The Great Exchange, Part 3
Notes
Transcript
Handout
Text: Matthew 27:1-54
Application:
Introduction: We’ve talked a lot about bad examples of exchanges in the past couple of weeks:
Judas traded the Messiah for money, and repentance for regret.
The crowd exchanged the real Messiah for a worldly imitation.
The Sadducees, Pharisees, and Pilate all exchanged their principles for their positions.
But when we look at Jesus, we see an example of what it looks like to live a life with your mind set on eternity.
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. 27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him.
28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!”
30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. 31 And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.
32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross.
33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. 36 Then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.
39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, “You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross.”
41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 “He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him.
43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him. For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. 46 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?”
47 And some of the bystanders, hearing it, said, “This man is calling Elijah.” 48 And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.
49 But the others said, “Wait, let us see whether Elijah will come to save him.” 50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
54 When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”
Prayer
Jesus is our example of Kingdom-seeking exchanges.
Jesus is our example of Kingdom-seeking exchanges.
He exchanged his earthly rights for injustice.
He exchanged his earthly rights for injustice.
13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
While Judas was betraying Jesus to get what he felt like he deserved, Jesus was laying down his rights willingly. While Peter and the disciples were drawing swords to fight for their rights, Jesus was laying down his rights willingly.
Jesus suffered a tremendous miscarriage of justice.
Jesus suffered a tremendous miscarriage of justice.
The Sanhedrin court did not have jurisdiction over capital cases.
Roman law forbade the Jews from pronouncing or carrying out capital punishment. So, the Sanhedrin court did not even have jurisdiction over Jesus’ case. If he was, in fact, a traitor to Rome, he should have been reported to Roman authorities and arrested by them. He should never have been arrested by the Temple police or tried by the Sanhedrin. But, of course, this was all pretext anyhow.
Jewish law prohibited Sanhedrin members from being part of an arresting party.
Jewish law prohibited examination of the accused before the official Sanhedrin proceedings.
Jesus was brought to the home of Caiaphas for an illegal pre-court examination.
Jewish law required that trial for a capital crime begin during the daytime and adjourn by nightfall if incomplete.
Jesus’ arrest and preliminary trial all happened at nighttime.
Sanhedrin members were supposed to be impartial judges.
But here we see the highest members of the Sanhedrin court—the high priests—conspiring ahead of time to convict Jesus.
Jewish law prohibited asking the accused questions that might cause them to incriminate themselves and it prohibited convicting the accused on His own testimony.
And yet, the High Priest repeatedly tries to get Jesus to incriminate himself and then calls for a verdict based entirely upon Jesus’ own testimony.
19 The high priest then questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20 Jesus answered him, “I have spoken openly to the world. I have always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where all Jews come together. I have said nothing in secret.
21 Why do you ask me? Ask those who have heard me what I said to them; they know what I said.”
22 When he had said these things, one of the officers standing by struck Jesus with his hand, saying, “Is that how you answer the high priest?”
23 Jesus answered him, “If what I said is wrong, bear witness about the wrong; but if what I said is right, why do you strike me?”
By telling Annas to ask the people about his teachings, Jesus points out Annas’ illegal line of questioning. And of course, they’re unable to produce any valid witnesses that actually have good, non-conflicting evidence against him.
65 Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. 66 What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”
One of the ten commandments explicitly forbids bearing false witness,
16 “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.
and yet Matthew tells us that they actively sought out false witnesses for the Sanhedrin trial
59 Now the chief priests and the whole council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death,
and Luke tells us that they fabricated blatantly false charges against Jesus when they accused him to Pilate:
2 And they began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man misleading our nation and forbidding us to give tribute to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”
Jesus, of course, was not misleading the nation, he had explicitly commanded his followers to pay their taxes, and the last charge—that Jesus claimed to be a king—was true only in the spiritual sense, not as a political ruler or threat to Rome.
Jewish law required a day’s interlude between the trial and verdict, to prevent emotional rulings.
