has a wonderful way of finding the way
to get awayfrom the Lord or it’s master, it’s shepherd. The sheep will wonder
over to the fence, and find a way through that fence when no one else could
possibly see it, and it will getoutside, and it will never be able to find it’s way
back. It’s amazing about sheep, and I’ve noticed that about Christians too.
They can find ways to get awayfrom the Lord, and it seems also that they can
never find their way back, and so he has to go out as the GreatShepherd and
bring us back. “ (The Vicarious Messiah)
Jewishbeliever David Baron - "Any one taking a view of the state of the
Jewishnation, both spiritual and temporal, since they rejectedtheir Messiah,"
writes a Hebrew Christian brother, "cannotfail to be struck with the graphic
description in this concise inspired sentence. 'We have eachone of us turned
to his own way,'We have all gone in the path which we chose. There was no
union in the service of God; no common bond to unite us; we have not entered
into the thoughts of God, nor endeavouredto follow His ways, but we went on
the broad way of our own. We were like sheepwhich are scattered;which
have no shepherd, which wander where they please, with no one to collect,
defend, or guide them. One would wander in one direction, and another in
another; and of course solitary and unprotected, they would be exposedto the
more danger. Such has been the state of the Jewishnation since they have
rejectedthe Lord of Glory; they have been sifted among all nations like as
corn is sifted, and everywhere they turn to their own way; they have neither

king, nor prince, nor sacrifice, nor Ephod." Disunion among themselves as
well as corporate wandering from God has marked their history in dispersion.
(Exposition)
Spurgeon- “All we like sheep have gone astray.” - Man is here compared to a
beast, for sin brings out the animal part of us, and while holiness allies us to
angels, sin degrades us to brutes. We are not likened to one of the more noble
and intelligent animals, but to a silly sheep. All sin is folly; all sinners are
fools.
Motyer astutely observes that "all" and "each" speakof"common
culpability, individual responsibility." (Ibid)
Like sheepwe went astray,
And broke the fold of God,
Eachwandering in a different way,
But all the downwardroad.
Isaac Watts
Eachof us has turned to his own way - Eachof us signifies this was a personal
choice we made. Yes it is "allof us" but we can not blame the crowdbecause
"eachof us" indicates we have a personalresponsibility for our wayward
wanderings. We deliberately choose the path of sin! His own way is the
opposite of God's desiredway!
But - This is one of the more glorious terms of contrast in Scripture,
contrasting our rebellious ways with Jehovah's righteous response, a response
motivated by His greatmercy, love and grace to fallen mankind.
Culross - The picture is that of the scatteredflock, allwandering from the
pasture and the protection and care of the shepherd. It is not, as in the
parable, the wandering of one sheepout of a hundred, ninety-and-nine being
left, but the scattering of the whole flock. Under this figure is representedour
iniquity, the word implying both the sinful act and its guilt. Sheepare not to
blame for wandering; they know no better; but in men, with reason,
conscience, andheavenly light, wandering means sin.
Motyer on the LORD causedthe iniquity of us all to fall on Him - With this
emphatic subject (AND THE LORD)Isaiah corrects the misunderstanding
involved in ‘stricken by God’ (Isa 53:5 -- ED: WHERE THEY
ERRONEOUSLYREASONED THAT HE DESERVEDTHE PUNISHMENT
FOR HIS OWN SIN OF BLASPHEMY)—revelationcorrects
incomprehension: he was indeed strickenby God, but with the astonishing
purpose of laying our sin on Him. (ED: THE REDEEMED JEWISH
REMNANT IN THE LAST DAYS WILL HAVE THEIR BLIND EYES

