He bore our sins in His body on the tree

Here is my latest article for the newsletter "The Final Word":

As we approach Passion Week (from April 5th to 12th), I would encourage you to spend some time reading through one of the Gospels. Since we have been studying the gospel of Luke each Sunday, I am going to read through the gospel of Mark this coming week. You could read a few chapters each day or sit down for an hour or two and read straight through. Whether you are reading through Mark or studying Luke, either way you will be struck with an impression that Jesus knew “who He was” (the Son of God) and “what He had was to do” (fulfill the Messianic role). And since He was the Son of God and He had come to fulfill the Messianic role, He knew that His messianic mission centered on going to the Cross and being put to death. He spoke of this often and with absolute resolve. In Luke, it is said of Jesus that “he set his face toward Jerusalem”. All over the gospels we hear Jesus speaking of the Cross as something certain. So, we might find it somewhat surprising to find Jesus in His final hours beginning to “fear” the crucifixion that He so often spoke of and seemed bound and determined to face. We find Him in the Garden of Gethsemane overcome with “horror and dismay” praying that “if it be possible, take this cup from me” but continuing by saying “nevertheless not what I will, but Thy will be done”. And if this wasn’t troubling enough, we then hear Christ on the Cross crying out “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Why such fear? Many have lost “respect” for Jesus because of these two events. It has been said that many others have died with greater bravery than what is seen here of Jesus. Stephen faced death with joy and even Socrates, the pagan philosopher, drank his hemlock and died without a tremor. So, why was Jesus so afraid of death when many others have faced it (even by crucifixion) (and martyrdom) without any fear whatsoever? What was it that Jesus feared so much?

Well, if you understand the Biblical account of the death and crucifixion of Christ, then you know that it was not simply dying that Jesus feared. In fact, Jesus had no fear of death. It was what His death was accomplishing. The Bible tells us that Jesus was taking upon Him the burden of the world’s sin, consenting to be, and actually being, numbered with the transgressors! It was because Jesus was made sin for us…He was bearing God’s judgment on sin. The unique dreadfulness of His death lies in the fact that He tasted on Calvary the wrath of God that was ours, so making propitiation for our sins.

But, this thought has become to commonplace for us. We have heard it said so many times…that I am afraid we have become numb to the fact that Christ took our sins and bore the penalty for our sins – namely, the wrath of God. What would that look like? What would that feel like? Well, let’s hear how Rick Gamache puts it:

“Jesus looks up to His Father, His Father looks back. But Jesus does not recognize these eyes. They pierce the invisible world with fire and darken the visible sky. Jesus feels dirty. He hangs between earth and heaven filthy with all of human wickedness on His shoulders. The Father speaks: ‘Son of Man! Why have you sinned against Me and heaped scorn on My great glory? You are self-sufficient and self-righteous – consumed with yourself and puffed up and selfishly ambitious. You rob Me of My glory and worship what’s inside of you instead of looking out to the One who created you. You are a greedy, lazy gluttonous slanderer and gossip. You are a lying, conceited, ungrateful, cruel adulterer. You practice sexual immorality; you make pornography and you fill your mind with vulgarity. You exchange My truth for a lie and worship the creature instead of the Creator. And so you are given up to your homosexual passions, dressing immodestly, and lusting after what is forbidden. With all your heart you love perverse pleasure. You hate your brother and murder him with the bullets of anger fired from your own heart. You kill babies for your convenience. You oppress the poor and ignore the needy. You persecute my people. You love money and prestige and honor. You put on a cloak of outward piety, but inside you are filled with dead men’s bones – you hypocrite!

You are lukewarm and easily enticed by the world. You covet and can’t have so you murder. You are filled with envy and rage and bitterness and unforgiveness. You blame others for your sin and are too proud to even call it sin. You are never slow to speak. You have a razor tongue that lashes and cuts with its criticism and sinful judgment. Your words do not impart grace. Instead your mouth is a fountain of condemnation and guilt and obscene talk. You are a false prophet leading people astray. You mock your parents. You have no self-control. You are a betrayer who stirs up division and factions. You’re a drunkard and a thief. You’re an anxious coward. You do not trust Me. You blaspheme against Me. You are an unsubmissive wife. And you are a lazy, disengaged husband. You file for divorce and crush the parable of my love for the church. You’re a pimp and a drug dealer. You practice divination and worship demons. The list of your sins goes on and on and on and on. And I hate these things inside of you. I’m filled with disgust and indignation for your sin consumes me. Now, drink my cup!

And Jesus does. He drinks for hours. He downs every drop of the scalding liquid of God’s own hatred of sin mingled with His white-hot wrath against that sin. This is the Father’s cup: omnipotent hatred and anger for the sins of every generation past, present, and future- omnipotent wrath directed and one man hanging on a cross.
The Father can no longer look at his beloved Son, His heart’s treasure, the mirror-image of Himself. He looks away. Jesus cries out to heaven, “my God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Silence. Separation.

Jesus finally cries, “It is finished.” And it is. Every sin of every child of God has been laid on Jesus and he drank the cup of God’s wrath dry.

And he dies. Mission accomplished! Sacrifice accepted!”

Had Jesus really done any of these sins? No, but you and I have done many (if not all) of these sins and more. Jesus took our sins – He bore our sins in His body on the tree. He was forsaken so that we could be forgiven. May we respond to Christ and His work on the Cross much like the merciful centurion who looked up at the lifeless body of Jesus and was filled with awe. He dropped to his knees and declared, “Truly this man was the Son of God!”