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As God manifested in the flesh, having no sin,
He came under the penalty of death by choice to pay for the sin of the world!
Fred R. Coulter—March 6, 2021
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!
Why is Jesus the only One qualified to die for the sins of the world? Of course, it's a whole lot different than the Orthodox Christianity believe! Let's go to one of the famous verses that they always read and let's see how they can not possibly progress beyond this.That's contained right in the same chapter.
John 3:16: "For God so loved the world that He gave His only Begotten Son, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish, but may have everlasting life."
The King James it reads "…should not perish, but should have everlasting life."
But it's not written in that sense, because may in the Greek means that there are conditions applied to it! How do we know what conditions are applied? Who applies them?
It's one thing if a man says, 'do this,' and another thing if God says 'do this'! Totally, yes indeed!
Verse 17: "For God sent not His Son into the world that He might judge the world…"
Final judgment is coming later, but He did have to make certain judgments along the way during His ministry, as well.
"…but that the world might be saved through Him" (v 17).
The next one is really quite an important section. That runs all the way to v 21:
Verse 18: "The one who believes in Him is not judged…:
- What do you do when you believe in Jesus?
- What is it that you're believing in Him for?
Quite a few things!
- First: forgiveness of sin!
- Second: through the Father, hopefully, eternal life!
But right there the Protestants leave you immediately, because 'they're all going to heaven.'
"…but the one who does not believe has already been judged, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment…" (vs 18-19).
It lays it out clearly, because if all you needed was John 3:16, why do you need the rest of the Bible?
Verse 19: "And this is the judgment that the Light has come into the world,… [who is the Light of the world? Jesus Christ!] …but men loved darkness rather than the Light because their works were evil."
They don't want them exposed, and that's doubly true in Washington, D.C.
Verse 20: "For everyone who practices evil hates the Light… [everyone who lives in sin hates Christ] …and does not come to the Light, so that his works may not be exposed." He wants to live his life the way that he's living it!
Here is why we have the rest of the Bible:; v 21: "But the one who practices the Truth comes to the Light…" How do you come to the Light?
- through prayer
- through study of God's Word
because
- His Word is Light!
- The Spirit of God is Light!
- God the Father is Light!
This is what you're coming to every day when you come to God, every Sabbath when you come to services!
"…so that his works may be manifested, that they have been accomplished by the power of God" (v 21).
This means that you do what you do—spiritually speaking—because of the Spirit of God. As we know, without the coming days of Unleavened Bread, it's God's Spirit and Word in you that:
- alerts you to when there's a sin
- alerts you when you do something that is not right
People in the world don't have that!
The book of Hebrews is a very interesting book. A lot of people don't believe the Paul wrote it. But when you look at the style of the writing and you look at the end where Paul says that Timothy is with me, it has to be Paul who wrote it.
Paul explained very clearly why it is that we need to have our sins forgiven, and that it is by Jesus Christ. Why only Christ? We're told that it's impossible to do away with sin by the blood of animals. So, the truth of the matter of the temple is that when they came and offered a sin offering, they were forgiven to the temple, not in heaven above. But they were forgiven. It didn't take the sin away from the internally to change them. So, the sacrifice of an animal will not take away sin.
- What about if it's another human being? We'll talk about that again a little later!
- If someone died for you to cover your sins, could his death cover anybody else's sins? No! It would be a one on one!
So, it has to be something greater! That greater is God! We know how Chris came. He divested Himself of His glory and was impregnated into t he womb of the virgin Mary, born as a baby, drew up as a human being, and then on the Passover Day when He died He offered His life for the sins of the whole world! But He had to be made human first. So, this is what we find:
Hebrews 10:4: "Because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. For this reason, when He comes into the world, He says, 'Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but You have prepared a body for Me'" (vs 4-5)—so that He could come and be the sin offering!
Verse 9: "Then He said, 'Lo, I come to do Your will… [notice how that ties in with John 3:16] …O God.' He takes away the first covenant in order that He may establish the second covenant; by Whose will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all" (vs 9-10).
How could Jesus' sacrifice be once for all? Then you also have to consider all who died in the past, they didn't know anything about Jesus! All who die in the future—and how many today who have died in Christ, from the time of Christ until now, very few; so, how is that done?
John 1:1: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God" (vs 1-2).
That's how we have the sacrifice of God, yet human, and we will see perfect in everything so that our sins can be forgiven. Let's see how that works.
How did sin come into the world?
Romans 5:6: "For even when we were without strength, at the appointed time Christ died for the ungodly."
Not just sinners, but the ungodly! What was that appointed time? Passover Day, 30A.D.!
Verse 7: "For rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, although perhaps someone might have the courage even to die for a good man. But God commends His own love to us…" (vs 7-8).
