- On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross
- Wonderful love, wonderful love, Jesus has shown to me…
- Jesus see me near the cross
- Gethsemane Ahoyeraw mpaebo… Pilate anim sotore
- Lord, I lift your name on high…you came from heaven to earth to show the way…
- Woafa M’animguase de ko asendua no so…m’asomdwoe a m’Anya yi…
Introduction
Thank God for today; Good Friday.
Why is today called good Friday? What is good about the day someone was “murdered”?
“That terrible Friday has been called Good Friday because it led to the Resurrection of Jesus and his victory over death and sin and the celebration of Easter, the very pinnacle of Christian celebrations,”
Song: On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross…PHM 278
On this Good Friday, I want to discuss the message under the following subtopics:
- Definition of passion and the Passion of Christ
- The purpose of the passion of Christ; Why should Christ suffer? For the forgiveness of our sins, justification and healing.
- Our response to the passion
Isaiah 53:1-12; Matthew 26:36-56;
Rose to read 1 Peter 2:21-25
Key verse
“But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, And by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5, NKJV).
Nanso ɔno de, yɛn mmarato nti na wopiraa no, yɛn amumɔyɛ nti na wɔdwerɛw no; yɛn asomdwoe ho asotwe daa no so, na ne mmaa ntape na wɔde asa yɛn yare.
- Definition of passion and the Passion of Christ
The word passion is from the Latin pati, which simply means “to endure” or “to suffer.” The term passion of Christ has taken on a technical or semi-technical meaning in theology, referring to the time from Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane to His death on the cross—the time of His greatest suffering.
Mel Gibson’s film, which Jim played the role of Jesus, The Passion of the Christ covers these events.
The passion of Christ is recorded in Matthew 26:36–27:56, Mark 14:32–15:41, Luke 22:39–23:49, and John 18:1–19:37.
Scripture often highlights the suffering of Christ. Indeed, the crucifixion of Christ is the apex of human history and the grand theme of the apostles’ teaching: “I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
It is important to note that Christ’s suffering—His passion—was real.
It is not as though He simply appeared to suffer; He actually suffered and died.
When Jesus prayed in Gethsemane, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me” (Matthew 26:39), He was in genuine anguish over what He was to suffer:
Mark 14:33-35
33 Na ɔfaa Petro ne Yakobo ne Yohane kaa ne ho, na ofii ase yɛɛ basaa na ne ho yeraw no.
34 Na ɔka kyerɛɛ wɔn sɛ: “Awerɛhow ahyɛ me kra ma kosi owu mu. Montena ha na monwɛn.”
35 Na ɔkɔɔ n’anim kakra no, obutuw fam fii ase bɔɔ mpae sɛ, sɛ ɛbɛyɛ yiye a, anka dɔn no ntwa ne ho nkɔ.
Matthew 26:38
38 Ɛnna ɔka kyerɛɛ wɔn sɛ: “Awerɛhow ahyɛ me kra ma kosi owu mu. Montena ha na mo ne me nwɛn.”
Luke 22:44
44 Na bere a ne ho yeraw no no, ɔbɔɔ mpae denneennen; na ne ho fifiri yɛe sɛ mogya a ɛresosɔ gu fam.
Isaiah 53 foretold the passion of Christ and revealed its meaning:
“Surely our griefs, He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed.” – Isaiah 53:4-5
THE TRIAL BEFORE CRUCIFIXION
According to John’s Gospel Jesus’ painful ordeal begins with His arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane, near the Kidron valley. Judas, one of The Masters’ disciples, the betrayer, knows this garden well as a place Jesus had often gone with all His disciples, and Judas maliciously leads a group of soldiers there to capture Jesus (John 18:1-11).
The trials of Jesus were twofold; they were both Hebrew and Roman, or Ecclesiastical and Civil. The Hebrew trials took place before the High Priest, Caiaphas, and the Great Sanhedrin Council, consisting of seventy-one members.
