By His Wounds

What seems to be a shameful experience, what seems to be only pain can become your moment of change and great triumph tomorrow.

Two thousand years ago, through one of the most shameful and painful forms of capital punishment in ancient history, an innocent man was horribly killed. His accusers had fabricated evil accusations against him, but even the governor who tried him declared that he could find nothing wrong with him. Despite that, through intrigues and blackmail, these false accusers managed to force the governor to sentence this blameless man to death by crucifixion. After his trial, they plaited a crown from branches of a thorn bush and set it on his head. Then he was stripped of his clothing, brutally scourged and hung for six hours on a cross between two criminals to die.

As he hung on the cross, which stood at a major crossroads, and bled, the soldiers who crucified him mocked him, and passersby hurled insults at him. Even one of the criminals who was crucified with him spoke angrily and scornfully to him. Eventually, he died from exhaustion and asphyxiation, and he was buried.

This man was Jesus the Christ. The sufferings, shame and disgrace that He experienced before He finally gave up His spirit cannot be described by any words. But through this most horrible experience of His short life, He became the most blessed and revered among all men, both living and dead. Jesus is today a personification of victory and triumph, One who is worshiped and adored by billions.

Today, an estimated 2.2 billion people, nearly a third (31%) of the Earth’s population, call themselves His followers, but perhaps one of the greatest blessings of His death and suffering is that because of all the suffering that he went through, anyone who is experiencing pain can, through faith in Him, have a great turnaround and experience victory.

Death by crucifixion was meant to be a shameful end for the criminals who were punished by it. However, Jesus’s crucifixion and subsequent death was not His end.  Three days after he was crucified, He rose again from the dead. He is alive today. His death has become a way—a way to victory for all who believe in Him. His suffering and sorrow was a means to deliver mankind from sin, shame, and suffering.  By trusting in Him, victims are turned into overcomers.

“He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and held in low esteem… Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering. … he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; he bore the punishment that brought us peace, and by his wounds we are healed (Isaiah 53:3-5 NIV).

Jesus was innocent and blameless, yet He was accused and punished as a criminal. He allowed himself to suffer because of you and me. Because of what He experienced on the cross, your bad experiences shouldn’t be your end.

No matter what mistakes you have made or what sins you have committed, you can believe in Him for forgiveness. He can change your life, give you a new heart and a new start. If you are a Christian and have given yourself to Christ, but are going through difficulties right now, it is time to turn your eyes off yourself and look upon Christ. Are you being despised or falsely accused? Have you been cheated on? Are you in sorrow? Are you suffering? Have you been wounded? Are you experiencing rejection? Turn your eyes upon Christ.

Maybe you have been undeservedly disgraced or attacked by sickness. Believe in Jesus for deliverance. What seems to be a defeat in your life today will turn out to be a great victory for you because of Christ and what He suffered. What seems to be a shameful experience, what seems to be only pain can become your moment of change and great triumph tomorrow.

Today, if you look at your life, you may see chaos, suffering, injustice, troubles, and disappointments. But turn your eyes upon Jesus on the cross—see Him also suffering, in great pain, despised, falsely accused, humiliated and disgraced, but see beyond all these, the great victory that he accomplished.

He overcame the suffering, pain, shame and all the terrible things He went through to give you the power to overcome. Because Satan could not destroy Jesus, he can neither destroy you. You can definitely have victory because of His Triumph over sin, failure, sickness, death and every awful results of sin and human weaknesses. To those who believe in Christ but are going through trials, He is declaring, «You will overcome and come out victoriously because I have overcome.» Jesus, because He knows what we go through in this life, said:

«I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world» (John 16:33 NIV).

And now to all the believers in Christ going through any kind of suffering, He is proclaiming: «Take heart! I have overcome the world.»

Yes, because He has overcome, we will overcome, and you will overcome.

Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning (Psalms 30:5 NIV). Satan and sin bring darkness, but Jesus is your bright Morning Star, the Sun of Righteousness. When you allow Him into your life, morning comes with joy and gladness, and darkness flees with all its sorrows and weeping.

That is why, no matter what you may be going through, you should see yourself not as a victim, but as an overcomer in Christ. His victory is your victory!

By His wounds, you are healed!