Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. 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 53:10)

It Pleased God To Crush Jesus

The death of Jesus on the cross was determined before time began. As the heavenly record unfolded through the centuries of human history, the Father spoke through His prophets of the suffering Servant who would be offered for the sins of all men. The sacrifice would be accomplished when Jesus left His equality with the Father and took on flesh to live among His creation. Jesus knew He came to suffer and die. All the gospel writers describe the intense pain the Son of God took upon Himself as He was beaten, spit upon, mocked, scourged, and crucified. The earth trembled at God’s suffering Servant. Darkness filled the land. Creation reacted to the sacrificial lamb slaughtered on the altar of God’s glory. As the Father watched His beloved Son suffer and bear His cross, He was pleased.

Isaiah writes the Father was pleased with the suffering of Jesus. The language is reminiscent of Abraham offering Isaac on the altar. There is no suggestion that Abraham enjoyed with pleasure binding his only begotten son to an altar and taking a knife in hand to kill his son. An angel of the Lord stayed the hand of Abraham, who was fully intent on striking the knife’s blade into his dear son’s body. Abraham was pleased to kill his son because he was willing to obey God without exception. Believing God would be able to Isaac from the dead, Abraham did not hesitate. Faith shone through in his obedience.

The suffering of Jesus did not bring joy to the Father or fill His heart with carnal gladness. There was great pain in God offering His only begotten Son as a sacrifice for the sin of the world. The suffering and death of Jesus were the only means to atone for what men had done. Jesus was sinless before the Father. The incredible life of Jesus was measured by nearly thirty-three years of sinless perfection in a world filled with debauchery, immorality, murder, hatred, and conflict. Satan tried for more than thirty years to crush the spirit of Jesus, and he never succeeded. The son of God was triumphant in overcoming sin.

God was pleased with the suffering of His Son because that was the only way sin would be pardoned. The weight of sin was so big the only atonement that could satisfy the justice of God was the death of His Son. Sin must be punished to the fullness. The blood of animals could not atone for that kind of debt. Animal blood was commanded, but redemption required the blood of a man. The magnitude of the suffering of Jesus portrays the magnitude of the offense of sin. It pleased the Father to see His Son suffer because Jesus willingly gave His life. The love of Jesus was like the love of the Father. God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son because Jesus so loved the world, He gave His life!

Jesus was not guilty of sin and did not deserve what they did to Him. The Father was never displeased with what His Son did. It pleased the Father to see His Son voluntarily submit Himself to the sorrows and suffering of the cross. God promised His Son glory if he learned obedience, and the Father highly exalted Jesus and gave Him a name above all names. Because of the suffering of Jesus, the world was given the song of redemption through the blood of God’s Son. That pleased God.