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Sermon #2336[i] Miscellaneous Sermons

Title: The Sufferings of Christ

Text: Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Subject: The Sufferings of Christ as our Substitute

Introduction:

“In evil long I took delight,

Unawed by shame or fear,

‘Til a new object struck my sight,

And stopped my wild career.

I saw One hanging on a tree

In agonies and blood

Who fixed His languid eyes on me,

As near His cross I stood.

Sure, never till my latest breath

Can I forget that look.

It seemed to charge me with His death,

Though not a word He spoke.

My conscience felt and owned the guilt,

And plunged me in despair;

I saw my sins His blood had spilt,

And helped to nail Him there!

Alas! I knew not what I did;

But now my tears are vain!

Where shall my trembling soul be hid? —

For I the Lord have slain!

A second look He gave, which said,

‘I freely all forgive.

This blood is for thy ransom paid.

I die that thou mayest live.’

Thus, while His death my sin displays

In all its blackest hue,

(Such is the mystery of His grace),

It seals my pardon too.

With pleasing grief and mournful joy

My spirit now is filled,

That I should such a life destroy,

Yet live by Him I killed.”

If God the Holy Spirit will enable me to deliver it, I believe he has given me a message for you. Turn with me to the 52^nd chapter of Isaiah’s prophecy. The title of my message is the Sufferings of Christ. Let’s read about our blessed Savior’s sufferings, as they are described for us by God the Holy Ghost in this portion of Holy Scripture. Here the Prophet of God describes both the sufferings of Christ and the glory that must follow those sufferings.

(Isaiah 52:13-53:12) “Behold, my Servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. ¹⁴ As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: ¹⁵ So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for [that] which had not been told them shall they see; and [that] which they had not heard shall they consider.”

^53:1 “Who hath believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? ² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, [there is] no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were [our] faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

⁴ “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he [was] wounded for our transgressions, [he was] bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace [was] upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. ⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither [was any] deceit in his mouth.”

¹⁰ “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put [him] to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see [his] seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. ¹¹ He shall see of the travail of his soul, [and] shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous Servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore will I divide him [a portion] with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

As the Lord enables me, I want to show you what I can of the sufferings of our Savior, the blessed Lord Jesus Christ: the sufferings of his body, the sufferings of his heart, and the sufferings of his soul, when he endured the wrath of God for us as our Substitute.

Hell Endured

I do not know what hell is, or where hell is; but I do know this: — this Book talks about a place, a state of existence called hell. In that horrid, horrid place men and women will suffer the infinite wrath of God forever in their bodies, in their hearts, and in their souls. Your heart is enmity against God. Your body is the instrument by which you live in defiance of the Almighty. And in your very soul you have despised him. Therefore, as you have sinned in your body, in your heart, and in your soul, you must suffer the wrath of God forever in hell, in your body, in your heart, and in your soul, unless you repent and trust the Son of God as your only and all-sufficient Lord and Savior.

As I said a moment ago, I don’t know what hell is, and don’t want to know. But this much I know — hell is…

· A Place of Separation!

· A Place of Isolation — Unimaginable Isolation!

· A Place of Fire — Unquenchable Fire!

· A Place of Darkness — Outer Darkness!

· A Place of Torment — Indescribable Torment!

And I know this: — In order to redeem and save his people from their sins, it was necessary for the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, to suffer all the hell of God’s holy and horrid wrath against us in his body, in his heart, and in his soul.

Isaiah 53

That is what Isaiah describes for us in this 53^rd chapter. Isaiah 53 is quoted more often in the New Testament than any other portion of the Old Testament. Here the Son of God is set forth as the sinners’ Substitute, making atonement for our sins by the sacrifice of himself.

It is hard to believe that this incomparable prophecy was written by a man who lived 750 years before Christ came into this world. Nothing can explain the existence of this prophecy, except the words of the apostle Peter, — “Holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” I defy those infidels who deny the inspiration of Holy Scripture, who deny that this Book is the very Word of God, to explain the existence of Isaiah 53.

As you read the words of this chapter, you might almost think you are reading the report of a man who was standing by when the Son of God died upon the cursed tree. But these are the words of a man who lived almost a millennium beforehand! Isaiah, the prophet of God, wrote of the sin-atoning death of the Lord Jesus Christ, and did so with precise detail and accuracy, because God the Holy Ghost inspired (breathed out) the words as he wrote them. Nothing else can explain this prophecy.

