She has received from the Lord’s hand double for all her sins. Isaiah 40:2
Alec Motyer points out that this literally says: “She has received from the Lord’s hand the double.” In other words, it is a mirror image, a carbon copy, or an exact replica.
None of us can ever make payment for our sins, so God took on flesh in the person of Jesus Christ. He came to take his stand with us and to act for us. Taking our nature to himself, Jesus lived a sinless life, and then freely and willingly laid down that perfect life as a sacrifice for us.
Jesus Christ took the guilt and the wages of your sins into himself. He made the exact payment for all your sins—the exact replica. “He… bore our sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). He paid the price. He took the rap. “He was pierced for our transgressions… crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him” (Isa. 53:5 NIV).
Christ absorbed in himself the full extent of divine justice, the full extent of the law’s penalty for every sin of every one of his people. The cumulative load is unimaginable! He carried every sin, and he paid the price for every single one.
The Son of Man came to seek and save the lost. He came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:45). That’s how he secured the pardon. That is why there can be peace with God. That is what Jesus Christ is able to do for all who come to him in faith and repentance.
What if Jesus hadn’t done all this? What would it mean for you?