We all appreciate it when someone takes responsibility for what’s going on. Enough with the finger-pointed and the blame game! It’s so refreshing to hear, “We see the problem. It’s our job. We’ll take care of it.”
A former U.S. president had a plaque on his desk that read, “The buck stops here!” With that he meant to show he was taking responsibility for everything that happened during his administration. It may well be popular, and a common human trick, . . . . to dodge responsibility, but there are those who still take it on. Good parents accept that they have some responsibility for their children’s behavior. Occasionally a coach or quarterback will say, “It was my fault,” even if it mostly the fault of another player.
Where does the buck stop with all the sin in the world that has caused so much pain and suffering? It should stop with each individual who sinned. But Isaiah saw that in this case it would be different:
… by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities (Isaiah 53:11)
The Suffering Servant is Jesus. None of the iniquities (“sins”) he bore were his own. Not a single one. Who would take that on and pay for all the wrongdoing of all people past, present and future? Only God in human form, Jesus Christ.
There was no reason God had to see it that way, except that he loved us all. Jesus saw many who were saved through faith in his death for them, and that was enough:
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied (Isaiah 53:11)
By that selfless act of Christ we are freed from the impossible task of trying to bear our own iniquities, and free to tell the world what he has done for us.