Proposition: In order to redeem and save his chosen people, the Son of God had to suffer all the consequences of our sins to the full satisfaction of Divine justice as our Substitute, in his body, in his heart, and in his soul.

That is what I want to talk to you about in this message. May God the Holy Ghost speak by me through his Word to your hearts for the glory of him of whom I now speak.

The Sufferings Of his Body

The chapter division between Isaiah 52 and 53 is very unfortunate. Whenever you read Isaiah 53, you should always begin with chapter 52 at verse 13. Read verse 14 with me.

Isaiah 52:14 “As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.”

No man can read of the sufferings of Christ and not be astonished (“astonied”), astonished that any man could inflict such cruel barbarity upon another, or that any man could endure such agony. And when we realize that the One who suffered on that day of all days was and is the holy, immaculate Son of God in human flesh, we are all the more astonished!

God and Man

Ever remember that the Sufferer Isaiah here describes is both God and man. Our Savior had to be a man. Otherwise, his sufferings would be of no benefit to man. Man had sinned. So, man must suffer. Man had sinned. So, man must die.

· No animal sacrifice would do.

· No angelic substitute would do.

· Only an innocent, holy man could be our Redeemer.

But the man who redeems us must also be God. Else his sufferings and death could not have satisfied the infinite justice of God. — God could not suffer, and man could not satisfy; but the God-man both suffered and satisfied.

Without question, many place too much emphasis upon the physical, bodily sufferings of Christ, trying to get people to feel sorry for poor Jesus. Clearly, that is not my object. Jesus Christ did not die as the helpless victim of circumstances. He is the God of circumstances. Let us weep for the sins that made his death necessary; but he does not need or desire our pity. In fact, he plainly said, “Weep not for me, but for yourselves, and for your children.”

Yet, it is quite possible for us to place too little importance upon our Lord’s bodily sufferings. The Word of God records the physical, bodily sufferings of dear Savior in great detail in all four Gospel narratives, in several of the Psalms, and here in Isaiah 53, as well as in numerous other passages of the Old and New Testaments. Here Isaiah tells us what our Savior suffered for us. In Psalm 22 David tells us what he said as he suffered the wrath of God for us. These things are recorded by Divine inspiration for our learning and edification because it is important for us to know what the Son of God suffered for us at Calvary.

On the night of the Passover supper, when our Savior instituted what we call “The Lord’s Supper,” breaking bread, drinking wine, praying, and singing with his disciples, an all-night vigil began.

· The Supper was followed by our Lord’s last discourse (John 14, 15, 16).

· Then came his great high priestly prayer (John 17).

Our Lord said to his disciples, “Because I have said these things unto you, sorrow hath filled your heart” (John 16:6). — “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again to receive you unto myself, that where I am there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3). Then, the story continues. We piece it together from the accounts of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

· The Betrayal and the Arrest in Gethsemane

· The Arraignment before Annas, then before Caiaphas, then before Sanhedrin

· Next, the Lord Jesus was taken by Roman soldiers to Pontius Pilate.

· Pilate sent him to Herod, the ruler of Galilee.

· Herod sent him back to Pilate, the Governor of Judea.

· At last, Pilate condemned the Son of God to be crucified, and gave him into the hands of cruel, barbaric Roman soldiers. — “Pilate delivered Jesus to their will” (Luke 23:25).

· The Mockery

· The Beatings

· The Infamous Parade

· The Crucifixion at Calvary — The Place of the Skull — Jerusalem’s Garbage Dump!

Come, O my soul, come again to the place called Calvary! — The scene at Calvary was so horribly ignominious and painful that as he hung upon the cross, our Lord said to John, “Take my mother away.” His sufferings and death were hidden from his mother. The sun refused to shine, hiding the infamy from the earth. And God the Father refused to look upon the horrid scene!

· “I thirst!”

· The Vinegar and Myrrh

· The Burning Fever

· The Excruciating Pain

Let us never speak lightly of the sufferings of our Savior in his body! But there is much, much more. — Isaiah also talks about...

The Sufferings Of his heart

Isaiah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Our Lord was outcast by men, betrayed by his friend, denied by his disciple, forsaken by his companions, tortured, and nailed to the cursed tree; but he cried, “Reproach hath broken my heart” (Psalm 69:20); and his heart was broken for me. I want to know something about that too. I want to know my Savior “in the fellowship of his sufferings!”