OPENED BYDIVINE REVELATION WHICH CORRECTSTHEIR
ERRANT INTERPRETATION OF THE REASON FOR JESUS'DEATH
ON THE CROSS!)
The LORD has causedthe iniquity (see 'avon) of us all to fall on Him (ESV =
"the LORD has laid on him," NET = "the LORD causedthe sin of all of us to
attack Him") - This passagealso clearlyrefutes the assertionby more modern
Jewishscholars thatthis description refers to the nation of Israel. Does the
nation of Israelbear the iniquity of all? Of course not. The argument makes
no sense. So once againwe see the emphasis of the Suffering Servant's
substitutionary sacrifice, taking our iniquity onto Himself.
The Septuagint has "The LORD gave Him up for our sins (hamartia)" where
"gave (Him) up" is paradidomi meaning to give one over to the power of
another.
Notice it is Jehovahwho causedthe multitude of sins, mass of guilt and weight
of punishment to fall on the Suffering Servant. JehovahHimself choose the
sacrificialLamb for the sacrifice. The provision of His Servant as substitute is
God's doing, not man's deserving! As Baron says Jehovah's Servant"was the
objecton which all the rays collectedon the focalpoint, fell. These fiery rays
which would have fallen on all mankind diverged from divine justice to the
east, west, north, and south, were deflectedfrom them and convergedin Him.
So the Lord causedto meet in Him the punishment due to the iniquity of all.
How wonderful are God's judgments!"
Iniquity is 'avon which denotes "not only the transgressionitself, but also the
guilt incurred thereby, and the punishment to which it gives rise." (Baron)
Notice how the Spirit inspires a beautiful balance of our need and God's
remedy - The verse begins with "we all" (transliterated kullanu)andends
with the same Hebrew word (kullanu)for "us all." "We all" fell were under
the guilt and condemnation of our sin, but now "we all" are under the grace
that covers that guilt and sin! Can I hear a "Hallelujah! Amen?"
No more a wandering sheep,
I love to be controlled;
I love my tender Shepherd’s voice,
I love the peacefulfold.
No more a waywardchild,
I seek no more to roam;
I love my heavenly Father’s voice,
I love, I love His home!
--Horatius Bonar

This description recalls those three horrible hours when the Father's wrath
for our iniquities fell on the Suffering Servant...
Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth
hour. 46 And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice,
saying, "ELI, ELI, LAMA SABACHTHANI?" that is, "MY GOD, MY
GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?" (Mt 27:45-46, Lk
23:44HYPERLINK"/luke-23-commentary#22:44"+)
Comment - The "ninth hour" was the time of the evening oblation, the
time of sacrifice and prayer. The Passoverlambs were sacrificedin the
Temple grounds, while the PassoverLamb of God was sacrificedas our
iniquity fell on Him.
David Thompson: He hung on that old rugged cross from 9 in the
morning until 3 in the afternoon. For the first three hours, men did
everything they could do to Jesus Christto make things miserable. Men
laughed at him, insulted him, spit on Him, satdown by His cross just to
watchHim die. But then at noon, God turned the world dark, shutting
off from human vision the transactions that were actually taking place
betweenGod the Father and God the Son. At this point, Jesus Christ,
Who knew no sin was made sin for us and He took on Him the full
wrath of God. (ED: WOE!)...If you can walk awayfrom this passage
and rejectJesus Christ, you deserve to go to hell, because this text
informs us that Jesus Christ paid the total price for your sin so you do
not have to go there! (ED: DOUBLE WOE!)
THE SHEPHERD
VIOLENTLY STRUCK
Causedto fall (06293)(paga/pagha)means to meet, encounter, reach. To cause
anything to strike or fall on a person. Thus the KJV "laid on Him" is too
weak, forthis Hebrew verb in this context conveys the nuance of a violent
strike. For example in 2 Sa 1:15 paga means "cut him down," or kill him! B
W Newtonwrites "In other passagesouriniquity is spokenof as resting on the
Holy One, and He bearing it. Here (Isa 53:6) it is spokenof as coming upon
Him like a destroying foe and overwhelming Him with the wrath that it
brought with it" So it was not our sin that killed the Servant of Jehovahbut
JehovahWho killed His Servant to pay the sin debt we could never have paid
-- paying for it with His precious blood (1 Pe 1:18-19HYPERLINK
"/1_peter_118-19#1:19"+).Some have objectedto such a harsh picture of God
as Judge killing His own Son and so they have suggesteda number of
"theories" regarding Christ's substitutionary death. For more on this

