How does Matthew 27:26 connect to Isaiah 53:5 about Jesus' suffering? Setting the scene in Matthew 27:26 • “So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.” • Just before the crucifixion, Roman scourging tears flesh and leaves bloody stripes; Pilate’s order fulfills the demand of the crowd and sets the stage for the cross. Isaiah 53:5 in view • “But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.” • Written seven centuries earlier, Isaiah’s Servant Song foretells substitutionary suffering—piercing, crushing, chastisement, stripes—for our sin and our peace. Key links between the two verses • The flogging (“had Jesus flogged”) produces literal stripes, answering Isaiah’s “by His stripes.” • Isaiah speaks of substitution; Matthew shows it enacted when Barabbas (a guilty rebel) goes free and Jesus (the innocent One) is punished in his place. • “Pierced” in Isaiah anticipates crucifixion; the scourging in Matthew begins that journey of piercing. The theological thread 1. Substitution – Matthew 27:26: Barabbas released, Jesus condemned. – Isaiah 53:5: He suffers “for our transgressions” and “our iniquities.” – 2 Corinthians 5:21: “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us…”. 2. Atonement through suffering – Roman scourging satisfies Isaiah’s prophecy of chastisement that brings peace (see Colossians 1:20). 3. Healing through His wounds – 1 Peter 2:24 quotes Isaiah 53:5 and ties spiritual healing to the stripes laid on Jesus’ back in Matthew. 4. Divine orchestration – Acts 2:23: Jesus was “delivered up by God’s set plan and foreknowledge.” – What Pilate orders in Matthew is what God planned in Isaiah. Why the stripes matter today • They confirm prophecy’s precision and the reliability of Scripture. • They reveal the cost of redemption—our peace was purchased at the price of His pain. • They invite trust: if the foretold stripes healed, the foretold resurrection (Isaiah 53:10–11; Matthew 28) secures eternal life. Putting it together Matthew 27:26 supplies the historical snapshot—the Roman scourging. Isaiah 53:5 supplies the divine commentary—those very stripes heal us. Viewed side by side, the verses trace one seamless line from prophecy to fulfillment, from promised redemption to accomplished salvation. |
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