“He was despised and rejected of men” (John 1:11).

· His Own Countrymen!

· His Own Brethren!

There was no room for the Son of God in the inn, in the streets of this world, in their temple, or in their world. There was plenty of room for his miracles, but none for him, plenty of room for his acts of mercy, but none for his doctrine!

“A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

· His Trials and Temptations

· The Slanders of Men

· The Unbelief of his Disciples

· The Souls of Men — “Moved with compassion.”

· The Sorrows of his Friends — “Jesus wept!”

The Anticipation, the Heart-breaking Anticipation of Gethsemane. — “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.”

The Mockery of the Soldiers!

· The Crown of Thorns

· The Purple Robe

· The Reed Scepter

· The Jeering Taunts

The Song of the Drunkards and Harlots — The Spit! — Don’t ever imagine that words do not hurt. If they hurt the Son of God, they hurt us far lesser men!

The Denial by Peter and the Forsaking Disciples!

· “We hid, as it were, our faces from him!”

· The margin reads, “He hid as it were his face from us!”

“He was despised, and we esteemed him not!” — the Son of God suffered all this for us. Yet, we who now believe once esteemed him not. — “We esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted!” Had he not himself given us faith, we would forever have esteemed him not!

Illustrations: The Scarred Mother

“My Daddy died for me.”

All these things tormented our Savior’s heart. Yet, even when his heart broke with reproach and shame for us, his heart was upon us (Psalm 69:6-9; 11-12, 14-20).

Psalms 69:1-5 “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto [my] soul. ² I sink in deep mire, where [there is] no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. ³ I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. ⁴ They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, [being] mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored [that] which I took not away. ⁵ O God, thou knowest my foolishness; and my sins are not hid from thee.”

Psalms 69:6-9 “Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord GOD of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. ⁽⁷⁾ Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. ⁽⁸⁾ I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children. ⁽⁹⁾ For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me.”

Psalms 69:11-12 “I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. ⁽¹²⁾ They that sit in the gate speak against me; and I was the song of the drunkards.”

Psalms 69:14-20 “Deliver me out of the mire, and let me not sink: let me be delivered from them that hate me, and out of the deep waters. ⁽¹⁵⁾ Let not the waterflood overflow me, neither let the deep swallow me up, and let not the pit shut her mouth upon me. ⁽¹⁶⁾ Hear me, O LORD; for thy lovingkindness is good: turn unto me according to the multitude of thy tender mercies. ⁽¹⁷⁾ And hide not thy face from thy servant; for I am in trouble: hear me speedily. ⁽¹⁸⁾ Draw nigh unto my soul, and redeem it: deliver me because of mine enemies. ⁽¹⁹⁾ Thou hast known my reproach, and my shame, and my dishonour: mine adversaries are all before thee. ⁽²⁰⁾ Reproach hath broken my heart; and I am full of heaviness: and I looked for some to take pity, but there was none; and for comforters, but I found none.”

Still, there is more. Isaiah also speaks of...

THE SUFFERINGS OF hiS SOUL

Isaiah 53:10-11 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin (when thou shalt make his soul sin), he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. ⁽¹¹⁾ He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.”

I understand the biblical doctrine of the atonement.

· The Sin-offering

· The Paschal Lamb.

· The Prepared Body (Hebrews 10:1-14).

“Without the shedding of blood there is no remission,” not because God is vengeful and cruel, but because he is good, righteous, and holy.

I understand the agony of our Savior’s tormented body. — I can even understand the torments of his broken heart to some degree. — But here, we have come to something I simply cannot comprehend: — the sufferings of our Savior’s holy soul (Isaiah 53:10-11).

“Much we talk of Jesus’ blood,

But how little’s understood!

Of his sufferings so intense

Angels have no perfect sense.

Who can rightly comprehend

Their beginning or their end?

`Tis to God and God alone

That their weight is fully known.

See the suffering Son of God-

Panting, groaning, sweating blood!

Boundless depths of love Divine!

Jesus, what a love was thine!”

The Son of God was made sin for us! I am certain that there is more to the sufferings of our Lord for us than the mere legal, or forensic term “imputation” implies. His heart was not broken simply because he was made to be legally responsible for the debt of our sins. Our sins were not pasted on him, or merely placed to his account. The Lord Jesus Christ was “made sin for us!”