important subjectsee What are the various theories on the atonement? The
death of Christ is best understood as the doctrine of penal substitution which
in short sees Christ as our substitute to take the penalty for our sins, to satisfy
the justice of God which is exactlywhat Paul says in 2 Cor5:21 writing "He
made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become
the righteousnessofGod in Him." Petersays it this way "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." (1 Pe 2:24)
Motyer says causedto fall is "descriptive of the divine actof gathering into
one place, on to one substitutionary Victim, the sins of all the sinners whom
the Lord purposed to save. The Servant is the solution of the LORD to the
needs of sinners." (Ibid)
Allen Ross on paga - The verb “has laid” on him is the verb paga’ (hipgia’);
this verb will be an important one to study because it will be repeatedat the
end of the song as the summation-”he made intercession”for the
transgressors. Itis a word that means “to intercede, interpose.” In places in
the Bible it is used to describe prayer, an intercessionthat is burdensome. But
here it is substitutionary suffering that will divert the punishment-interposed.
Paga - 45x in 43v - approach(1), attack(2), attacked(1), came(1), cuthim
down(1), entreat(2), fall(7), fell(4), happen(1), intercede(2), interceded(1),
kill(1), make supplication(1), meet(3), meets(3), met(2), pleaded(1),
reached(6), spare(1), strike the mark(1), touched(1), touched and reached(1),
urge(1)
Gen. 23:8; Gen. 28:11; Gen. 32:1; Exod. 5:3; Exod. 5:20; Exod. 23:4;
Num. 35:19;Num. 35:21;Jos. 2:16; Jos. 16:7;Jos. 17:10;Jos. 19:11;
Jos. 19:22;Jos. 19:26;Jos. 19:27;Jos. 19:34;Jdg. 8:21; Jdg. 15:12;Jdg.
18:25;Ruth 1:16; Ruth 2:22; 1 Sam. 10:5; 1 Sam. 22:17; 1 Sam. 22:18; 2
Sam. 1:15; 1 Ki. 2:25; 1 Ki. 2:29; 1 Ki. 2:31; 1 Ki. 2:32; 1 Ki. 2:34; 1 Ki.
2:46; Job 21:15;Job 36:32; Isa. 47:3; Isa. 53:6; Isa. 53:12; Isa. 59:16;
Isa. 64:5; Jer. 7:16; Jer. 15:11;Jer. 27:18;Jer. 36:25; Amos 5:19
MacArthur: In Leviticus 16:1-34HYPERLINK"/leviticus_16_commentary"+
when atonement was made, one animal was killed and one animal was kept
alive. And the priests would lay their hands on that one animal, the scapegoat
(picture), as if to place all the sins of the people on the scapegoatand he would
be sent out into the wilderness, never to return again, never. Jesus is the
scapegoat.He picks up all our sin, pays the penalty in full. He’s the sacrificial
animal as well, and He’s the scapegoatand carries them all away.

