As God leads us through conversion, He challenges our understanding of Him, sharpening our mental image of His character through Scripture. A significant aspect of this process involves accepting the harsh reality of Jesus Christ's death and substitutionary role. Isaiah 53:4-6 prophesies that He bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed. The Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all, fulfilling the type of the azazel goat from Leviticus 16, where sins were placed on the goat and it bore them into the wilderness. Further, Isaiah 53:11-12 states that He shall bear our iniquities, justifying many, and poured out His soul unto death, numbered with transgressors. I Peter 2:24 confirms that He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, enduring extreme suffering, shame, reproach, and anguish during those hours, not just death. This bearing of sin was a real, physical application, not merely an abstract pronouncement. Hebrews 13:12 notes that He suffered outside the gate, mirroring the azazel being led outside the camp, alive for hours while bearing our sins, feeling every moment of torment. II Corinthians 5:21 reveals that God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, so we might become the righteousness of God in Him. Galatians 3:13 adds that Christ became a curse for us, redeeming us from the curse of the law as He hung on the tree. This role, though dreadful, was necessary, as He became sin and a curse, bearing the full chastening we deserved. Through His sacrifice, spiritual healing occurs, turning us to the Shepherd, even as sin's consequences remain serious. God's merciful chastening, offset by Christ's suffering, yields righteousness without overwhelming us. Thus, we must acknowledge the reality of what the Son of God endured to grant us life with Him.

The death of Jesus Christ as a substitutionary act reveals profound aspects of God's nature and His response to sin. In Matthew 27, the anguished cry of Jesus questions whether the Father truly forsook His Son, highlighting the agony and separation experienced during His final moments. This cry, quoting Psalm 22, fulfills Messianic prophecy and underscores the reality of His suffering and temporary forsaking by God, as the Father refrained from immediate intervention during the crucifixion. Isaiah 53:10 states that it pleased the Eternal to bruise or crush the Messiah, not out of cruelty, but because of the eternal outcome it would achieve. This perspective challenges human concepts of love, showing that God's view transcends short-term pain for long-term good. Galatians 3:13 further explains that Christ became a curse for us, as evidenced by His hanging on a tree, aligning with Deuteronomy 21:23, which marks such an act as being accursed by God. This substitutionary role required distance from God's holiness due to the curse of sin He bore. In II Corinthians 5:21, Paul describes Christ being made sin for us, not merely as a sin offering, but as a representation of sin itself, bearing the full weight of humanity's transgressions. This identification with sin meant Christ endured not just death, but all the effects of sin, including separation from God. Romans 8:32 emphasizes that God did not spare His own Son, allowing Him to experience the totality of sin's consequences as our substitute. The symbolism of thorns, as seen in John 19, connects Christ's suffering to the curse of sin from Genesis 3:17-18, representing the piercing effects of iniquity laid upon Him. During the crucifixion, as described in Luke 23, darkness covered the earth from noon until 3 p.m., symbolizing God's withdrawal and judgment, fitting for the moment when all sins were laid on the divine Substitute. This darkness over the whole land reflects the Father's temporary forsaking due to His transcendent purity and opposition to sin. Ultimately, Christ's substitutionary death satisfied God's justice, carrying the curse and effects of sin to the grave. Hebrews 9:28 assures that when He appears again, it will be apart from sin, signifying that the separation and forsaking were temporary, achieving reconciliation for humanity through His profound sacrifice.