God
sent his Son
Not
only did God decide to save sinners in order to glorify himself, but
he actually did save them (of course, he is still saving sinners).
It was not just a whim or short-lived impulse. No, this was God’s
passion and moved him to inaugurate his glorious plan of redemption.
So much so, he sent His Son. The second Person of the Trinity came
to earth with the mission to save the lost. How was this enacted?
Jesus
took on flesh. He had to partake of the same things and be made like
his brethren. “Since therefore the children share in flesh and
blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things... he had to be
made like his brethren in every respect, so that he might become a
merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God” (Heb.
2:14-17). Jesus “made himself nothing, taking the form of a
servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human
form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:7-8). “And the Word became flesh
and dwelt among us” (Jn. 1:14).
Why?
Why was Christ born of a woman? Why did he have to be made like us?
It was to atone for sinful man’s iniquity. Man was the one that
offended God. It is man that stands condemned before the tribunal of
God. So, Christ took on flesh to die in the place of man in order
for men to be saved. The blood of bulls and goats cannot take away
sin. But, the perfect and sinless sacrifice of the Son of Man can.
We
must not miss the point. God sent his Son. Yes, it is important
that we acknowledge that two natures are in one person by way of a
hypostatic union. But, God sent his Son. His only Son. This is
earth-shattering news. This changes everything. This truly is what
all of history had been leading too and looking back on. Man, who
lies dead by the wayside, desires everything except God and sweet
communion with him. He loves his sin. By contrast, he hates what is
holy and pure, including God. But God sent his Son. Christ came to
redeem lawless, rebellious, unlovable, devilish, men.
How
did this happen? Christ took on flesh and lived a sinless life of
perfect obedience to God the Father and the law. Jesus obeyed
perfectly. He succeeded where Adam failed. This is key because God
demands a perfect sacrifice. Jesus was perfect so when he gave
himself for sinners, God accepted it; he was propitiated. We are
ransomed “with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb
without blemish or spot. He was foreknown before the foundation of
the world but was made manifest in the last times for the sake of
you” (1 Pet. 1:19-20). “For our sake he made him to be sin who
knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God”
(2 Cor. 5:21). Christ, our high priest is “without sin” (Heb.
4:15). The Westminster Confession states,
The
Lord Jesus, by His perfect obedience, and sacrifice of Himself, which
He through the eternal Spirit, once offered up unto God, hath fully
satisfied the justice of His Father; and purchased, not only
reconciliation, but an everlasting inheritance in the kingdom of
heaven, for all those whom the Father hath given unto Him (VIII. V).
What
is the gospel? Jeremiah Burroughs explains,
All
mankind was lost in Adam and became children of wrath, and was put
under the sentence of death. God, though He left His fallen angels
and has reserved them in chains of eternal darkness, has thought upon
the children of men. He has provided a way of atonement to reconcile
them to Himself again. Namely, the Second Person in the Trinity
takes man’s nature upon Him and becomes the Head of a second
covenant, standing charged with man’s sin, and answering for it by
suffering what the Law and Divine Justice required. He made
satisfaction and kept the Law perfectly, which satisfaction and
righteousness He offered up unto the Father as a sweet savor of rest
for the souls of those that are given to Him.1
Oh,
Christ is precious. He alone is our everything; he is our all in
all. Christ is our Head, Shepherd, Prophet, Priest, King,
Righteousness, Light, Mediator, Advocate, Propitiation. He is the
Rock, Bridegroom, Door, Gate, Lamb, Redeemer, Son of God, Son of Man,
Suffering Servant, Way, Truth, Life, Prince of Peace. Christ is the
Holy One of God, adored by the heavenly host, the Father’s Beloved,
infinite in beauty and splendor, worshiped by angels, obeyed by all
creation. He is all wise, full of grace and mercy, patient and
loving, powerful and just. Christ is sufficient, worthy, excellent,
to be desired above all, magnificent, regal, amiable, eminent,
glorious, and resplendent. Who could ever begin to comprehend his
manifold illustriousness? He should be treasured, obeyed, feared,
sought, trusted, followed, hallowed, worshiped, and magnified.
Jesus
died on a cross
Oh,
the cross of Christ. All of known history had been leading up to
this one event. It changed everything. We now look back to Calvary.
The cross has a special place in the hearts of every believer. For
it was where our Savior died. We sing about it, preach it, meditate
on its significance, sit at its foot, shudder at the horrific scene,
yet gaze at it in a stupefied awe because it was necessary. How else
would our sins be atoned? As dreadful and appalling as it is, we
cherish the Savior and the cross in whose relentless grip he hung
because this is what the blessed Trinity ordained in order to save
man. The cross is where wrath and mercy meet. Heaven and hell
converged.
