DAY 17: Carry the Burden Away

Isaiah being ready

The second word is bastazo meaning "to bear, lift or carry" something with the idea being to carry it away or remove it. It is used in Romans 15:1-3 and Galatians 6:2 which we will look at shortly.

An amazing and little understood aspect of intercession is exemplified by Christ in which He performed both of these bearing concepts. We have already established that His intercession for us was not a prayer He prayed, but a work He did. It was a work of "going between" to reconcile us to the Father and break Satan's dominion. And, of course, understanding His work in this area paves the way for an understanding of ours.

The intercessory work of Christ reached its fullest and most profound expression when our sins were "laid on" Him and He "bore" them away:

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all...he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors

(Isaiah 53:6, 12, KJV, italics mine).

The Hebrew word paga is used twice in these two verses. Isaiah 53 is one of the most graphic Old Testament prophecies of Christ's cross. Paga is translated "laid on" once and "intercession" once. Both instances refer to when our sins, iniquities, diseases, etc., were placed upon Him. The New Testament describes this identification accordingly: "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Cor. 5:21).

Christ then "bore" our sins and weaknesses away, "as far as the east is from the west" (Psalm 103:12). He is not still carrying them-somewhere, somehow-He disposed of them. The Hebrew word for "bore" or "bare" in this chapter is nasa  meaning "to bear away"  or "remove to a distance."  (We would spell the KJV "bare" today "bear.")

As already mentioned, the Greek counterpart, bastazo, means essentially the same. This connotation of bearing something to get rid of it becomes increasingly significant as we discuss our role in this facet of Christ's ministry of intercession. It is imperative to know that we don't simply carry someone's burden. We stake (anechomai) ourselves to the person and carry the burden away (bastazo), helping them get rid of it!

Shalom,

Rev. Obadiah Swen

Pastor, BWOC-VA