Rendering a verdict without sufficient evidence (2-3 valid witnesses were required)
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
He exchanged the worship he deserved for mockery.
He exchanged the worship he deserved for mockery.
28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
This is the one through whom the world was created!
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. 16 For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.
17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together. 18 And he is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in everything he might be preeminent.
19 For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, 20 and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.
This is the one who is worthy of all praise and glory and honor, and instead he was ridiculed, mocked, and insulted.
28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
They place on his shredded back and shoulder a robe meant for royalty—a scarlet or purple robe (the word can mean either color), the color of royalty. Of course, they meant this as mockery, but the irony is that Jesus really is a king.
And then, instead of a crown of gold and precious gems, they craft a cruel crown of thorns and take turns striking him in the head with it.
34 they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it.
This is another insult. Gall was a bitter herb that made the drink taste terrible. They’re offering him wine as if he’s a king at a banquet, but it’s bitter, nasty wine.
He traded his throne in heaven for the tortures of earth.
He traded his throne in heaven for the tortures of earth.
26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.
In this one little word lies unspeakable agony. Scourging was a horrendously painful form of torture.
The ESV Study Bible Chapter 27
Roman flogging was a horrifically cruel punishment. Those condemned to it were tied to a post and beaten with a leather whip that was interwoven with pieces of bone and metal, which tore through skin and tissue, often exposing bones and intestines. In many cases, the flogging itself was fatal. The Romans scourged Jesus nearly to death so that he would not remain alive on the cross after sundown.
While Jewish law forbade more than 40 stripes for a convicted criminal, Roman law had no such provision. It was entirely up to the whims of the officer in charge. And, when it was used before crucifixion, there was no need to be concerned that the individual survive the flogging, for part of its purpose—aside from torture and humiliation—was to make them die sooner.
28 And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, 29 and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” 30 And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head.
And then, after the robe had begun to stick to his wounds, they ripped it off.
Jesus is forced to carry his cross—a heavy, wooden beam—across town to the place where he would be crucified. But, he’s so weak from the beatings that he collapses and someone else has to carry it for him.
35 And when they had crucified him...
Long metal nails, like railroad spikes, would have been driven through his wrists between the two bones of his forearm. There’s a nerve in between these bones called the Median nerve. The nail would have severed his median nerve causing unimaginable burning and pain that shot up his arm and into his fingertips.
Never in history has someone been so wrongly and unjustly treated. Never in history has a greater injustice been committed. Never in history has someone so innocent been so degraded. Never in history has there been such disrespect to someone so supremely unworthy of it.
Why would he do that? Why would Christ endure such treatment?
Jesus’ exchanges reveal where his treasure is.
Jesus’ exchanges reveal where his treasure is.
Why would he do all this? Why would Christ endure such treatment?
1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,
2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.
See, Jesus’s exchanges—trading heaven for earth, the crown for a cross—all of this he endured because he knew that the glory that would come from his suffering would be so great that the suffering would pale in comparison.
Jesus didn’t take the bait and pursue an earthly kingdom because he knew that earthly kingdoms rise and fall and their glory is quickly snuffed out, but the Kingdom of Heaven is eternal and its glory never fades.
And one day all creation will bow to him and he will receive the glory that he is due...
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
So, where is your hope? Are you clinging to your worldly possessions? Are you putting your hope in earthly justice? Are you seeking happiness and joy and fulfillment in human relationships? All of these things and all people will let you down.
In this life, you will not always receive justice. God has created us with a longing for justice, because he is just. When we pursue justice and we execute justice we reflect the image of God.
But in this fallen world, you won’t always receive justice. Sometimes you will be taken advantage of, mistreated, and the “system” may fail you. When that happens, look to Jesus as your example of how to endure!
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
If anyone had a right to be treated well, it was Jesus. He was (and is!) God! He was in “God’s form,” which means he had the same nature as the Father, what Hebrews calls “the exact imprint of his nature”
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high,
and Colossians calls “the image of the invisible God”
15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.
