Bob,
Before I forget to send it out ... here is the link and text from Bible
Gateway
material that I quoted in tonight's teaching. Since others also
asked
about it,
maybe you could send out over your distribution list.
Gabe
This
raises the question again, Why?
Why is Jesus, the perfect one, under judgement? Why is it falling on him? It
is
because, thirdly, Jesus’ mission paid for our sin. The darkness of judgement
and
wrath which he endured was endured for us. Jesus is doing exactly what he
explained in such simple words in 10:45;
and this is the cost. The cost of the ransom is to take our judgement, our
hell;
to divert the wrath of God away from us and onto his own head. On the cross,
Jesus takes our disastrous record of failure and rebellion onto himself.
Jesus
suffers in his humanity, as we have said; but it is only because Jesus is
also
divine, only because of the infinite strength of his divine nature, that he
can
bear this unimaginable weight. The Father looks at him, the pure and
innocent
one; and sees there the guilt of a billion sinful lives; and he holds the
Son to
account for them all. In these agonising hours, Jesus is a terrorist, a mass
murderer, a rapist, a child abuser. He is an armed robber, a drug dealer, a
gangster; and God’s wrath is poured out on him for all of these. Has our sin
appeared yet in the list? Jesus has stolen, blasphemed, bribed, walked out
on
responsibilities, cheated in exams, envied the rich, looked down on the
poor.
God’s wrath is due for all of these too. Jesus has resented his parents,
been
infuriated by his children. He has left the truth half-said. He has talked
behind people’s backs, dodged taxes, fiddled expenses, snapped in
impatience,
said one thing and done another, held grudges, failed to offer a kind word
when
he had the chance. Surely we recognise these sins; and for all these too,
Jesus
bears the unspeakable wrath of God. He has become sin for us (2 Corinthians
5:21).
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