In summary when God causedthe iniquity of us all to fall on Jesus on the
Cross, e was not overlooking our sins but was punishing the Son Who took
our sins upon Himself. This is amazing grace, amazing love!
How dreadful was the hour
When God our wanderings laid
And did at once His vengeance pour,
Upon the Shepherd’s head!
How glorious was the grace
When Christ sustainedthe stroke!
His life and blood the Shepherd pays
A ransom for the flock.
Isaac Watts
As John MacArthur says "This will be the confessionthat Israelmakes in the
future. But this is the confessionthat any sinner can make now, and you can
make it today."
NET Note justifying the translation of paga as "attack" - Elsewherethe
Hiphil of paga'means "to intercede verbally" (Jer 15:11;36:25) or "to
intervene militarily" ( Isa 59:16), but neither nuance fits here. Apparently
here the Hiphil is the causative ofthe normal Qalmeaning, "encounter, meet,
touch." The Qal sometimes refers to a hostile encounteror attack;when used
in this way the object is normally introduced by the preposition -B. (bet, see
Josh2:16; Judg 8:21; 15:12, etc.). Here the causative Hiphil has a double
object– the Lord makes "sin" attack "him" (note that the object attackedis
introduced by the preposition -B.. In their sin the group was like sheepwho
had wanderedfrom God's path. They were vulnerable to attack;the guilt of
their sin was ready to attack and destroy them. But then the servant stepped
in and took the full force of the attack.
Spurgeon- “The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” - Sin I may
compare to the rays of some evil sun. Sin was scatteredthroughout this world
as abundantly as light, and Christ is made to suffer the full effectof the
baleful rays which stream from the sun of sin. God as it were holds up a
burning glass and concentratesall the scatteredrays in a focus upon Christ.
That seems to be the thought of the text, “The Lord hath focusedupon him
the iniquity of us all.” That which was scatteredabroadeverywhere is here
brought into terrible concentration.

Our Troubles - Half our troubles come from wanting our ownway. The other
half comes by having it. The hymnwriter Philip P. Bliss described Jesus’
atoning work on the cross as follows:
Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood—
Sealedmy pardon with His blood:
Hallelujah, what a Savior!
Yes, only Christ could be our sin bearer!Source unknown
H A Ironside - Isaiah 53:6
Here we have the entire story of the Bible epitomized: man’s ruin both by
nature and practice, and God’s marvelous and all-sufficient remedy. The
verse begins with all and ends with all. An anxious soul was directed to this
passageand found peace. Afterward he said, “I bent low down and went in at
the first all. I stood up straight and came out at the last.” The first is the
acknowledgmentof our deep need. The secondshows how fully that need has
been met in the cross ofChrist. We are happy to be numbered among those
who have put in their claim and found salvation through the atoning work
which there took place!
I was lost, but Jesus found me,
Found the sheepthat went astray;
Threw His loving arms around me,
Brought me back into His way.
—Francis Harold Rowley
F B Meyer - The Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
The Lord did it, because He was the Lord, and He took on Himself the
iniquity of us all. “Made to meet” is the marginal reading; as though many
confluent streams poured their black substances into one foaming maelstrom
which filled the heart of the dying Savior. Well may the apostle Peter
recapitulate his work in the matchless, almostmonosyllabic sentence, “Who
his ownself bare our sins in his own body on the tree.”
This verse begins and ends with all. We are all alike in having “gone astray.”
We have not all gone in the same direction, nor all to the same extent. We are
not equally far from the fold. But we are all awayfrom it. They say that if
sheepcan stray, they will; and there is no kind of animal more hopeless and
helpless than sheepwhich have gotout of the pen. The ox knowethhis owner,

and the ass its master’s crib; the dog and cat will make their way home, but
the sheepwanders on in small and eversmaller companies, until it is
entrapped in the rocks, or devoured by wolves, or harried to death by dogs.
Such were we. Panting, driven, chased, weary;but Jesus soughtus, and
brought us back to the fold, and gave us a name and place among his own. We
are returned unto the Shepherd and Bishopof our souls.
But ah, how canwe forgetthe costwe have been to the Shepherd! See ye not
the wounds in his hands and feet? Know ye not that his heart was lacerated
and broken by the burden of our sins? “Our ownway,” that has been the
curse of our lives, and the agony of our Shepherd. Would that it might be for
ever blockedagainstus, and that we might be led in his ownway for his
Name’s sake!(Our Daily Homily)
J C Philpot - The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah53:6
What heart can conceive, whattongue express what the holy soul of Christ
endured when "the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all?" In the garden of
Gethsemane, whata load of guilt, what a weightof sin, what an intolerable
burden of the wrath of God did that sacredhumanity endure, until the
pressure of sorrow and woe forcedthe drops of blood to fall as sweatfrom his
brow. The human nature in its weaknessrecoiled, as it were, from the cup of
anguish put into his hand. His body could scarcelybearthe load that pressed
him down; his soul, under the waves and billows of God's wrath, sank in deep
mire where there was no standing, and came into deep waters where the
floods overflowedhim (Ps. 69:1, 2).
And how could it be otherwise when that sacredhumanity was enduring all
the wrath of God, suffering the very pangs of hell, and wading in all the
depths of guilt and terror? When the blessedLord was made sin (or a sin-
offering) for us, he endured in his holy soul all the pangs of distress, horror,
alarm, misery, and guilt that the electwould have felt in hell forever; and not
only as any one of them would have felt, but as the collective whole would
have experiencedunder the outpouring of the everlasting wrath of God. The
anguish, the distress, the darkness, the condemnation, the shame, the guilt, the
unutterable horror, that any or all of his quickened family have ever
experiencedunder a sense ofGod's wrath, the curse of the law, and the
terrors of hell, are only faint, feeble reflections of what the Lord felt in the
garden and on the cross;for there were attendant circumstances in his case
which are not, and indeed cannotbe in theirs, and which made the distress
and agonyof his holy soul, both in nature and degree, suchas none but he
could feel or know.

He as the eternal Son of God, who had lain in his bosombefore all worlds, had
known all the blessednessandhappiness of the love and favor of the Father,
his ownFather, shining upon him, for he was "by him as one brought up with
him, and was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him" (Prov. 8:30).
When, then, insteadof love he felt his displeasure, insteadof the beams of his
favor he experiencedthe frowns and terrors of his wrath, instead of the light
of his countenance he tasted the darkness and gloom of desertion--whatheart
can conceive, whattongue express the bitter anguish which must have wrung
the soulof our suffering Surety under this agonizing experience?
Spurgeon- Isaiah 53:6 - Here a confessionof sin common to all the elect
people of God. They have all fallen, and therefore, in common chorus, they all
say, from the first who enteredheaven to the last who shall enter there, “All
we like sheephave gone astray.” The confession, while thus unanimous, is also
specialand particular: “We have turned every one to his own way.” There is a
peculiar sinfulness about every one of the individuals; all are sinful, but each
one with some specialaggravationnot found in his fellow. It is the mark of
genuine repentance that while it naturally associatesitselfwith other
penitents, it also takes up a position of loneliness. “We have turned every one
to his own way,” is a confessionthat eachman had sinned againstlight
peculiar to himself, or sinned with an aggravationwhichhe could not perceive
in others. This confessionis unreserved; there is not a word to detract from its
force, nor a syllable by way of excuse. The confessionis a giving up of all pleas
of self-righteousness. It is the declarationof men who are consciouslyguilty—
guilty with aggravations, guilty without excuse:they stand with their weapons
of rebellion broken in pieces, and cry, “All we like sheephave gone astray; we
have turned every one to his own way.” Yet we hear no dolorous wailings
attending this confessionofsin; for the next sentence makes italmost a song.
“The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” It is the most grievous
sentence ofthe three, but it overflows with comfort. Strange is it that where
misery was concentratedmercyreigned; where sorrow reachedher climax
wearysouls find rest. The Saviour bruised is the healing of bruised hearts. See
how the lowliestpenitence gives place to assuredconfidence through simply
gazing at Christ on the cross!
C H Spurgeon - Isaiah53:6 - This thought has charmed me beyond measure.
Here were Lot’s sins, scandalous sins, I cannot mention them; they were very
different from David’s sins. Black sins, scarletsins were those of David, but
David’s sins are not at all like those of Manasseh;the sins of Manassehwere