And yet, he did not stand upon his rights and demand people serve him. He did not fight for his rights when he was mistreated, he accepted it and left justice in the hands of the Father.
6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.
8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name,
10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus didn’t stand upon his rights, he humbled himself. He accepted the scorn, ridicule, and mistreatment, and he entrusted himself to the Father’s care and the Father’s will, knowing that his suffering was temporary, but his glory would be eternal.
And brothers and sisters, so too will your glory.
9 And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation, 10 and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.”
We will reign with Christ! As someone who has never had a fancy house, never owned a brand new car, never been famous or popular, never had the great paying job, this is HOPE. This is where my treasure is. This is what I live for. And this makes it all worth it. One day, I will get to be with Christ in glory, and it will never end!
Right now it may seem like this season of oppression will last forever, but it will not. It is temporary. But the rewards that will be yours for enduring it will be eternal.
18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
Have you been treated unjustly? Look to Christ, who suffered more injustice in a moment than you have in your entire lifetime.
Have you been wrongly accused? Look to Christ; never was a man more innocent and more wrongly condemned than he.
Have you been disrespected? Abused? Misunderstood? Taken for granted? Never has anyone been more wrongly treated than our Savior, because never has anyone been so supremely worthy of our adoration, worship, and honor.
But, Jesus is not merely our example. There’s another exchange that’s happening in this passage that we haven’t talked about yet, what I would call “The Great Exchange.”
This exchange runs all through the book of Matthew. Like a small mountain stream that carves its way down the mountain getting larger and larger as it goes, by the time we get to this passage, it’s a roaring river that we can’t ignore.
The Greatest exchange of all that happens in this passage is when...
Jesus exchanges his righteousness for our sin. (45-54)
Jesus exchanges his righteousness for our sin. (45-54)
We’ve seen hints that this was coming.
In the very beginning of Matthew’s gospel, we’re told that Jesus’ name, which means “Yahweh saves,” carries significance for his mission and purpose:
21 She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
Then, as Jesus performs his miracles and heals, he makes claims to have the authority to forgive sins:
6 But 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.”
And in the last few weeks of his life, Jesus begins to reveal to his disciples that he will have to give his life to accomplish this forgiveness.
28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Then, on the night of Passover, as Jesus portrays himself as the Passover Lamb, it becomes even more clear how this forgiveness will be accomplished:
28 for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Jesus’ blood will be spilled as an atoning sacrifice. Which means that just as in the Old Testament, when the priest would lay his hand on the sheep to symbolically place upon the sheep the guilt of the people and then would kill the sheep, Jesus has to take upon himself the sins of the people and die in their place.
45 Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour.
And this couldn’t have been a normal solar eclipse, because Passover (by requirement) occurred during a full moon, and a solar eclipse can only occur during a new moon.
And so, as Jesus hangs on the cross, darkness covers the land in the middle of the day, from noon til 3pm. And we can’t help but think of the judgment of darkness that God poured out upon Egypt—the ninth judgment, the last one before the death of the firstborn son. And here, darkness covers the land again. God’s judgment is being poured out and this time it’s not upon the firstborn sons of Egypt, but upon the firstborn son of God himself.
This is the judgment of the Father and a sign of his wrath upon the sin of mankind. The lights go out because the light of the world is being snuffed out. Darkness covers the land, the firstborn son is put to death, and the death of the firstborn son brings freedom for the people of God.
And in this moment, Jesus utters some of the most shocking, profound, and mysterious words in all of Scripture:
46 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?”
Now, perhaps you don’t feel the theological weight of those words, so let me press it in upon you for a moment. This is the Son of God, the eternal Word of God, the one whom John says was with God the Father from the very beginning.
1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God.
14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.
This is the Son of God, the second member of the Trinity who enjoys such perfect union with the Father that he can say to Philip:
9 Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father...
This is God in the flesh, of whom Paul says:
9 For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily,
So, when Jesus says that the Father has “forsaken him,” your jaw ought to drop.
46 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?”
Now, Scripture doesn’t tell us exactly what Jesus meant by that. We know that Jesus here is quoting Psalm 22:1, which is a Psalm of lament from David in the middle of his trials.
1 My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?
In fact, there are tons of allusions to Psalm 22 throughout this passage:
7 All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; 8 “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!”
And, we can speculate that perhaps Jesus is saying this loudly for the benefit of the crowd, so they will connect the dots to Ps. 22 and realize that Jesus is not suffering because of his wrongdoing but because of the wrongdoing of others, just as David did in Ps. 22. Or we could say that in quoting Ps. 22, Jesus is also calling to mind the victorious ending of Ps. 22, especially Ps. 22.29-31
29 All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. 30 Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; 31 they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.
And certainly Jesus knows that he will be victorious and that he will rise and that through his actions many will come to faith and salvation.
But, the fact remains that as Jesus bore the sins of mankind, God’s wrath against that sin was being poured out upon him, and the intimacy and fellowship that he had with the Father was, temporarily, broken in some way.
The Bible does not answer our questions about how a member of the Trinity can be “forsaken,” and so I think rather than speculate any further on how that is possible we should simply put our hands on our mouths and accept it as it is and feel the tremendous weight and significance of what is happening here.
I cannot answer “how” it is possible for the second member of the Trinity to be cut off from the other two, but I can tell you why.
Jesus was forsaken by the Father so that you do not have to be.
Jesus was forsaken by the Father so that you do not have to be.
Jesus was plunged into darkness so that you could walk in the light.
Jesus suffered the wrath of God so that you could experience his favor and delight.
Because the beautiful, awful truth about what is happening here is that a Great Exchange is taking place. Our sins are being placed upon Jesus, God’s wrath against sin is being poured out upon Jesus, and in exchange Jesus’ righteousness is being placed upon us and the favor and delight of God is being poured out upon us who believe in Christ.
21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Jesus was forsaken by the Father so that you never have to be. You and I had no right to approach the throne of God in prayer. We were rebels to the throne, enemies who deserved death and eternal banishment from the Kingdom of God in Hell. We had no right even to request an audience with God, let alone argue our case.
But in this unfathomable exchange, all of our unworthiness is poured out upon Christ and all his worthiness is poured out upon us.
Our debt of sin is now “Paid In Full” by Christ. He has taken that sin debt upon himself and fully paid it off.
Our “sin” credit card was maxed out. The creditors were calling. The situation was hopeless, and we were about to lose everything. But then Jesus comes and he says, “I’ve got this. This account is Paid in Full.”
My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!
—My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!
—It Is Well With My Soul, Horatio G. Spafford
And because of that...
Jesus opened access to the Father through his death. (51)
Jesus opened access to the Father through his death. (51)
50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. 51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
The curtain of the temple was the divider inside the sanctuary that separated the Holy Place from the Holy of Holies. The Holy of Holies was the innermost and most sacred place in the temple. It contained the Ark of the Covenant, a gold chest that held the Ten Commandments, a jar of the Manna that God fed the Israelites with, and Aaron’s staff that miraculously budded. The Spirit of God would descend and rest upon the Ark as a throne. So this was literally God’s throne room on earth. (Now, the Ark of the Covenant had been lost to the Babylonians in the 500’s B.C., so this temple didn’t have it, but it was still an extremely sacred place.)
So, there was a giant curtain that was 60-80 feet tall and 24-30 feet wide and was very thick—several inches thick; this was not like a thin piece of fabric—that separated the Holy Place (where all the priests were allowed) from the Most Holy Place. Only the High Priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, and even he was only allowed once per year after undergoing all kinds of purification rituals.
1 Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. 2 For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place.
