Easter Friday
These days across the whole world we remember the crucifixion of our Lord. Let us look more at it tonight although we do not have the ability or words to explain or describe it. We would probably not even fully comprehend it in eternity. We are like small children standing at the shore of the vast ocean. But may the Lord open His word to us.
There is nothing to be compared to the death of our Lord. It should have complete control of us and consume us. Old and young should be captivated by this, nothing else should mean so much to us.
Psalms 40
6 Sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire; mine ears hast thou opened: burnt offering and sin offering hast thou not required.
7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
This conveys something great which happened between the Lord Jesus and His Father in heaven. They were talking about mankind, about you and me.
Where God the Father said, what shall we do about this person, to save him from his sin. And then the Lord Jesus answered, ‘ sacrifice and offering you did not desire, … But my ears you have opened. ‘
This is a psalm of David. During his time there were many offerings of animals brought into the temple.
There were days when thousands of cattle were slaughtered and the blood flowed. During the time of Solomon especially, so many were slaughtered that it was like a river of blood that flowed. But all that did not help mankind.
Mankind was lost, in a hopeless situation, not knowing where he came from or where he was going.
Like Samuel said to Saul, God is not interested in all your offerings, but in obedience.
As the Father and the Son were discussing your and my salvation, the Son said to the Father as we have read,
7 Then said I, Lo, I come: in the volume of the book it is written of me,
8 I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.
He was willing to go to the earth to do His Father’s will, the living sacrifice Who will bring reconciliation between man and his God.
It was written in the Scroll about the Son’s sacrifice, the clearest being Isaiah 53.
He was willing to become the Sacrifice for sin to save the lost race of man, who deserved hell for all eternity.
From all eternity to all eternity the Son and the Father were totally one so that what the one loved the other loved and what the one hated the other hated.
The Son did it willingly and became the sacrifice for sin, because He delighted to do the Father’s will.
God’s law was written within His heart.
The blood of cattle and sheep and goats failed to take away sin. So the Son offered Himself as a sacrifice for sin.
There is the story of two brothers, the one a Christian, but the other loving the world. The Christian pleaded with his brother to leave the world and serve the Lord, but all his pleadings were in vain. But he continued to pray for his brother.
One day as he was at home reading the Bible and praying, the door burst open and in stormed his brother, his clothes stained with blood. He explained that he had just killed somebody and he was terrified for the police were at his heels. In those days the death penalty was still practiced for murder. So the Christian brother told his brother to take off his clothes and put on his own clothes and flee. No sooner was he gone or the police arrived and arrested him, with his brother’s bloodied clothes on. He kept quiet and was put in jail until the day his case was brought forth. Then he was sentenced to death. All the time he said nothing in his defence. But he wrote a letter which he instructed should only be given to his brother once he was hanged. So once he was hanged, his brother received the letter in which he wrote, ‘ I died in your place, now you live my life in my place as a Christian. ‘
This shocked him to his senses and he gave his life over to Christ and he was full of regret, saying that it was not his brother but himself that committed the murder. So he gave himself over to the authorities and told them everything. But they said that the price had been paid and they let him go. So he decided to live his brother’s life from that day on.
Now God gave His only begotten Son to pay the price of your sin. We can only marvel and thank God for what He did to save us, that He was prepared to send His Son with whom He had such perfect communion and unity!
We cannot compare God’s love with anything, for He loved us while we were His enemies. And the Son was prepared to be separated from His Father, with whom He was so united, for us! He was prepared to leave the glory of heaven and come to the defiled earth to save us!
It would be terrible if these words mean nothing to you. It should totally transform you.
When Jesus came to earth He was not ignorant as to why He came and what was going to happen to Him. He knew exactly how He would have to put on your blood-stained clothes and carry your sin even as He says,
12 For innumerable evils have compassed me about: mine iniquities have taken hold upon me, so that I am not able to look up; they are more than the hairs of mine head: therefore my heart faileth me.
No one will ever suffer like He had to suffer or go through what He went through! Your and my sin are the sins He is talking about in this verse. They have taken hold of Him. He had so identified Himself with us that He even calls those iniquities His own. He doesn’t call it your sin anymore. He takes it as if He had committed those sins you have committed! Can you imagine such a thing? He calls your sins His own as if He committed it!
You should have been beaten but He was beaten for you! You should have been punished and thrown into hell but He took it all upon Himself. That agony which you should have carried He took upon Himself.
We cannot grasp the love of Christ and of God, that He took these sins upon Himself as if He Himself had committed it.
No wonder there’s a hell that burns for eternity for those that would deny and trample upon such love!