not the same as those of Peter—Petersinned in quite a different track; and
the womanthat was a sinner, you could not liken her to Peter, neither if you
look to her charactercouldyou set her side by side with Lydia; nor if you
think of Lydia, canyou see her without discovering a greatdivergence
betweenher and the Philippian jailer. They are all alike—theyhave all ‘gone
astray’; but they are all different—they ‘have turned every one to his own
way’. But here is the blessedgathering up of them all—the Lord has causedto
meet on the Redeemer, as in a common focus, the iniquity of them all; and up
yonder Manasseh’s song joins sweetlywith that of the woman who was a
sinner, and Lydia, chaste but yet needing pardon, sings side by side with
Bathsheba and Rahab;while David takes up the strain with Samsonand
Gideon, and these with Abraham and Isaac, alldifferently sinners. The
atonement meets every case. We always think that man a quack who
advertises a medicine as healing every disease, but when you come to the great
gospelmedicine, the precious blood of Jesus Christ, you have there in very
deed what the old doctors used to call a catholicon, a universal medicine
which meets every case in its distinctness, and puts awaysin in all its
separateness ofguilt as if it were made for that sin, and for that sin alone.
(Individual Sin Laid on Jesus)
He Is Here Present
John Marrant, a 14-year-oldblack in colonialCharleston, was converted
through the preaching of George Whitefield, but his family disapproved of his
new faith. John, dispirited, left home with only a small Bible and a little
hymnbook in his pocket. He wandered through the wilderness severaldays,
eating little and sleeping in trees for fear of beasts.
At length, he was seizedby a Cherokee hunter. He askedme how I did live. I
said I was supported by the Lord. He askedme how I slept. I answeredthe
Lord provided. He inquired what preservedme from being devoured by wild
beasts? I replied, the Lord Jesus keptme from them. He stoodastonished, and
said, “You saythe Lord Jesus Christ does this, and does that, and does
everything for you; He must be a fine man; where is He?” I replied, “He is
here present.” To this he made no answer.
Back in the hunter’s village, John was promptly condemnedto death. The
executionershowedme a basketof turpentine woodstuck full of small
skewers. He told me I was to be stripped nakedand laid down in the basket,
and these sharp pegs were to be stuck into me, then seton fire, and when they
burnt to my body, I was to be thrown into the flame, which was to finish my
execution.

John immediately burst into prayer, and his pitiful words so moved the
executioners they took him to the chief. Opening his little Bible to Isaiah 53,
John read: “All we like sheep have gone astray;we have turned, every one to
his ownway; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Turning
here and there in the Bible, John preachedthe gospel, converting among
others the chief himself. For the next two years, the teenagerremainedamong
the Cherokees,preaching and teaching and making disciples. (Robert Morgan
- From This Verse)
Condemnation Certain
After World War 1, 900 German soldiers who had violated international law
were summoned to appear before the World Court. Their condemnationwas
certain. In a dramatic move, however, the former crownprince of Germany
volunteered to be their substitute. His offer included taking upon himself both
the accusationagainstthem and their penalty. This act, though most noble,
was impractical. Although he was royalty, he did not have in his own person
the value of the 900.
There is anotherPrince who took upon Himself the judgment due the entire
human race. Unlike that German leader, He is not implicated in any evil.
BecauseofHis sinless humanity, He could be “deliveredfor our offenses.”
BecauseofHis deity, He could be “raisedagainfor our justification” (Rom.
4:25). He was able to pay in full the ransom demanded by God’s holy law,
because in Him was the intrinsic worth needed to provide salvation. Yes, the
Father laid upon His sinless Sonthe iniquity of us all.
Our redemption has been purchasedby Heaven’s Crown Prince. So don’t
depreciate the cross. Don’tunderrate Christ’s greatsacrifice. It will costyou
your soul. It will shut you out from God. It will darken your eternity.
Thank God for a royal Substitute! (Our Daily Bread, Copyright RBC
Ministries, Grand Rapids, MI. — Reprinted by permission. All rights
reserved)
Hymns Relatedto Isaiah53:6:
• I Was a Wandering Sheep
• Like SheepWe Went Astray
• Our MessiahCame
• Our Sins, Our Sorrows, Lord

