Text: Isaiah 53:10
Subject: The Nature and
Efficacy Of Christ’s Death
Date: Sunday Evening -
March 20, 1994
Tape #
Introduction:
Of all the cruel inventions of barbaric men
nothing was ever so cruel and barbaric as the practice of the Romans in
executing men by the tormenting death of crucifixion. This was the most
painful and shameful means of execution imaginable. It was reserved only
for the vilest of criminals. Only slaves could be crucified under
Roman law. Crucifixion was considered too violent and repugnant for one who was
a Roman citizen, no matter what crime he had committed.
Before being crucified, the criminal was severely
beaten with a whip of multiple cords which had pieces of bone tied in them.
Every lash of that cruel scourge ripped pieces of flesh out of a man’s back.
Then, customarily, the malefactor would be forced to carry his own cross
to the place of execution. Once they had reached the place of execution, the
Roman soldiers would stretch the criminal out on the cross, strip him
naked, and nail his beaten, lacerated body on the cursed tree. The
hands and feet of the human body have the largest concentration of nerves in
the body. They are more sensitive to pain than any other parts. Therefore
they were chosen. The feet were crossed one over the other and nailed to the
cross with one huge spike. The hands were stretched out in opposite directions,
slightly above the shoulders, the body being stretched as tight as possible,
and nailed to the cross, first one, then the other. The cross, with the man
being nailed to it, was then picked up and shoved into its socket in the
earth. When it fell into its socket, you can imagine what happened. The whole
body jerked. The hands and feet were torn. The convulsions of pain are
horrifying to imagine! The whole weight of the body would hang upon the nail
pierced hands and feet. The wounds would gradually become wider and wider. At
last, the man would die in the midst of those tortures. But he would hang there
for hours, sometimes for days, before his merciful death would
come.
In order to show some sense of justice to the
people, the man’s crime would be written out in large, capital letters, and
attached to the cross just above the malefactor’s head. This is the death which
our Lord and Savior endured for us, as our Substitute. It was not enough that
he should just die. His death must be the painful, shameful, ignominious death
of the cross. The cause of his offense and death was written out and nailed to
the top of his cross - "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
These are the historical facts of Christ’s
death. They are vividly described in the gospel records. The means of our
Lord’s physical sufferings and death was crucifixion. But the gospel message
does not arise from the fact that a good man was put to death in such a
shameful way. The man who knows and preaches the gospel must get beyond the
mere facts of the crucifixion and physical sufferings of Christ. We must know
something of the meaning of all that took place at Calvary two thousand years
ago.
How
did the Son of God come to die such a death? Why did the Lord of glory
humble himself to die the death of the cross? What are the results of
his death? In order for us to understand, as well as mere mortals can
understand this great mystery, in order for us to understand the good news of
the gospel, we must seek the answers to these questions. We must know
something of the nature, necessity, and efficacy of our Redeemer’s death.
Illus: "H-O-W" "that Christ died" (I Cor. 15:3).
My subject tonight is The Death Of Christ.
To be sure, that is a subject we can never begin to expound. Our puny, finite
brains can never fathom the infinite mysteries of our Lord’s death. But there
are a few things clearly revealed in our text about the nature and efficacy of
his death. Hold your Bible open here at Isaiah 53:10, and pray that God the
Holy Spirit will now take the things of Christ and show them unto us - (Read
the text with me - Isaiah 53:10).
Divisions: These questions about the death of our Lord are
clearly answered in this text.
· How Did the
Son Of God Come To Die Upon the Cross?
· Why Did the Lord Of Glory Endure Such A
Death?
· What Are the Results Of Christ’s Death?
· The death of the cross was a shameful, ignominious
thing, reserved only for the violent of men. So my first question is this - HOW
DID THE SON OF GOD COME TO DIE UPON THE CROSS?
We see something more in the death of Christ
than the malice of the Jews, the cruelty of Rome, the weakness of Pilate, or
even the work of satan. Isaiah tells us, "It pleased the Lord to bruise
him; he hath put him to grief." In the crucifixion of Christ the solemn
decree of God was fulfilled by wicked men. The eye of faith looks beyond the
Roman spear and nail and traces the death of Christ back to it original source
and cause - The Heart of God (I John 4:10; Rom. 5:8).
· The Lord Jesus Christ died according to the
eternal purpose of God (I Pet. 1:18-21).
We do not, we dare not impute to God the sin
and guilt of the crime. Wicked men did exactly what they wanted to do. God did
not force them to act as they did. But he did absolutely govern their actions
and use them to accomplish his purpose. Not a single action, circumstance, or
pain involved in our Savior’s death came to pass except by the decree of God
(Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 13:28-29).
· This is a foundation truth of Holy
Scripture. See that you hold firmly - God Almighty has written a Book of
Sovereign and Absolute Predestination - "A Book Written."
Chained to His Throne a volume lies
With all the fates of men,
With every angel’s form and size
Drawn by the eternal pen.
Nothing escapes the will, purpose, decree,
and power of God. Everything that comes to pass in time was ordained by God in
eternity. And you can be sure that God who, according to his eternal purpose,
feeds the sparrows, clothes the lilies, and numbers the hairs on our heads,
left nothing to chance or circumstance regarding the life and death of his dear
Son.