The
rapturous Horatius Bonar said it this way,
It is
only through blood-shedding that conscience is purged; it is only at
the cross that the sinner can meet with God; it is the cross that
knits heaven and earth together; it is the cross that bears up the
collapsing universe; it is the pierced hand that holds the golden
scepter; it is at Calvary that we find the open gate of Paradise
regained, and the gospel is good news to the sinner, of liberty to
enter in2
The
cross. What happened on that Roman torture instrument? In short,
Jesus died a substitutionary, penal, vicarious, propitious, atoning
death. In other words, he died in the place of others. And not just
others, but sinners. “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law
by becoming a curse for us” (Gal. 3:13). Believers are justified
“through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put
forward as a propitiation” (Rom. 3:24-25). Jesus is the
“propitiation for our sins” (1 Jn. 2:2). Jesus said that he
“lays down his life for the sheep” (Jn. 10:11). He did not come
to serve but “to give his life as a ransom for many” (Matt.
20:28). Jesus “gave himself for our sins” (Gal. 1:4). Christ
Jesus “gave himself as a ransom” (1 Tim. 2:6).
The
death of Jesus on the cross is paramount to a proper understanding of
the gospel. Without it we’re doomed. With it we have deliverance.
The centrality of Christ’s death on the cross cannot be
overstated. It is the primary message of Christianity; it is at the
very heart of the gospel. It was what Paul preached; “we preach
Christ crucified” (1 Cor. 1:23). It was what Paul knew; “I
decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him
crucified” (1 Cor. 2:2). Greg Gilbert has written that “the
death of Jesus is- and must be- the heart of the gospel because the
good news is precisely that Jesus saves sinners from their sin.”3
And he accomplished this by dying in their stead. He took their
place. He took their curse. He bore our punishment; took what we
deserved. The innocent Son of Man was raised up and killed for
something he did not do. Oh, but millions are eternally grateful
that he did.
What
transpired on the cross? What happened? What was the point of all
of the pain and suffering? Who better than Paul to adequately
disclose the meaning of the cross? He wrote, “For our sakes he
made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become
the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). What happened at Calvary?
Why the darkness? Why the cries of being forsaken? Because Christ
became sin. Let that sink in. The Lord Jesus Christ, the perfect,
spotless, sinless, holy, Son of God had sin laid upon him. He bore
the curse. He bore guilt. He bore the shame. He bore the
punishment. He bore the Father’s wrath.
The
sins of the elect were laid upon Jesus. They were credited to him.
As the Substitute, our sins were made his. “He himself bore our
sins in his body on the tree” (1 Pet. 2:24). Christ was offered to
“bear the sins of many” (Heb. 9:28). Isaiah's account is even
more remarkable. He prophesied some seven hundred years before the
time of Christ, but it was as if he stood at Calvary and watched the
Servant of the Lord die.
Surely
he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him
stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our
transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the
chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are
healed. 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... he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the
transgression of my people... he bore the sin of many, and makes
intercession for the transgressors (Is. 53:4-6; 8; 12).
As a
result of sin being laid on him, Jesus bore the wrath of the Father.
God the Father punished Jesus for sin. He who knew no sin became sin
and took the penalty that it deserved. The Son, who enjoyed perfect
communion and harmony with the Father, endured the righteous
indignation for sins not his own. Oh, the love; the justice. What
severity; what mercy. What heart can grasp the gravity of this
forsakenness?
“And
about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli,
Eli, lema sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you
forsaken me?” (Matt. 27:46). “Yet it was the will of the Lord to
crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering
for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the
will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand” (Is. 53:10).
How
do we not adore the One who suffered undeserved punition at the hands
of sinners? Even more compelling is that the Son was sent and
crushed by his loving Father. We must remember that the loving
Father loves himself supremely and ordained the suffering of the Son
in order to redeem fallen sinners so that they may share in that love
and enjoy him glorifying himself through redemptive love for all
eternity.
2Christ
Is All: The Piety of Horatius Bonar,
ed. Michael A.G. Haykin & Darrin R. Brooker (Grand
Rapids: Reformation Heritage, 2007), 79-80.
3Greg
Gilbert, “The Gospel: God’s Self-Substitution for Sinners” in
Don’t
Call It a Comeback (Wheaton,
Il: Crossway, 2011), 73.
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