3 Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
5 Above it were the cherubim of glory overshadowing the mercy seat. Of these things we cannot now speak in detail.
6 These preparations having thus been made, the priests go regularly into the first section, performing their ritual duties, 7 but into the second only the high priest goes, and he but once a year, and not without taking blood, which he offers for himself and for the unintentional sins of the people.
8 By this the Holy Spirit indicates that the way into the holy places is not yet opened as long as the first section is still standing...
As he entered the Holy of Holies, he represented the people in the presence of God. It was the only place and the High Priest was the only person who got to be in the presence of God. So, the curtain was a very visible symbol of the separation between God and mankind that came about as a result of our sin. “The way is not yet opened...”
51 And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split.
But, when Jesus died, that curtain was ripped in two from top to bottom, as if the very hand of God reached down and tore it in half. God is saying, “No more separation. No more will you need to rely upon an earthly priest to represent you before God. No more will you be separated from my presence.”
So, the author of Hebrews continues...
11 But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things that have come, then through the greater and more perfect tent (not made with hands, that is, not of this creation) 12 he entered once for all into the holy places, not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption.
13 For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, 14 how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
15 Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
So, what does all this mean? It means that when Jesus died, so did the barrier that separated us from God! It means that part of the purpose of Jesus’ death was to make a way for us to enter the throne room and the presence of God!
18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit...
“...that he might bring us to God...” When Jesus died, the gates to God’s throne room flung open wide for those who believe in Christ! Not because of your good deeds—you could never gain an audience with God through your own efforts. You cannot be good enough, you’re already a condemned traitor to the throne.
If you think that by trying harder and being a good person that you will somehow be able to commend yourself to God, that he will look upon your good deeds and say, “Good job, you were good enough,” then you are fooling yourself. Scripture says that our good deeds are like a filthy rag in God’s eyes. We can’t be good enough. Our sin debt is too great, we’re condemned traitors.
But Jesus was good enough. He was the spotless lamb, the sinless sacrifice. He died the death that we deserved, the “righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God...”
And he offers his righteousness in exchange for your sins. What a trade! And if you humble yourself and accept that offer, then you can be with God because of Christ’s righteousness.
But, it doesn’t end there! There’s one more exchange Jesus made for us here...
Jesus was buried so you could raised. (52-53)
Jesus was buried so you could raised. (52-53)
52 The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many.
Now, technically, it’s Jesus’ resurrection that guarantees and makes possible our resurrection, but his resurrection couldn’t have happened without his death and burial, so it’s all part of the same work of God.
Scripture tells us that when Jesus was raised, so were many of the believers who had already died and been entombed throughout the city. Why?
This is a foretaste of what is coming.
Our first father and mother, Adam and Eve, sinned in the Garden and plunged the entire human race into sin and death. But now the second Adam, Jesus, has come and he has killed death.
And so, we’re told in Scripture, one day we will be raised, resurrected to new life in Christ
5 For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him.
14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence.
This life is filled with suffering, disease, heartache, and death. The older I get, the more disillusioned with this world I become. Things that I used to think would bring me happiness in this life have proved again and again to be hollow, empty, mirages. Life is filled with bitterness and pain and difficulty.
But praise be to God this life is not all there is! Another life is coming for those who put their faith in Christ and do not depend upon their own works but depend upon his works.
13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brothers, about those who are asleep, that you may not grieve as others do who have no hope.
14 For since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep.
15 For this we declare to you by a word from the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.
16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.
17 Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore encourage one another with these words.
Do you have this hope? Do you know in your soul that you belong to Christ and that when he comes he will call your name and you will rise to meet him in the air?
Have you accepted the Great Exchange that Christ has made on your behalf? Have you come to a point where you have despaired of being good enough and thrown yourself upon the mercy of God? Have you come to a point where you realize that if you were to stand before God on your own merits you would be forever doomed to Hell? Do you realize that even your best deeds before God cannot justify you in his sight?
Accept the exchange today that Christ has made for you. Lay down your sin-stained robes and pick up his blood-washed, white, spotless robes. Lay down your sin and pick up his righteousness.