When he was made to be sin for us, the Lord God made his soul an offering for sin! — Substitution!

Those words, “when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin,” imply much more than “a sin-atoning sacrifice.” They carry the idea of fault, guilt, guiltiness. In fact, the words would be better translated “when thou shalt make his soul sin,” or “when thou shalt make his soul a trespass,” or “when thou shalt make his soul guilt, or guiltiness!”

When our Savior was most perfectly obedient to God as our Representative, his Father forsook him!

“God forsaken of God, my God, no man can understand that!” — Martin Luther

· Sun Turned into darkness! — Three Hours of Darkness!

· Moon Turned into Blood! — All the law of God, the moral law and the ceremonial law was fulfilled by the blood-letting of God’s sword of justice!

· And the Sun of Righteousness was buried in the dark, dark tomb of death!

· Then, on the third day, he arose with healing in his wings! — “With his stripes we are healed!”

The Results

“He (God the Father) shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied!” the Father’s justice is satisfied by the Son’s sufferings unto death for the salvation of his people.

“He (the Lord Jesus Christ) shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” the cross of Christ shall never be discovered a miscarriage!

“He shall see his seed….”

· Justified

· Sanctified

· Glorified

Hebrews 12:1-2 “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, ⁽²⁾Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

He shall see his seed.” — Beginning with this sentence and going through the rest of the chapter, Isaiah shows us what the certain, just, and inevitable results of Christ’s death must be. Do not ever think that the results of our Lord’s death are uncertain. The will-worship Arminian, the freewiller, must say, “There are no sure and certain results of Christ’s death. Everything is left to chance. Everything depends upon what man will do. Everything is determined by man’s will.” — Blasphemy! — In these lines of Inspiration God the Holy Spirit tells us exactly what the results of Christ’s death shall be. It is written, “He shall not fail!” Our Lord’s death was not a gamble, a crap-shoot. He effectually accomplished all that he came here to do. Here we see the infallible efficacy of Christ’s atonement.

1. “He shall see his seed.” — We do not have to guess who his seed are. His seed is the generation (Psalm 22:30) that shall serve him, the whole body of God’s elect. He “shall” see them, every one of them, forgiven, justified, regenerated, sanctified, and glorified (John 12:24, 32).

2. “He shall prolong his days.” — That simply means that, once he has by his death fully satisfied the justice of God and put away the sins of his people, he will be raised from the dead to declare in the most public, undeniable manner possible that all for whom he died are forever justified (Romans 4:25). Being raised from the dead, he shall then be exalted and glorified to give eternal life to all his redeemed ones (John 17:2; Romans 14:9; Philippians 2:8-11).

3. “And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” — Do not fail to notice that word “shall.” Everything that God wants done “shall” be done by the risen, exalted, glorified Christ. All the pleasure of God’s eternal purpose is being and shall fully be accomplished by King Jesus (Romans 8:28-39).

John 17:2 “As thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he should give eternal life to as many as thou hast given him.”

Revelation 10:1-3 “And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire: ⁽²⁾And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, ⁽³⁾ And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices.”

4. “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” — There is that word “shall” again. Twice it is given in this sentence. The Holy Spirit intends for us to understand that there is absolutely no uncertainty about what the consequences of Christ’s atonement are. This text is talking about a satisfied Savior, not a frustrated assistant! When the Word of God talks about the satisfaction of Christ, it is talking about two things: Christ making satisfaction and Christ being satisfied.

· By his one offering for sin, our Redeemer has completely satisfied the law and justice of God (Galatians 3:13; 1 John 1:9).

· By his sin-atoning death, as our Substitute, our Savior satisfied all types, shadows, and prophecies of the Old Testament Scriptures (Genesis 3:15; Psalm 22; Isaiah 53). — Noah’s Ark — The Ram Caught in the Thicket — The Paschal Lamb — The Scapegoat — The Brazen Serpent — The Smitten Rock).

· The crucified Christ presented to sinners in the Gospel satisfies all the demands of a guilty conscience, all the needs of a convicted sinner, and all the desires of a renewed heart (Hebrews 9:12-14; 1 Corinthians 1:30; Psalm 73:25-26; Philippians 3:7-14).

And the Son of God shall be satisfied with his ransomed people. I mean by that that our Redeemer shall be satisfied with the results of his sin-atoning work as our Substitute. He shall be satisfied because they all shall be perfectly saved (Ephesians 5:25-27; Isaiah 62:5).

