Though he has recorded a volatile personal life, Mike Tyson nevertheless had an amazing boxing career. The records are there to prove that he will remain one of the boxing greats our world has ever known. Tyson’s professional record stands at 50 wins, 6 losses and 2 “no contests” with 44 wins by knockout. I guess his impressive records must have inspired his oldest son, who at 16 mooted the idea of becoming a professional boxer. In a recent podcast where Tyson revealed this, he told his son that he cannot be a fighter for a number of reasons. Firstly, he told him that the kind of middle-class upbringing with all its privileges ruined his chance. He is too soft for such a combat sport. What nailed it for me was when he said, “I took the blows so that my children wouldn’t have to do it.”

“He took the blows for our sins so we won’t have to take it…The way to live victoriously is to have our attention fixed on the finished works of Christ”

That iconic statement will jolt our memory of the finished work of Christ. What Jesus did for humanity can be described as the Great Exchange. He took the blows for our sins so we won’t have to take it. He took the blows for our sicknesses and diseases so we won’t have to be under their buffeting powers. That is what our text is pointing to. He took our infirmities and bore our sicknesses. The chastisement of our peace was laid on Him and by His stripes we are healed. The way to live victoriously is to have our attention fixed on the finished works of Christ.