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Jesus, God in the flesh, died in the place of guilty sinners. He was buried but rose again. Turn from your sin and trust Jesus alone for the gift of eternal life.
Died in the Place of Guilty Sinners:
Last week, we looked at the name of Jesus and meditated on how incredibly astonishing it is that Jesus, God Himself, would become a human being. This week I would like us to look at the next phrase, but I would like to look at it backwards:
Sinners:
“for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23). “ ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin’” (Jn. 8:34). “They have all turned aside, together they have become corrupt; there is no one who does good, not even one” (Ps. 14:3). “Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” (Rom. 7:24). “The heart is deceitful above all things and desperately sick; who can understand it?” (Jer. 17:9).
Have you ever fully grasped how desperately wicked you are? Your nature is exactly the opposite of God’s. Your very nature is evil, yet it is so easy to convince yourself that you are somehow good, or at least, not too bad. Pride and self-righteousness are so subtle, yet so prevalent. Until you understand how wretchedly vile your heart is in God’s sight, you will never understand the significance of the cross. God’s Law, summed up in the Ten Commandments, gives us a picture of just how holy and perfect God is, and how we as humans fail to measure up. Please take a few minutes to ponder God’s Ten Commandments (Deut. 5:1-21) and understand that you are a sinner.
Have you always loved God more than anything else (v. 7)? I am an idolater. Have you ever imagined God how you would like Him to be, instead of worshipping the God of the Bible (v. 8-10)? I am an idolater. Have you ever misused God’s holy name (v. 11)? I am guilty of blasphemy. Do you always set apart a day of rest to worship God (v. 12-15)? Have you always honored you parents (v. 16)? I am disobedient. Have you ever murdered (hatred is murder—1 Jn. 3:15) (v. 17)? I am a murderer. Have you ever committed adultery (lust is adultery—Mat. 5:28) (v. 18)? I am an adulterer. Have you ever stolen anything (v. 19)? Its value doesn’t matter. I am a thief. Have you ever told a lie (v. 20)? I am a liar. Have you ever coveted something that didn’t belong to you (v. 21)? I am guilty of covetousness, which is idolatry (Eph. 5:5).
I am a sinner.
Guilty:
“For the wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23a). “ . . . it is written: ‘Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law’” (Gal. 3:10b). “ . . . and so death spread to all men because all sinned” (Rom. 5:12). “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6). “And no creature is hidden from His sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account” (Heb. 4:13). "‘The souls who sins shall die’” (Eze. 18: 4b). “and they were judged, each one of them, according to what they had done. Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire" (Rev. 20:13b-14).
God is holy and just to give sinners what they deserve—death. He is too righteous to allow murderers, thieves, adulterers, and liars into Heaven. You are a sinner condemned to die. You are guilty. Guilty.
Jesus, God in the Flesh, Died in the Place of Guilty Sinners:
Ok, here’s the whole phrase. Hopefully it’s starting to make more sense.
“For our sake He [God] made Him [Jesus] to be sin who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Cor. 5:21). “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us--for it is written, 'Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree’” (Gal. 3:13). (Brackets mine).
Do you see Him there? Jesus, hanging on a cruel cross, suffering in agony, moments from death. In anguish, He raises His voice and cries out, “ ‘My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Mat. 27:46b). Why would God forsake His only Son? Because Jesus is receiving the just penalty for sin. Not His own sin. If you remember, He is God in the flesh—perfect, holy, righteous. He is receiving your penalty. You are guilty, deserving death, but Jesus is dying for you. His perfect character is smeared with your sin. And He is doing it willingly, for you. “ ‘For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord’” (Jn. 10:17-18a). Jesus laid down His life to pay the penalty of your sin. He satisfied God’s wrath. Died in the Place of Guilty Sinners.
I hope you are speechless, filled with wonder and awe that Jesus, God Himself as a man, would die in the place of you, a guilty sinner. But the story gets even better. Next week we will study in detail the amazing truth that Jesus did not stay dead!
Read the entire series here.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Used by permission. All rights reserved.