The death of Christ is the very core of
predestination. It is the center and mainspring upon which God fashioned all
his other purposes. It is the foundation upon which the structure of God’s
decrees was built. Jesus Christ is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world," because "it pleased the Lord to bruise him."
· Long before there was a sinner, God provided
a Savior.
· Before ever we went astray, God provided a
Shepherd.
· Before we fell in Adam, God provided a
second Adam to save.
· Before we broke God’s law, He provided a
Ransom.
· Before we became polluted, Christ was our
Cleansing Fountain!
· Before we incurred the debt of sin, Christ
stood as our Surety to pay!
· Before we were Cursed by the Law, Christ
stood as our Redeemer!
· Before we died, Christ was the Resurrection
and the Life!
· The Son of God
was sent into this world to die for us because God loved us (John 3:16).
· The Father loved us and sent his Son to be
the Propitiation for our sins.
· The Son loved us and came to die in our
place - "He loved me, and gave himself for me!"
· The Spirit loved us and came to give us life
and bring us to glory.
· The Lord Jesus
came into this world to die in order to accomplish his Father’s will - (Heb.
10:5).
In the fullness of time God took his Son from
his bosom and freely delivered him up for us all. "Here is love" -
The offended Judge took his own holy Son and gave him up to suffer the pains of
hell in death for the redemption of rebels and traitors who would never love
him in return, except he create love in them!
· Understand this too - Our Lord Jesus Christ
voluntarily laid down his life for us as our Substitute (Ps. 40:6-7;
John 10:17; Heb. 12:2; Isa. 50:5-7; Pro. 8:23-31).
· Yet, the unutterable agony of Christ’s death
upon the cross was the work of His Father’s own hand - "It
pleased the Lord to bruise him."
Read the terrifying agonies of Christ in the
22nd Psalm, as he hung upon the cursed tree, suffering the wrath of
God, and mark this fact - The hand of God bruised his Son!
· He died a violent death - His death
could not be by natural causes. It must be a sacrificial death, as a slain
victim.
· He died a painful death - Tormented
in Body and Soul.
· Beatings and Bodily Agony!
· Forsaken by His friends and Mocked by man!
· Made to be Sin!
· Forsaken of God his Father!
· The Satisfaction of Justice!
· He died a shameful death - He
"endured the cross, despising the shame!"
· As a Shameful Man!
· In a Shameful Condition - Naked! Cursed!
· He died a cursed death - "Cursed
is everyone that hangeth on a tree!"
· He died a slow, lingering death.
· Others gradually grew weaker as they
suffered - He was full of life to the end.
· Others were given wine gall and myrrh - He
was given gall and vinegar.
· In all his pain there were none to help!
Here then is the cause of our Lord’s death -
· The Purpose of God to Save Us.
· The Love of God for Us.
· The Grace of God to Us.
"It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He
hath put him to grief."
· WHY DID THE LORD OF GLORY ENDURE SUCH A
DEATH AS THIS?
God Almighty bruised his Son and put him to
grief upon the cursed tree because "he made his soul an offering for
sin." Christ died as he did, he had to die as he did, so that he might be
to God a suitable substitute and sin offering for his people. Here are four
reasons for the crucifixion, four reasons why the Lord of glory died the
painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross.
· That he might bear the curse of the law in
his death (Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:22-23).
· That he might fulfill the Old Testament
types - All the sacrifices were lifted up to God upon the altar - (The Brazen
Serpent - Num. 19:9; John 3:14; 12:32).
· That he might fulfill the Old Testament
prophecies regarding his death.
· "They have pierced my hands and my
feet" - (Ps. 22:16-17).
· "They shall look on me whom they have
pierced" (Zach. 12:10).
· Christ Jesus endured the death of the cross
for us, a Substitute for sinners! That God might be both just and
justifier (Rom. 3:24-26; Ps. 85:10-11; Pro. 16:7).
Illus: The Two Goats on the Day of Atonement
· The Lord’s Goat - "Truth"
· The Scapegoat - "Mercy"
· WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST?
The Armenian, of course, must say,
"Well, there are no certain and sure results. Everything is left to
chance; and it all depends on the will of man." Nonsense! Blasphemy!
Isaiah declares emphatically that there are three certain, absolute consequences,
three things that must come to pass as results of our Lord’s death.
· "He shall see His Seed" (John 12:24,
32).
· Born Again! - Justified! - Sanctified! -
Glorified!
· "He shall prolong his days!" (Rom. 4:25).
· Raised from the dead - "Justified in
the Spirit!"
· Exalted - (Rom. 14:9).
· "And the pleasure of the Lord shall
prosper in His hand."
· John 17:2
· Revelation 10:1
· Rom. 8:28-31
Application: Read this text one more time - Isaiah 53:10. Behold
the crucified Son of God, the Substitute for sinners slain and know that…
· God will punish sin!
· God is willing to save sinners!
· If you trust him, your sins are gone
forever!
Illus: The Scapegoat - Here comes the fit ` man without the goat - Christ’s
Resurrection!