“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:6 ESV

There is no flattery in this verse.

Isaiah doesn’t ease into it. He doesn’t offer qualifications or exceptions. He opens with a verdict that covers every person who has ever lived — all we like sheep have gone astray.

Sheep don’t rebel dramatically. They don’t storm off in anger or make a calculated decision to leave. They simply drift. One patch of grass at a time. One small turn here, one distraction there — and suddenly they are lost without ever having intended to wander.

That is a precise description of what sin actually looks like in most of our lives. Not one catastrophic moment of rejection, but a thousand small turns toward our own way. Our own preferences. Our own judgment about what is best.

We have turned every one to his own way.

That phrase is the Law at full weight. It is not just that we occasionally make mistakes. It is that the default orientation of the human heart is inward. Curved in on itself. And left to that default, we drift — every one of us, without exception.

The verse could have ended there and left us undone.

But it doesn’t end there.

The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

The same word — all — that condemned us is now the word that covers us. Every drift. Every small turn toward self. Every wandering that felt harmless and every one that didn’t. Laid on Him. Transferred. Carried by the one who never wandered a single step.

This is the Gospel in its purest form. The straying of all, met by the suffering of one.

Prayer:

Lord, I confess that I drift more than I realize. My heart turns inward without even asking permission. Thank You that You did not leave me in my wandering. You laid it all on Your Son so that I could be brought back. Amen.