His Atonement
WHAT THE HEBREW SCRIPTURES SAY…
Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.
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...
... When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. (Isaiah 53:4-10)
WHAT THE RABBINIC WRITINGS SAY…
Jonathan ben Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah; and this is also the opinion of our own learned men in the majority of their Midrashim. (Rabbi don Yitzehak Abarbanel, circa 1500 CE)
Forthwith the Holy One began to make a covenant with the Messiah: O Messiah, my righteousness, said he, the iniquities of those who are hidden beside thee will cause thee to enter into a hard yoke ... said the Messiah, Lord of the world I accept it joyfully, and will endure these chastisements ... Messiah accepted the chastisement of love, as it is written; He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. (Rabbi Moshe Ha-Darshan, 10th, 11th century CE, Midrash on Bereshith)
"What is his [the Messiah’s] name?’ ¾ ... The rabbis said: His name is ‘the leper scholar’ as it is written, ‘Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted’." (Babylonian Talmud, Sanhedrin 98b)
WHAT THE NEW TESTAMENT SAYS…
For Messiah also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit. (1 Peter 3:18)
For He made Him [Messiah] who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)
The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1:29)
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse; for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them." ... Messiah has redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us (for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree"). (Galatians 3:10-13)