The Roman trials were held under Pontius Pilate, Roman governor of Judea, and afterwards before Herod, Tetrarch of Galilee. These trials were linked like a chain, and took place within a space of time estimated anywhere from ten to twenty hours.
The night of Jesus’ arrest, He was brought before Annas, Caiaphas, and an assembly of religious leaders called the Sanhedrin (John 18:19-24; Matthew 26:57).
After this He was taken before Pilate, the Roman Governor (John 18:28), sent off to Herod (Luke 23:7), and returned to Pilate (Luke 23:11-12), who finally sentenced Him to death.
three stages in a religious court and three stages before a Roman court.
The 6 Trials of Jesus: about 8 stormy hours
The Jews found Jesus guilty 3 times.
The Romans found Jesus Innocent 3 times.
The Six Trials of Jesus:
Three religious (Jewish) trials where he was found guilty and three civil (Roman) trials where he was found innocent.
- Three Jewish religious trials where he was proclaimed a sinner:
Jesus was tried before Annas, the former high priest; Caiaphas, the current high priest; and the Sanhedrin.
He was charged in these “ecclesiastical” trials with blasphemy, claiming to be the Son of God, the Messiah.
- First Religious Trial (Jewish): Annas, Jn.18:12-14… Decision: Go signal given to execute Jesus.
- Second Religious Trial: Caiaphas, Mt.26:57-68… Decision: Death Sentence, charge of blasphemy, because Jesus proclaimed himself the Messiah, God the Son.
- Third Religious Trial, Sanhedrin, Mt.27:1-2, Lk.22:63-71… Decision: Death.
- Three Roman Civic trials where Jesus was proclaimed innocent.
- First Civil Trial (Roman): Pilate, Jn.18:28-38… Decision: Not guilty.
- Second Civil Trial: Herod, Lk.23:6-12… Decision: Not guilty.
- Third Civil Trial: Pilate again, Jn.18:39-19:6. Decision: Not guilty, but turned to the Jews to be crucified (Mt.27:26).
The Jews found him guilty but the Romans found Jesus Innocent.
Pilate said as he washed his hands, “I am innocent of this man’s blood” the Jews actually responded, “His blood be upon us and our children”.
- The trials before the Roman authorities.
It started with Pilate (John 18:23) after Jesus was beaten. The charges brought against Him were very different from the charges in His religious trials. He was charged with inciting people to riot, forbidding the people to pay their taxes, and claiming to be King.
Pilate found no reason to kill Jesus so he sent Him to Herod (Luke 23:7).
Herod had Jesus ridiculed but, wanting to avoid the political liability, sent Jesus back to Pilate (Luke 23:11–12).
This was the last trial as Pilate tried to appease the animosity of the Jews by having Jesus scourged.
The Roman scourge was a terrible whipping designed to remove the flesh from the back of the one being punished.
In a final effort to have Jesus released, Pilate offered the prisoner Barabbas to be crucified and Jesus released, but to no avail.
The crowds called for Barabbas to be released and Jesus to be crucified. Pilate granted their demand and surrendered Jesus to their will (Luke 23:25). The trials of Jesus represent the ultimate mockery of justice. Jesus, the most innocent man in the history of the world, was found guilty of crimes and sentenced to death by crucifixion.
Crucifixion was crude, brutal and gruesome. It was intended to be so. The Romans meant it to act as a deterrent, so that people would not rebel against their rule.
The depiction of the scourging of Jesus in the film “The Passion of the Christ” – to highlight just one example – is harrowing; it is said that during the filming Jim Caviezel, the man playing Jesus lost 20 pounds, was struck by lightning, accidentally whipped twice, leaving a 14-inch scar, dislocated his shoulder, and suffered from pneumonia and hypothermia from hanging nearly naked from a cross for several hours outside.
His body was so stressed and exhausted from playing the role that he had to undergo 2 open heart surgeries after the production. The crucifixion scene alone took 5 weeks out of 2 months of shooting.
