On the Journey Devotional
“He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” — Isaiah 53:5 (ESV)
In the Old Testament, the priest never sat down. Every day there were more sacrifices to offer, more blood to spill, more sin to cover – and none of it ever lasted. The job was never finished.
Then Jesus came.
Seven hundred years before the cross, the prophet Isaiah described what was coming: a man so broken by suffering that people looked away from him – yet every wound he carried belonged to someone else. “The LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:6). Not his sin. Ours.
The book of Hebrews tells us what that accomplished. Unlike every priest before him, Jesus did not offer the blood of animals. He offered his own. And he did it once – not because it was all he could manage, but because once was all it took. “Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin” (Heb. 10:18).
And then he sat down (Heb. 10:12).
That detail matters more than we might realize. The priest sat down because the work was done. Not paused. Not pending review. Done. The debt you have carried – the guilt, the shame, the quiet voice that tells you that you have used up your chances – Jesus carried it to the cross and set it down. Permanently.
The apostle Paul reminds us of the timing: “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). He did not wait for us to get it together. He came for us at our worst and did the one thing we could never do for ourselves.
So here is the word for today, from Hebrews 10:22: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith.“
Not “try harder.” Not “do better this time.” Draw near – with full assurance – because the One who promised is faithful, and the work is finished.
If you are carrying something heavy today, you do not have to carry it alone. The priest sat down. The debt is paid. Draw near to Jesus today.
Prayer:
Lord, thank you for the work accomplished on our behalf on Good Friday. Thank you for Jesus who stayed the course and faced it all in order to redeem us. May we remember that he is no longer on the cross, that work is completed and then he sat down. He died for us so that we might live with you. We are grateful today and pause to reflect. Amen
Jordan Lange
Program Development and Staff Training Administrator
