By Sidharth Mohandas
Scripture tells us , “The Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” [Isa 53:6]
The Hebrew word used for “iniquity” here is “avon”, and the closest equivalent for this word in English would be the word “rebellion”. However even rebellion does not fully convey the full meaning of avon. In it’s biblical use, avon also carries the meaning of punishment or evil consequences.
For example in Gen 4:13, Cain says, “My punishment is more than I can bear“. In this verse, the Hebrew word used for punishment is “avon“. It covered not only Cain’s rebellion but also the punishment it brought on him. In Lev 16:22, concerning the scape goat released on the Day of Atonement, the Lord said “The goat shall bear on itself all their iniquities [Hebrew: avon] to an uninhabited land….”. Here, the goat not only bore the sins but also the evil consequences/punishment.
Again in Lam 4:6, it says, “The punishment of the iniquity….”. The Hebrew for this sentence would be “avon avon…”.
In order to explain this better, let me share with you some kingdom principles. I want you to consider a colony, which by definition is an extention of a kingdom in a foreign land. As long as the colony is under the rule of the kingdom, it receives all the benefits of the source kingdom. However, if the colony resists the rule of it’s source kingdom and proclaims Independance, all the benefits that the colony enjoys that comes as a result of the source kingdoms rule will be with-drawn. This is exactly what happened to the Adamic race as well. The Adamic race was a colony of heaven, a colony to bring the dominion and lifestyle of heaven on earth. However, when Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s Government with a desire birthed in them to “be like God”, they were declaring their independance. Now though they received their independance, with it they lost all the benefits of the Kingdom of God. The consequences…..?? Sickness, disease, curses, demonic influences and so forth.
Coming back to the first verse in Isaiah 53:6, we read that Jesus not only bore our sins, but He also bore all the evil consequences of the rebellion. It is a part and parcel of the Gospel. This is why when Jesus sent forth His disciples to preach the Gospel of the Kingdom, He also gave them the authority to heal, to cast out demons, to cleanse the lepers and so forth. In fact, never did He send His disciples to preach the Gospel without giving them the power to heal, cast out demons, cleanse the lepers etc. These go hand in hand. God’s kingdom is not just talk, it is power. [1 Cor 4:20; GW]
Awesome post Sid. When you posted that first scripture I automatically knew were you were going it was really cool.
You made some great points on how are sin and punishment for our sin was taken by Christ.
There’s still discipleship with Christ but that is him showing us stuff out of love as our father.
Punishment to me is done out of anger and God isn’t angry with us. He’s our father He loves us and is going to discipline us out of the love he has for us to be better.
nice post Sid
Sidhart, it truly is “not just talk” at all, for those of us that call ourselves Jesus disciples of today. I tell you thesame power of God is available to us today to do those things that were done then in the Holy Scriptures by the Apostles of Christ. so I disagree when people say you can only stretch your faith so far or believe God works on in only this way or that way.
My take is to first yield and see God in action in our lives
Godbless you my brother in Jesus Mighty Name Amen
He bore it ALL. Thank you Jesus!
Amen! Glory to the Lamb!