But if we go by Isaiah’s description [Isaiah 52:13-14], it falls short of the effect that it had on Jesus’ form on the cross. Remember the whole trial of Jesus lasted for about 8-9 hours (Thursday midnight- Friday 9am)
Isaiah 52:14
As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
Twi
Sɛnea ne ho yɛɛ nnipa pii ahodwiriw no, esian sɛ n’anim asɛe a ɛnte sɛ onipa de, na ne nipaban nte sɛ nnipa mma de bio no nti,
16 things that happened to the Messiah
- Marred His Visage – His face was deformed (52:14; 53:2-3)
- Marred His form (52:14
- Disbelieved Him (52:1)
- Despised Him (53:3)
- Rejected Him
- Hid faces from Him
- Esteemed Him of no value
- Esteemed Him as suffering justice for His own crimes (53:4)
- Went astray from Him (53:6)
- Ignored him
- Oppressed Him (53:7)
- Afflicted Him
- Slew Him in anger (53:7-8)
- Took justice from Him (53:8-9)
- Crucified Him among the wicked (53:9)
- Classified Him as a criminal (53:12)
- The purpose of the passion of Christ
When He was beaten and mocked, when the crown of thorns was pressed on His head, when He was nailed to a cross, when He hung there and struggled to breathe, He was experiencing genuine, excruciating suffering to pay for our sins. He endured all that to save those who would trust in Him.
It is through the passion of Christ that we are made right with God.
Read 1 Peter 2:21-25
21 Na eyi nti na wɔfrɛɛ mo, efisɛ Kristo mpo huu amane maa mo, na ogyaw mo nhwɛso sɛ munni n’anammɔn akyi pɛɛ.
22 Ɔno na wanyɛ bɔne biara, na wɔanhu nnaadaasɛm nso wɔ n’anom.
23 Ɔno na bere a wɔsopaa (wɔyaw) no no, wanyɛ bi antua ka. Bere a ɔrehu amane no, wanhunahuna obiara, na mmom ɔkɔɔ so de ne ho hyɛɛ nea obu atɛntrenee no nsa.
24 Ɔno ara na ɔsoaa yɛn bɔne wɔ n’ankasa honam mu wɔ dua no so, sɛnea ɛbɛyɛ a wobegye yɛn afi bɔne a yɛawu ama no no mu na yɛatena ase ama trenee. Ɔno na wɔde ne mmaa atape asa mo yare.
25 Na anka mote sɛ nguan a wɔayera; nanso seesei moasan aba mo kra Hwɛfo ne Wɛmfo nkyɛn.
The apostle Peter confirmed this great truth, that Jesus Christ “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness” (1 Peter 2:24).
The prophet Isaiah wrote of the purpose of Jesus’ death centuries before it actually took place:”He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Isaiah 53:5).
Scripture is very clear about the fact that Jesus had to die for all people of all time and for crucial reasons. He had to die because of human sin—yours, mine and everyone else’s.
The scriptures quoted above show the necessity of Jesus’ death—that it was required because of sin. Without sin, there would be no need for Jesus’ death, the shedding of His sinless blood.
Sin is the violation of God’s law (1 John 3:4). It requires a price to be paid because, as Romans 6:23 tells us,”The wages of sin is death.” Without some payment for that awful penalty, human beings would face oblivion through death with no hope beyond the grave .
The New Testament letter to the Hebrews states plainly that”without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins” (9:22, NRSV).
One purpose for this letter was to explain that Jesus Christ was the very Son of God and that He gave His life’s blood for the remission—the forgiveness, the pardon, the penalty removal—of humankind’s sins.
The recipients of this letter were quite familiar with the Old Testament sacrifices that, as the epistle explains, foreshadowed the one holy sacrifice of mankind’s Savior:
“He has appeared once for all at the end of the age to remove sin by the sacrifice of himself” (Hebrews 9:26, NRSV).
