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A Piercing Thorn Read: Isaiah 53:1–6 Bible in a Year: Isaiah 53–55; 2 Thessalonians 1 But he was pierced for our transgressions . . . and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5 The thorn pricked my index finger, drawing blood. I hollered and then groaned, drawing back my hand instinctively. But I shouldn’t have been surprised: trying to prune a thorny bush without gardening gloves was a recipe for exactly what just happened. The pain throbbing in my finger—and the blood flowing from it—demanded attention. And as I searched for a bandage, I found myself unexpectedly thinking about my Savior. After all, soldiers forced Jesus to don an entire crown of thorns (John 19:1–3). If one thorn hurt this much, I thought, how much agony would an entire crown of them inflict? And that’s just a small portion of the physical pain He suffered. A whip flogged His back. Nails penetrated His wrists and ankles. But Jesus endured spiritual pain too. Verse 5 of Isaiah 53 tells us, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him.” The “peace” Isaiah talks about here is another way of talking about forgiveness. Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced—by nails, by a crown of thorns—to bring us spiritual peace with God. His sacrifice, His willingness to die on our behalf, paved the way to make a relationship with the Father possible. And He did it, Scripture tells us, for me, for you. Father, I can’t imagine the pain Your endured to wash away my sin. Thank You for sending Him for me, to be pierced for my sins that I might have a relationship with You. Jesus allowed Himself to be pierced to bring us spiritual peace with God. 
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We see the paintings and the crucifixes, but I don't think we actually take time to think about how painful His experience was. Be a prism, spreading God's light and love, not a mirror reflecting the world's hatred.
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