The accursed tree, the cross which is expressive both of the shame and pain of his sufferings and death. Who knew no sin, nor did any, he by himself purged away our sins, and made reconciliation for them, by bearing them: and which he didĪnd not another's in that body which his Father prepared for him, and which he took of the virgin, and was free from sin though not to the exclusion of his soul, which also was made an offering for sin, and in which he endured great pains and sorrows for sin: and all this His "bearing" them was in this manner: he becoming the surety and substitute of his people, their sins were laid upon him by his Father, that is, they were imputed to him, they were reckoned as his, and placed to his account and Christ voluntarily took them upon himself he took them to himself, as one may take the debt of another, and make himself answerable for it or as a man takes up a burden, and lays it on his shoulders so Christ took up our sins, and "carried" them "up", as the word here used signifies, alluding to the priests carrying up the sacrifice to the altar, and referring to the lifting up of Christ upon the cross whither he carried the sins of his people, and bore them, and did not sink under the weight of them, being the mighty God, and the man of God's right hand, made strong for himself and so made entire satisfaction for them, by enduring the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and all that punishment which was due unto them and thereby bore them away, both from his people, and out of the sight of God, and his vindictive justice and removed them as far as the east is from the west, and made a full end of them and this he himself did, and not another, nor by another, or with the help of another not by the means of a goat, as the high priest, but by himself though he was assisted in bearing his cross, yet he had no help in bearing our sins angels could not help him his Father stood at a distance from him there was none to help his own arm brought salvation to him but What Christ bore were "sins", even all sorts of sin, original and actual, and every act of sin of his people and all that is in sin, all that belongs to it, arises from it, and is the demerit of it, as both filth, guilt, and punishment and a multitude of sins did he bear, even all the iniquities of all the elect and a prodigious load and weight it was and than which nothing could be more nauseous and disagreeable to him, who loves righteousness, and hates iniquity: and these sins he bore were not his own, nor the sins of angels, but of men and not of all men, yet of many, even as many as were ordained to eternal life, for whom Christ gave his life a ransom, whom he justifies and brings to glory our sins, not the sins of the Jews only, for Peter was a Jew, and so were those to whom he writes, but of the Gentiles also, even the sins of all his people, for them he saves from their sins, being stricken for them. The apostle here explains the nature and end of Christ's sufferings, which were to make atonement for sins, and which was done by bearing them. As was typified by the high priest bearing the sins of the holy things of the people of Israel, when he went into the most holy place, and by the scape goat bearing the iniquities of all the people unto a land not inhabited, and as was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.
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