Human beings must have their sins washed away, pardoned and forgiven, to be reconciled to God.”For if while we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more surely, having been reconciled, will we be saved by his life” (Romans 5:10, NRSV). Without reconciliation to God the Father, there could be no forgiveness of sins.
Hebrews 9:28 further explains that”Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him” (New International Version).
Jesus came to earth for the purpose of laying down His life for us, and He never wavered from it (see Matthew 16:21–23 and 21:24). Indeed, in the book of Revelation, Jesus is described as the Lamb slain from the creation of the world (Revelation 13:8). John the Baptist also described him as ‘the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world’ John 1:29.
He was wounded for our transgressions
The “wounding” spoken of here would result in a severe injury. The Hebrew word literally means “pierced” or “bored through.”
The Message Bible translation of Isaiah 53:5 brings out the horror of the scene as well as the vicarious nature of Christ’s death: “It was our sins that did that to him, that ripped and tore and crushed him—our sins!”
Most modern translations use the word pierced. The piercing of Jesus’ hands and feet (with nails), side (with a spear), and head (with thorns) give this prophecy of Isaiah’s a literal fulfillment.
The entire chapter 53 of Isaiah concerns the suffering of God’s Servant, the Messiah, as He takes the punishment for wrongs others have committed; He is our sin-bearer
The Messiah had done no wrong. He is the “righteous servant” (verse 11), and “he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth” (verse 9).
A transgression is a rebellion.
Isaiah 53:5 specifically says that Christ was wounded for our transgressions, for our rebellions. He had not rebelled against God; in fact, He always obeyed the Father’s will (John 5:19; 6:38). It was our rebellion against God that caused the trouble. Christ, in His mercy and grace, was wounded to remedy the problem.
When they saw Christ hanging on the tree, they gasped and, in pride, assumed that He must have done something horrible for God to punish Him in such a way: “We esteemed Him stricken, Smitten by God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4, NKJV).
Or, as the Message Bible puts it, “We thought he brought it on himself, that God was punishing him for his own failures.” But we were wrong.
Christ was suffering on the tree for our sake. It takes humility to acknowledge that it was our own sin that was laid on Christ and that He was mercifully taking the punishment that we deserved.
The fact that Christ was wounded for our transgressions clearly points to the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement.
The substitutionary atonement refers to Jesus Christ dying as a substitute for sinners. The Scriptures teach that all men are sinners (Romans 3:9-18, 23). The penalty for our sinfulness is death.
Romans 6:23 reads, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
That verse teaches us several things. Without Christ, we are going to die and spend an eternity in hell as payment for our sins. Death in the Scriptures refers to a “separation.”
Everyone will die, but some will live in heaven with the Lord for eternity, while others will live a life in hell for eternity. The death spoken of here refers to the life in hell. However, the second thing this verse teaches us is that eternal life is available through Jesus Christ. This is His substitutionary atonement.
Jesus Christ died in our place when He was crucified on the cross. We deserved to be the ones placed on that cross to die because we are the ones who live sinful lives. But Christ took the punishment on Himself in our place—He substituted Himself for us and took what we rightly deserved.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
“He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:24).
Here again we see that Christ took the sins we committed onto Himself to pay the price for us. A few verses later we read, “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit” (1 Peter 3:18).
Not only do these verses teach us about the substitute that Christ was for us, but they also teach that He was the atonement, meaning He satisfied the payment due for the sinfulness of man.
His death was vicarious—that is, He died for us sinners. Christ suffered death as our substitute. He received the penalty our sins deserved, and we received, in exchange, the blessings His righteousness had earned.
Hymn 707: Wc Calvary bepow no so…
God the Father treated the Lord Jesus like a condemned criminal, pouring the full force of His anger and wrath on the Son of His love, as He bore the accumulated sin of the whole world on His sinless shoulders. Jesus was cursed on our account and paid the price for our sins. He carried the guilt of every man and every woman and bore the shocking penalty that we justly deserve so that by faith in Him we might be declared righteous, and become the righteousness of God in Him.