(Isaiah 62:5) “For as a young man marrieth a virgin, so shall thy sons marry thee: and as the bridegroom rejoiceth over the bride, so shall thy God rejoice over thee.”

· He was satisfied with his work when it was done (John 17:4; 19:30).

· He is satisfied with the reward of his obedience — His Exaltation and Glory (Philippians 2:8-12).

· He is satisfied with his present position and work as our great High Priest (1 John 2:1-2).

· And the Son of God shall be satisfied when he sees his seed, all his seed saved, completely saved (John 6:37-40): called by his Spirit, converted by his grace, and conformed to his image.

· He shall be satisfied in that day of the great and glorious resurrection.

When time shall be no more, the Lord Jesus shall raise his redeemed up to glory (1 Corinthians 15:51-58), declare and display the perfection of their everlasting righteousness in him (Matthew 25:31-34), present to his Father the whole number given to him in election, redeemed by him at Calvary, called by him in grace, and preserved by him in mercy (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). And, at the Marriage Supper of the Lamb, he shall bring us into everlasting blessedness and enjoy everlasting praise from his redeemed ones (Revelation 4:11-12; 5:9-14).

Nothing will satisfy Christ short of the complete salvation of his people (Matthew 1:21). Nothing will satisfy the believer’s heart short of perfect, complete conformity to Christ (Philippians 3:10). And both Christ and his saints shall be satisfied. I am certain that this is the meaning of the phrase “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied,” because that is what the next phrase declares.

5. “By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” — All the many whose iniquities Christ bore on the tree shall be (There’s that word again — “shall!”) justified, and they shall be justified by his knowledge. Perhaps that means by the knowledge of him; but I prefer to stick with our translation. Christ shall justify his elect according to his knowledge of those for whom he died and his knowledge of his effectual accomplishments as our Redeemer (John 10:14, 27-28).

Verse 12

Now look at Isaiah 53:12. Here the prophet summarizes all that he has said concerning the glorious, infallible efficacy of Christ’s redeeming work as our Substitute. Here is a declaration of Christ’s exaltation and glory.

6. “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong.” — Here are the reasons for his exaltation and glory. The Lord Jesus Christ is seated at the right hand of the majesty on high because his work is finished and his work was and is a complete success, “because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Christ’s Intercession

Concerning our Lord’s intercession, John Gill explains that he did this “not merely in a petionary way, but by presenting himself, his blood, righteousness, and sacrifice, pleading the merits of these and calling for, in a way of justice and legal demand, all the blessings which were stipulated in the everlasting covenant, between him and the Father, to be given to his people in consequence of his sufferings and death.” — Read John 17:9, 20-24.

· Christ made intercession for us before the world began.

· Christ made intercession for us in the Garden.

· Christ made intercession for us on the cross.

· Christ makes intercession for us today in heaven (1 John 2:1-2; Romans 8:33-34; Hebrews 7:24-25; 9:24).

· And our Redeemer’s intercession is effectual!

Application

Lamentations 1:12-14 “[Is it] nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger. ¹³ From above hath he sent fire into my bones, and it prevaileth against them: he hath spread a net for my feet, he hath turned me back: he hath made me desolate [and] faint all the day. ¹⁴ The yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand: they are wreathed, [and] come up upon my neck: he hath made my strength to fall, the Lord hath delivered me into [their] hands, [from whom] I am not able to rise up.”

Lamentations 1:12 “[Is it] nothing to you, all ye that pass by? Behold, and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is done unto me, wherewith the LORD hath afflicted [me] in the day of his fierce anger.”

Why did the Son of God suffer all this agony of body, of heart, and of soul?

· To Satisfy Divine Justice!

· To Put Away Our Sins!

· Because he Loved Us!

Will you yet hide your face from him, despise him, and esteem him not? If you now look to him and trust him, Jesus Christ suffered all this for you! God help you to trust his darling Son! I wish I could convince you just how willing God is to save sinners for Christ’s sake.

Illustrations: The Indian Leper — “Help me! help me! Somebody, please, help me!” ——— the Handkerchief

In the light of these things, I have some questions for you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, and for me...

· Is anything too much for us to suffer for Christ?

· Is any sacrifice too great for us to make for him?

· Is any devotion to the Son of God extreme?

Amen.

Don Fortner

Pastor Fortner’s