Last night I was thinking about the Lord Jesus Christ’s sufferings on the cross, as he remained God the Son yet was forsaken by God the Father. There are many Scripture references in this post. If I am writing about something so significant as the atonement of my Lord, I must look to God’s word for truth concerning His great sacrifice. Particularly if you are reading this and are outside of God’s everlasting love in Jesus Christ, please take the time to look up these Scriptures.
In human thinking, he could have come down from the cross. It makes sense logically, since Jesus Christ claimed to be God (John 8:58, John 10:36), He could have come down from the cross. Both bystanders that passed by and the chief priests of Israel shouted the deriding cry to come down from the cross (Mark 15:29-31).
But Christ did not come down. He himself said that everyone who commits sin is a slave to sin (John 8:34). A slave has no rights or privileges, rather he does the will of his master. Unbelievers are not self-sovereign; they cannot will or work their way out of their rebellion against God because sin is in their nature (Romans 5:12-14). Satan is the unbeliever’s master (John 8:43-44, 2 Corinthians 4:4, Ephesians 2:1-2) and the unbeliever cannot please God with his actions no matter how seemingly self-righteous/pious (Romans 2) or well meaning (Isaiah 64:6). The penalty of sin, i.e. the breaking of God’s commandments, is death. It always has been (Genesis 2:15-17) and will be (Romans 6:23) until Christ returns to judge all mankind (Matthew 25:31-46), when eternal separation from God in hell to all eternity will the the sentence executed to the sinner who has not Christ’s perfect obedience of God’s commands.
Christ did not come down from the cross because he was forsaken as though HE were the slave to sin! He willingly remained on the cross to drink down God’s divine justice towards sin (Luke 24:41-44). Christ experienced the judgement slaves to sin face – consciously and willingly for the joy set before him, His bride the church!! (Hebrews 12:1-2, Ephesians 5:25). His blood, from flesh never acting in sin, was the payment to redeem (purchase from captivity) slaves to sin (Romans 3:24-25).
Slaves, remember, have no rights. Here is where the humility of Christ is so precious. After speaking of the His deity in Philippians 2:6 and His incarnation in Philippians 2:7, Paul the Apostle goes on to write about Christ: “And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” (Phil 2:8). Though he could have come down, he humbled himself to the point of death. He gave up His rights to be treated as slave of sin! Free though was, He was bound to the tree, all to demonstrate God the Father’s perfect love towards his people!
Christ went through the agony of separation and subjected himself to divine justice, though He knew nothing but perfect love from His Father and the comfort of the Holy Spirit for all eternity.
The wonder of the Cross is that Jesus did nothing to deserve hanging there. Christ was cursed in the place of those given to him before the foundation of the world (Gal 3:10-14 and Eph 1:4-10) who were under the curse that came from man’s breaking the first covenant made with Adam (Genesis 2:15-17, 3:17-19). The perfect Son of God kept the covenant Adam could not keep, yet was cursed as if he broke it. He died – the consequence of transgressing the covenant. But Hallelujah! Death could not hold the Christ!
But…this post is called slave. I suppose a post called “Free” would talk about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, justification, imputed righteousness, victorious and holy living, loving Jesus more than sin, freedom with regards to sin and becoming a slave to righteousness (which is really freedom in that we are united not to a slave, but to the risen Lord and King of the universe), a new heart that loves God and neighbor but never perfectly on this side of eternity. Perhaps God may grant me the a meditation of the heart to produce such a post. My desire here is to point people to the cross, what Christ’s death means.
Reader, it is your place to respond. Please consider what you have read. If you died today, do you have assurance that Christ was cursed in your place for your evil deeds? Is your conscience clear or weighed with the guilt and burden of your evil deeds? Do you at this very moment sit under the wrath and displeasure of God? For those who do not obey the Son that shall not see eternal life, but the wrath of God remains on them (John 3:36). The Lord Jesus Christ began his earthly ministry announcing the Kingdom of God had come and that men should repent and believe in the gospel (Mark 1:14-15).
He bids you come, lay your burden of sin down, see its filth and turn from its poisons. Look the blood-stained cross, where wrath for sins was satisfied. Look to empty tomb, and confess along with Thomas, “My Lord and my God” (John 20:28) when he saw his Lord raised from the dead and walking among his disciples. Christ was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification, and true peace with God comes from knowing him through faith alone in Jesus’ work alone (Romans 4:25, 5:1). Christ promised that the debt of sin is paid for: “It is finished” (John 19:31); God the Father does not repay the Christian for his sins, as his sins have been paid for in full (Colossians 2:13-15) and are not remembered against him for judgement (Psalm 103:12). The divine gifts of justification (Christ’s punishment as guilty is what is accepted as the satisfaction of divine justice) and Christ’s perfect life in exchange for all born of the Spirit (John 3:3) who receive Christ by faith (Romans 3:21-26, John 1:12-13).
Please consider today what will happen to you after you die. Thank you for your time.
Alex
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