Acting as our Kinsman-Redeemer, Jesus was made sin by becoming the full and final sacrificial sin-offering, The One Who knew no sin was made to be sin and was condemned on our account. He was identified with man’s fallen race and imputed with the sin of all humanity, causing Paul to write, “God Made Him to be sin – for US. God made Him Who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf.”
The fact that Christ was wounded for our transgressions establishes a direct connection between the passion of Christ and our iniquities.
In the wisdom of God, the death of Christ was not only the penalty we deserved, but it was also the remedy we needed. Through the sacrifice of Christ, we are reconciled to God: “While we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son” (Romans 5:10).
Colossians 2:11-15
Colossians 2:14. says,
He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross.
The written code with its regulations that Paul referred to is God’s law, violations of which are sins. It was Paul’s way of saying that the Lord took all of our violations of God’s Law and nailed them to the cross, showing that He was voluntarily paying the penalty for all of them. (The Greek word translated “all” means each and every, and and all.)
He didn’t abolish the Law, but He canceled any past, present or future liability we might have concerning it. Think of it as the ultimate form of immunity from prosecution.
You have a lot to gain if you can accept God’s cancellation of the Written Code. You can experience deliverance from the dominion of sin in your life. You can find the glorious freedom of the sons of God that Paul talks about. You can become that loving Christian you want to be, and can experience the presence of the Holy Spirit in your life in a way you never have before.
Historically, only two objects were nailed to the stake of crucifixion:
1) the condemned person and
2) an inscription naming the crimes for which he was being punished. Thus, when Jesus was crucified, only His body and Pilate’s inscription (“This is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews”; see Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; Luke 23:38; John 19:19) were nailed to the cross.
Normally, the inscription would be more accusative, saying something like, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, who rebelled against Caesar.” Pilate’s complimentary inscription replaced the customary note or record of guilt—the “handwriting of requirements” that would have been found nailed to the crosses of the two malefactors crucified with Him.
Just before He died, when the Father forsook Him (Matthew 27:46), our sins were symbolically nailed to the cross in His body, as the apostle Peter writes in I Peter 2:24: “Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.”
We now see that, far from doing away with the law of God, Colossians 2:14 explains a deep and profound truth, the doctrine of justification. Paul describes the manner in which we are reckoned righteous in God’s sight through faith in the sacrifice of Christ. Our Savior paid in His own body the great debt that we owed God because of our breaking of His holy and righteous laws. Now our sins have been “taken out of the way” and “nailed . . . to the cross.” Having risen from that watery grave, we now have the promise of eternal life as we live a new way of life—a life of righteousness and service to Him!
The consequences of this demanded perfection is the utter inability to keep the righteous requirements of the Law. Every man is defective in his capacity to live up to the standard that God requires. The charge stamped against each one of us is ‘FAILED’ ‘CONDEMNED’ ‘GUILTY’. The finger of accusation points accusingly at the entire human race. It points to you and it points to me.
The Law demands the death sentence for every man and every woman, but Jesus, “wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us.” He fulfilled the righteous requirement of the Law on our behalf and destroyed the demands of the law that were against us, “having wiped out the handwriting of requirements, He cancelled out the certificate of debt, which consists of decrees against us, which was hostile to us and has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the Cross.”
The vicarious death of Christ addresses this issue forever and every one of our defects is cancelled by the blood of the Lamb. He became the complete sacrifice for both the sins we committed during our lifetime, and the sin nature we inherited in our very being.
The death of Christ put an end to our sin. The resurrection of the Lord quickened within us a brand-new nature – our new-life in Christ. The charges and accusations that are written in our own ‘book of living’, condemn us all to eternal separation from the One and only true and living God, and His requisite perfection.
