Crushing a Son

Crushing a Son

The Will and Delight of God

Although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him.  Isaiah 53:9b-10a

This morning was quite an adventure as I dropped the boys off for school.  Every time I drop them off, we make the unload from the van, of course in typical boy fashion, a competition.  Each time they disembark, I start the clock from the moment the door opens to the click of the closing lift gate.  I usually shout out the window their time: “28 seconds!,” so the pit crew can hear how they performed.  

But today something out of the ordinary happened.  I saw the entire crew walk past the van and hit the button to close the rear gate.  As it was closing, I saw the mom in the van behind me motion with big arms “NO!”  Our six year old had forgotten something in the back and went back there as the gate was about to crush him.  Thank you, Lord and thank you, Honda, for making lift gates reverse course so as not to crush my son, who then walked past the van with the biggest shame scowl toward Dad he could muster.  

I felt less than two inches tall that I had inadvertently almost crushed my son.  As I was driving home thanking God for His protection, Isaiah 53:10 came crashing into my head.  It’s a passage which is often translated more neutrally “It was the will of the LORD to crush him” meaning the prophesied Jesus.  But other translations include the positive aspect of delight found in the Hebrew word chawfetz in translating “it pleased the LORD to crush him” (NASB).  

Jesus crushing death was no accident.  No set of circumstances in which the Father was too slow in His reaction time to prevent His Son from being nailed to a tree.  No!  It was the Father’s delight and desire that Jesus, His beloved Son, be crushed, be cursed.  Because in the crushing of Jesus, one in whom there was no murderous spirit or lying tongue, one in whom there was no need for judicial penalty for any sin of any kind, the love of the Father for His Son was displayed.  And the love of the Son for the Father displayed as well.  

It was a delight for the Father to see His Son crushed so His adopted children would be spared.  It was a delight for the Son to see His Father’s plan of salvation come to its finishing.  The apostle Peter, like the woman behind me in the van, shouted “No!” but the Father, Spirit and Son collectively nodded yes.  See the glory of God displayed in the crushing of an innocent man and a benevolent God.  

Father, give us the grace to delight with gratitude the crushing of your Son for us, the spared ones.  Amen.

Thoughts for reflection:

How does the expression “it was the delight of the LORD to crush him” sit with you? 

How does this verse affect your view of the Father and of Jesus, the Son?

How does this verse impact your understanding of God’s love for you?