The Messianic Interpretation. 

        Certain passages are frequently used with reference to the Passion of our Lord. The most obvious are 1:12 and certain expressions in ch. 3. As long as this is done reverently and knowingly, few would cavil at it. The reason why this is possible is instructive.

        Our Lord is the Second Man (I Cor. 15:47). The suffer­ings of the righteous before Him were but foreshadowings of His sufferings, and the punishment of sin was a foreshadowing of what He would have to bear when He took our place as our substitute. It is therefore entirely to be expected that in this book of the suffering for sin, there would be the frequent phrase that would remind the loving heart of a much deeper suffering.