But thanks be to God, for He not only implemented the need for perfection in each of us, but provided the Way for us all to be perfect and entire. In His grace, He achieved this through the pure sacrifice of His eternal Son, in our stead. HE cancelled out the certificate of debt, which consists of decrees against us. HE revoked the pronouncements that were hostile to us. Jesus has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the Cross.
Each accusation against me and each charge against you was firmly and permanently nailed to His Cross. The punishment that we deserved was cancelled, because ‘Another’ paid the price. It was God’s plan from eternity past that the Lord Jesus would cancel the record of the charges against us and take it away by nailing it to the Cross – and for those who believe in His name, it is FINISHED.
By his stripes we are healed
Luke 5:17-26 (ESV)
Jesus Heals a Paralytic
On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.”
In this powerful lesson on healing, it would appear that Jesus was just interacting with religious crowd that day to get a reaction out of them. But after a closer examination, we must conclude that although this was (and still is) upsetting for those of a religious mindset, this question must be answered in order to understand and receive the healing that God so desires us to have. The paralytic was brought to Jesus by his friends to be healed, but Jesus saw their faith and told the man that his sins were forgiven.
Judging from the fact that Jesus always cut through the chase and got to the root of the problem, we know that his mention of sin was not a mistake, but in fact, it was the real problem. But still, we would be missing the point if we stopped there. At this point, doubts and questions from the crowd must have risen to a crescendo. Having located the paralytic, now Jesus locates the crowd by asking, “Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’?”
One astute preacher pointed out that the mindset of Jesus’ crowd was reverse of the mindset of most church-goers today. In that day, after probably witnessing thousands being healed through Jesus’ ministry, the thinking was that it was much easier to be healed than to have your sins forgiven.
Today, on the other hand, most wouldn’t even flinch to stand in the gap for the worst of sinners if they were simply ready to repent and ask Jesus to come into their hearts to save them.
But to believe God to heal a paralytic would be quickly swept under the religious rug of questioning whether or not God wills to heal them.
The question we must still answer is which is easier?
From God’s perspective things have not changed since the day the paralytic was placed at the feet of Jesus. Notice that Jesus interchanges healing and forgiveness of sins to make his point.
First the man comes for healing and he tells him to be encouraged, your sins are forgiven! Next, he says, “That you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins, he then said to the paralytic, ‘Rise, pick up your bed and go home.’” The obvious answer to Jesus’ question is that, for us today, it is just easy to heal as it to forgive sins. For the benefit of Jesus’ crowd, it is just as easy for God to forgive sins as it is for him to heal sick bodies.
As we celebrate Easter, it is an opportune time to appropriate this.
In the same payment that Jesus paid for our sins, he paid the price for our healing too! The price required to redeem us from sin and all of its results, was nothing less than the precious blood of Jesus. The same blood paid for your sins and your healing.
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. Isaiah 53:4-5 KJV
CONCLUSION
The death of the Lord Jesus was:
- Predetermined in eternity– Acts 4:26-28; 1 Peter 1:19-20 and Revelation 13:8.
- Predicted in the Old Testament– Genesis 3:15; Isaiah 53; Luke 24:25-27 and Acts 10:43.
- Pictured in the types– Genesis 22 and Exodus 12.
- Prominent in the Gospels– Matthew 27:45-50; Mark 15:33-41; Luke 23:44-49 and John 19:30-37.
- Predominant in the Epistles– Romans 5:6; 1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 1:4; Hebrews 9:26 and 1 Peter 2:21-24.
- The Principal Theme in Heaven– Revelation 1:5-7 and Revelation 5:6-12.
- The Permanent Theme-song of the ages– Revelation 5:9-12.
To answer the question “Why did the Lord Jesus die?”,
This must be answered negatively and positively.
Negatively:
- He did not die a suicide’s death – Isaiah 53:8.
- He did not die of old age, accident or disease – John 10:18.
- He did not die as a political hero – Luke 24:21.
