The Substitute

illustration: Playing Basketball in College and we were beating Northwest Christian out of Kirkland by 4 points and I picked up my 4th foul with 10 min to go in the game. (we have never beaten Northwest Christian, nor had we come close.) Coach sub’d me out for another player and we were down 10 points by the time I got back in the game.

We often look at the word Substitution with a negative connotation.

Substitute: a person or thing acting or serving in place of another.

“Soy Milk is used as a substitute for Dairy Milk” and everyone says “Gag Me”

Story: In the Bible there is this story where there was this wedding that ran out of wine. (This is not juice or Kool-Aide, this was wine, the kind you get drunk if you drink too much.) As the story goes, Mary told Jesus about the wine situation and he said, “Mom, that’s not my problem” and Mary said to the servants “do whatever he tells you to do.” This is Jesus first miracle recorded in scripture, but I think Jesus must have been doing some pretty crazy stuff at home if Mom knew something that nobody else did. Mary, thinking, “has Jesus taken out the trash yet,” and Jesus knowing her thoughts said, “Mother the trash has already been taken out.”

Jesus goes on to take the hand washing jars (20-30 gal) and have them filled up to the rim than changes the handwashing water into their finest wine. So that what came second was better than what came first. This was weird to the Brides Dad because they usually started with the expensive stuff, then they put the nasty stuff out so Uncle Jim didn’t get wasted on expensive wine.

John says in chapter 1 of his book, 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.”

Jesus did everything with purpose, he reveals truth as he sees fit, not too soon, but just at the right time. Jesus knew that he would be substituted for all the sacrifices that preceded him.

, “11 And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, 13 waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. 14 For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.”

Jesus was the perfect substitute, but...

Why did we need a Substitute?

Our sin was an act of diminishing the glory of God and elevating ourselves above God.

,  “For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.”

We decided that the glorification of our desires should be elevated above all that God desires, that we would openly dishonor, humiliate, dethrone God, placing ourselves as god.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Romans 2:5 ESV

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.

Our sin was diminishing His glory and elevating ours.

We make little of who He is and we glorified what we are. “Look what we can do.”

Example: We get in discussions that promote our successes our stories, our accolades . Friends and neighbors gather around and listen to MY tail of triumphs, success. Look what I have done to elevate myself over man and God.

Our crime against God is the idolatry of man, the worship and glorification of man above all else. Look what man has done, not look what God has done.

This heinous crime against the creator could not be justified by our actions of placing a lamb upon an alter, this atonement was only going to be remedied by an act of humiliation by God himself.

We could not fix our problem, we were incapable.

We defamed the image of God, his glory was trampled on by the feet of man. The first two commandments were.

You shall have no other gods before me

You shall not make for yourself a carved image.

These commandments speaking directly to our sinful act.

says, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”

To fall short as one commentator has said, “Come short of glorifying God.” , we exchanged the glory of God for images of man.

This is a treasonous act against God the creator and sustainer of all life.

Our act of rebellion wasn’t “The Force Awakens” and we rose up against the First Order. Our act of rebellion was against a just and merciful Creator. He invited us into relationship and we tore up the invitation.

Our relationship was broken.

The image, the glory of God needed repairing, reconciliation needed to be made.

Old Testament

Chapter after Chapter of man’s attempt to repair the image of God failed. We continued to choose our desires over his

,  He cuts down cedars, or he chooses a cypress tree or an oak and lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest. He plants a cedar and the rain nourishes it. 15 Then it becomes fuel for a man. He takes a part of it and warms himself; he kindles a fire and bakes bread. Also he makes a god and worships it; he makes it an idol and falls down before it.

Without a solution the end result was not good.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

English Standard Version Chapter 6

For the wages of sin is death,

New Testament

The Solution to our problem

English Standard Version Chapter 6

but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

God full of grace and mercy sent Jesus Christ as our penal substitutionary atonement.

The Penalty was death

The Substitute was Jesus

What did the Substitute do?

The Atonement was the reconciliation between God and man

Jesus Christ atoned for our sins, he paid the penalty, he paid the price, both analogies are referenced in scripture.

, (NLT), “Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.”

,  “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, 14 by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities[a] and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him.”

Christ’s Example of Humility

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 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, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant,3 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.

English Standard Version Chapter 2

But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed.