“He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).

In 2013, a 13-year-old girl named Jahi got her tonsils removed. The procedure went well. Jahi woke up in the recovery room and asked her mom for a popsicle. Suddenly, she started bleeding from her nose and mouth. Her heart stopped beating, and her brain swelled. Doctors got her heart started, but Jahi was brain-dead. She was comatose and on life support for several years before dying in 2018. All that just from getting her tonsils out.

It’s not fair

What do you think her parents said about this? Three words: “It’s not fair.” Getting your tonsils removed is such a routine procedure that less than 1.3 percent of patients experience any complications at all. A tonsillectomy is so safe that its death rate can barely be measured. Jahi’s surgeon reported a successful surgery with no problems or complications, yet this tragedy happened. Why would this happen? Why her? Why now? It’s not fair.

I’m sure you’ve had times when you’ve thought, It’s not fair. You prepared well and studied hard for the big test but still got a poor grade. It’s not fair. You worked hard and outperformed your coworkers, but someone else got the promotion. It’s not fair. You, a Christian, have a life filled with struggles while your unbelieving neighbors seem to have stress-free lives. It’s not fair. You love your children and take good care of them, yet they still resent you and act coldly to you. It’s not fair.

It’s enough to make you wonder: Is God fair?

God’s not fair

So is he? Is God fair? There are times when it surely seems like he’s not. But let’s look at that question more thoughtfully. Is God fair in how he deals with sin? He gives a clear-cut command: “Be holy because I, the LORD your God, am holy” (Leviticus 19:2). If we don’t keep that command, the result is simple: “The one who sins is the one who will die” (Ezekiel 18:20). We’ve sinned. We left “be holy” in the rearview mirror a long time ago. What’s the fair thing for God to do? Punish the sinners.

But is that what God does? No. He does something totally unfair. He rightfully gets angry over sin, but his anger is not with us. It’s with Jesus. God punishes sin, but he doesn’t punish us. He punishes Jesus. Our sins earned death, but not our death. Jesus is the one who died.

Pay careful attention to the pronouns in our verse: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.” The sinless Son of God takes our sin. The guiltless Son of God takes our guilt. The innocent Son of God takes our punishment. How unfair for Jesus, but how good for us!

We don’t deserve such incredible treatment. We don’t deserve such amazing love. But that’s what God gives us. That’s the message we celebrate in our Lenten journey toward Easter. He for me. The innocent for the guilty. The sinless for the sinful. God did not treat us fairly. He did not treat us as our sins deserve. Thanks be to God!

PRAYER: Heavenly Father, thank you for treating us unfairly and punishing Jesus instead of us. Help us show our thanks for your unfair love. Amen.

Author: Evan Chartrand
Volume 112, Number 03
Issue: March 2025