- He did not die simply as an example – John 15:13.
- He did not die simply as a martyr – Acts 7:54-60.
- He did not die simply to show God’s love – Romans 5:8.
- He did not die because He was a criminal – look up Luke 23:4.
Positively:
Here are five very important truths in connection with our Saviour’s death:
- The Lord Jesus came into the world purposely to die
His death was a necessity (Hebrews 9:22). Moreover, He knew He had come to die (Matthew 16:21; Matthew 17:12; Luke 9:51; John 3:14 and John 10:11).
- The Lord Jesus died willingly, voluntarily
As the sinless One, there was no cause of death in Himself. See what John 10:18 and Matthew 26:53 say. See also Psalm 40:8; Mark 14:41; Luke 22:53; John 7:30 and John 8:20.
He willingly and voluntarily laid down His life for us because it was the will of His Father that He should do so and because He loved us so much!
- The Lord Jesus died as a sacrifice for sin, to put away sin
This is clearly stated in the scriptures! Look up and meditate upon Isaiah 53:5-6; John 1:29; 1 Corinthians 15:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 9:26 and 1 Peter 2:24. Why did He die? He died to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.
- The Lord Jesus died as our Substitute, bearing our penalty
“we believe it was for us He hung and suffered there”. He died instead of us, in our place, and He bore the punishment which was due to us (Isaiah 53:5; John 10:11 and 1 Peter 3:18).
Thus we see why God has not dealt with us after our sins (Psalm 103:10). He has fully, finally and justly dealt with our sin (and our sins) in the Person and through the sacrificial death of His Son.
So the innocent victim took the place of the guilty sinner and bore away his sin in His body on the tree (1 Peter 2:24).
It is by believing this great fact )Acts 16:30-31); and accepting this loving Saviour (John 1:12); that I am saved and able to say, ‘He loved me, and gave Himself for me’(Galatians 2:20).
- The Death of the Lord Jesus was victorious
At Calvary He provided salvation for all mankind (John 3:16 and 1 John 2:2.) His death is sufficient for all, but it is efficient only for those who believe. His death was victorious in that He rose again, and thereby demonstrated that all the claims of divine justice had been met by His death and that salvation had been procured for all who would believe – John 9:35.
The Lord Jesus suffered cruel treatment and gave-up His life willingly, so that all who believe on Him might not perish but be given peace with God.. and have His inner peace guarding our hearts: for by His stripes we are healed – not a healing of the body but an everlasting healing of the spirit.. and the forgiveness of sins.
By His death and resurrection the Lord Jesus paid the enormous price for our sins and broke the power of sin and death in our life forever – returning us into fellowship with the Father.. for we are accepted by God, because of Him.
Our sinless Saviour was made sin on our account. The eternal Son of God bore the accumulated sins of the whole world upon Himself – including YOUR sin and MY sin. The Lord Jesus identified with our sinfulness and shame so that we could be eternally identified with His magnificent glory and everlasting righteousness, simply by believing in the name of the only begotten Son of the most high God.
The reason Jesus came was primarily to make it possible for humanity to be restored to the righteousness of God; in doing this, he destroyed the works of Satan – that is, sin, curses and the fear of death due to God’s wrath on unrighteousness. Jesus fulfilled all the righteous requirement of the Mosaic law and took the sins and curses of humanity upon himself on the cross. Thus, God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us so that we can become the righteousness of God in Christ. Essentially, by this Finished Work of Christ, we have been imputed with the righteousness Christ has and have received the Holy Spirit to flow practical life of righteousness through us – in attitude, words and deeds.
Our response
- Accept the fact that Jesus died for you
- Live as a justified and sanctified person
- Colossians 3:1-17
Prayer
Songs.
- Woafa M’animguase de ko asendua no so…m’asomdwoe a m’Anya yi…
- My faith has found a resting place…It is enough that Jesus died, and that he died for me…
- Jesus see me at thy feet …