• Tell Out the Wonderful Story
• Thou Awful God, Whose Righteous Ire
INDIVIDUAL SIN LAID ON JESUS NO. 925
A SERMON DELIVERED ON LORD’S-DAYMORNING, APRIL 10, 1870,
BY C. H. SPURGEON, AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE,
NEWINGTON.
“All we like sheephave gone astray. We have turned, every one to his own
way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Isaiah53:6.
I THINK I addressedyou from this text four years ago—(See #694,Volume
12—SIN LAID ON JESUS—bythe grace ofGod, for all 63 volumes of C. H.
Spurgeonsermons in Modern English, and more than 574 Spanish
translations, visit: www.spurgeongems.org), but I feel quite safe in returning
to it, for we shall never exhaust it. It is a verse so wealthyin meaning that if I
had during the whole four years preached upon it every Sunday, it would be
my fault if the theme were stale. On this occasionI desire mainly to draw
attention to a part of the text upon which little was said on the former
occasion;the vine is the same, but we shall gather clusters from a bough
ungleaned before;the jewels are the same, but we will place them in another
light, and view them from another angle. MayGod grant that some who
derived no comfort from our former words may be led to find peace and
salvationin Christ this morning; the Lord in His infinite mercy grant it may
be so. I shall first give a generalexpositionof the text; then in the second
place I shall dwell upon the specialdoctrine which I wish to teach; and then,
thirdly, we shall draw from that specialdoctrine a speciallesson. I. First, we
will GIVE A GENERALEXPOSITION OF THE TEXT. “All we like sheep

have gone astray. We have turned, every one to his own way; and the Lord
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” The text naturally breaks itself up into
these three heads; a confessiongeneralto all penitents—“All we like sheep
have gone astray”;a personalconfessionpeculiarto eachone, “We have
turned, every one to his own way”;and then, the august doctrine of
substitution, which is the very soul and spirit of the entire gospel, “The Lord
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Our exposition, then, begins with the
confessionwhichis universal to all penitents—it is acknowledgedhere by the
persons speaking who call themselves “allwe”;that they all had, like sheep,
broken the hedge of God’s law, forsakentheir goodand ever blessed
Shepherd, and wandered into paths perilous and deadly. A comparisonis here
used, and its use shows that the confessionwas a thoughtful one, and not a
matter of carelessform. Man is here comparedto a beast, for sin brings out
the animal part of us, and while holiness allies us to angels, sin degrades us to
brutes; and we are not likened to one of the more noble and intelligent
animals, but to a silly sheep. All sin is folly; all sinners are fools; sheepare
dishonored by the comparisonhere used, for with all their silliness, they have
never been known to rush into the fire after having felt the flame. You will
observe that the creature selectedfor comparisonis one that cannot live
without care and attention; there is no such thing as a wild sheep; there could
not long be sheepunless they were tended and caredfor by a shepherd. The
creature’s happiness, its safety, and very existence alldepend upon its being
under a nurture and care far above its own; yet for all that, the sheepstrays
from the shepherd. Man’s happiness lies in being under the direction of the
Lord, in being obedient to God, in being in communion with God; departure
from God is death to all his highestinterests, destruction to all his best
prospects;yet for all that, as the sheep goes astray, evenso does man! The
sheepis a creature exceedinglyquick-witted upon the one matter of going
astray; if there is but one gap in the hedge, the sheep will find it; if there is but
one possibility out of 500 that by any means the flock shall wander, one of the
flock will be quite certain to discoverthat possibility; and all its companions
will avail themselves of it! So is it with man. He is quick of understanding for
evil things; God made man upright, but he has soughtout many inventions—
the inventions being all to destroy his own uprightness, and to do despite to
the law of God. But that very creature which is so quick-witted to wan

