And the Scripture was fulfilled, which saith
In ( Isaiah 53:12 ) ;
and he was numbered with the transgressors:
he was no transgressor of the law of God himself, but was perfectly conformable to it in his holy nature, harmless conversation, and complete obedience: he knew no sin, nor committed any in thought, word, or deed, nor could any be found in him by men or devils; and yet he was traduced as a sinner, and charged with many foul things, none of which could be proved upon him: but inasmuch as he stood in the room, and stead of sinners, and had all the sins of his people imputed to him, and laid upon him, with his own consent, he was treated by the justice of God as if he had been a transgressor, and was reckoned as such; of which his being placed between two thieves, was a symbol and representation: hence he was stricken, and wounded, and died, for the sins of those in whose place he stood. The fifty third chapter of Isaiah, where this passage stands, is a manifest prophecy of the Messiah, as several of the Jewish writers themselves, both ancient and modern, acknowledge; though some would apply it to some other persons F25.