Individual Sin Laid on Jesus Sermon #925
Tellsomeone today how much you love Jesus Christ. Volume 16
2
2
der is the leastlikely of all animals to return. The ox knows its owner, and the
ass knows its master’s crib; even the swine that will wander by day, will
return to the trough by night, and the dog will scentout his master over many
a mile, but not so the sheep. Sharp as it is to discoveropportunities for going
astray, it seems to be bereft of all wit or will to come back to the fold. And
such is man—wise to do evil, but foolishtowards that which is good. With a
hundred eyes, like Argus, he searchesout opportunities for sinning; but, like
Bartimeus, he is stone blind as to repentance and a return to God. The sheep
goes astray, it is said, all the more frequently when it is most dangerous for it
to do so;propensities to stray seemto be developed in the very proportion in
which they ought to be subdued. Whereas in our own land a sheepmight
wander with some safety, it wanders less in the Oriental plains, where for it to
go astray is to run risks from leopards and wolves. Those very men who ought
to be most careful, and who are placed in positions where it is best for them to
be scrupulous, are those who are most prone to follow after evil, and with
heedless carelessnessto leave the way of truth. The sheepgoes astray
ungratefully. It owes everything to the shepherd, and yet forsakesthe hand
that feeds it, and heals its diseases;the sheepgoes astrayrepeatedly. If
restoredtoday it may not stray today if it cannot, but it will tomorrow if it
can. The sheepwanders further and further, from bad to worse;it is not
content with the distance it has reached, it will go yet greaterlengths; there is
no limit to its wandering exceptits weakness. Do you not see you own selves,
my brothers and sisters, as in a mirror? From Him that has blessedyou, you
have gone astray; to Him you owe your all, and yet from Him you continually
depart; your sins are not occasional—theyare constant!Your wanderings are
not slight, but you wander further and further; and were it not for restraining
grace which has prevented your footsteps you would have wandered even now
to the utmost extremities of guilt, and utterly destroyedyour souls. “All we

like sheephave gone astray.” What? Is there not one faithful soul? Alas, no!
“There is none that does good, no, not one.” Searchthe ranks of the blessedin
heaven, and there is not one saint before the throne who will boastthat when
on earth he never sinned; searchthe church of God below and there is not
one, howevercloselyhe walks with God, but must confess that he has erred
and strayed from God’s ways like a lost sheep. Vain is the man who refuses to
confess this, for his hypocrisy or his pride, whichever may be the cause ofsuch
a base lie proves that he is not one of God’s chosen. The chosenof God
unanimously, mournfully, but heartily take up this cry, “All we like sheep
have gone astray.” A generalconfession, then, is uttered in our text. This
confessionby the mass is backedup by a personal acknowledgmentfrom each
one, “We have turned every one to his ownway.” Sin is generalbut yet
special;all are sinners, but eachone is a sinner with an emphasis; no man has
of himself turned to God’s way, but in every case eachone has chosen“his
own way.” The very gist of sin lies in our setting up our own way in opposition
to the way and will of God. We have all done so; we have all aspired to be our
own masters;we have all desired to follow our own inclinations, and have not
submitted ourselves to the will of God. The text implies that eachman has his
own peculiarity and specialsin; all are diseased, but not all preciselywith the
same form of disease. It is well, my brothers and sisters, if eachof us, in
examining ourself, has found out what is his own peculiar transgression;it is
well to know what evil weeds flourish most readily in the soil of our heart;
what wild beastthat is most native to the forests of our soul. Many have felt
that their peculiar sin was so remarkably evil, and so surpassinglyvile that it
separatedthem altogetherfrom the common rank of sinners; they felt that
their iniquities were unique, and like lone peaks, lifted themselves defiantly
towards the pure heavens of God provoking the fiercestthunderbolts of His
wrath. Such persons have almost been driven to despair under the belief that
they were peculiarly great sinners, as Paul puts it, the very chief of sinners. I
should not wonder if this feeling which eachone imagines to be peculiar to
himself may have come over very many of us, and the shadow of despairmay
for a while have fallen upon very many of us, for it is no unusual thing for an
awakenedconscience to feelits own sinfulness to be above measure and
parallel, the worstthat has ever defiled mankind. As this specialsin happens
to be the point to which I desire to call to your attention, as I wish to show that

JESUS BEARER OF OUR SINS

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