Remember where we started with God so loved the world, here's another aspect of it right here:
"…because, when we were still sinners, Christ died for us…. [and for us before we were even conceived] …Much more, therefore, having been justified now by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His own Son, much more then, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only this, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by Whom we have now received the reconciliation" (vs 8-11).
Then Paul tells us how sin entered; v 12: "Therefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and by means of sin came death; and in this way death passed into all mankind; and it is for this reason that all have sinned."
That means that the judgment of Adam and Eve changed their nature. Then they received the wages of sin is death! They were going to die. They lived 900 years before they died. I often wonder about 750 and they look at each other sand say, 'I wonder if we're going to die or not?' What else? Their nature was changed to be hostile toward the Laws of God!
Romans 8:6: "For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace… [that's the contrast we're up against today] …because the carnal mind is enmity… [same word as enemy] …against God, for it is not subject to the Law of God; neither indeed can it be" (vs 6-7).
When they chose to go against what God said, and ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, the judgment was against the serpent, the woman, the man, and the judgment came upon Christ Who prophesied that He would become the coming sacrifice in the future to solve the problem!
But because God gives free moral agency and doesn't want robots, and He's given us a mind so we choose, think and also have emotions so that God can draw us to Him and we can repent.
John 1:29[transcriber's correction] "…he [John the Baptist] says, 'Behold the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sin of the world'" Not plural, but singular plural—the sin! That sin is in the whole world, so He takes away the sin of the world.
That all comes down to all human beings through all time from Adam and Eve clear to the very end. Christ had to come and be born, live a perfect life and give His life as a sacrifice. So, there are a lot of things connected with this. As the Creator, His life would be worth everybody else's lives together.
Let's talk about the sacrifice of Christ, because Jesus willingly came. We know that He had an agreement with God the Father so that He would be resurrected from the dead after three days.
John 10:11: "I am the good Shepherd. The good Shepherd lays down His life for the sheep…. [all of us whom God calls] …But the one who is a hireling, and who is not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep, and flees. And the wolf seizes the sheep and scatters them" (vs 11-12). That's what's happened in Christianity down through time!
Verse 13: "Now, the hireling flees because he is a hireling and has no concern for the sheep."
Notice the difference with Christ, and this has to be the difference with all of the true servants of God as well in serving the brethren.
Verse 14: "I am the good Shepherd, and I know those who are Mine, and am known of those who are Mine."
It says in the beginning here that we hear the voice of Christ! And we hear the voice of Christ whenever the true Word of God is spoken correctly, because it's the Word of God in writing!
Verse 16: "And I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one flock and one Shepherd. On account of this, the Father loves Me: because I lay down My life, that I may receive it back again. No one takes it from Me…" (vs 16-18).
Jesus did not commit suicide; He laid down His life and others killed Him."
"…but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down and authority to receive it back again. This commandment I received from My Father" (v 18).
We know other places where this was all planned before all time—before the ages of time—and Christ was 'slain from the foundation of the world.' All of those fit together!
Now let's look at why Jesus—and Jesus alone—can be our Savior, none other! Today we know of two or three saying that they are the Christ.
- Jesus was Creator
He created all things and nothing came into being except through Him!
- He was Divinely begotten as a human being
Had to be! Had to be God and had to be human!
- He was God manifested in the flesh
That's we're told in 1-Timothy 3:16 that "…God was manifested in the flesh…"
- He always did the will of God
Even when the crucifixion was coming upon Him!
When Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane praying, He went out there after the Passover—after instituting the New Covenant—and the disciples when with Him and Judas was on the way getting the mob and the soldiers to come and arrest Him. He went to the Garden of Gethsemane and was praying.
Luke 22:40: "And when He arrived at the place, He said to them, 'Pray that you do not enter into temptation.' And He withdrew from them about a stone's throw; and falling to His knees, He prayed, saying, 'Father, if You are willing to take away this cup from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Your will be done'" (vs 40-42).
Always did the will of God, even here. Notice what was upon Him.
Verse 43: "Then an angel from heaven appeared to Him, strengthening Him." Why? Because in the flesh He was weak! Here's a great temptation:
Verse 44: "And being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat became as great drops of blood falling down to the ground." Then He chastised them for sleeping!
Always did the will of God! There are other places as well, but these will be sufficient.
John 12:44: "Then Jesus called out and said, 'The one who believes in Me does not believe in Me, but in Him Who sent Me.'" Remember, He came to reveal the Father!
Verse 45: "And the one who sees Me sees Him Who sent Me. I have come as a light into the world so that everyone who believes in Me may not remain in darkness. But if anyone hears My words and does not believe, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects Me and does not receive My words… [speaking the will of God, doing the will of God] …has one who judges him; the Word, which I have spoken, that shall judge him in the last day. For I have not spoken from Myself; but the Father, Who sent Me, gave Me commandment Himself, what I should say and what I should speak'" (vs 45-49). So, He always did the will of the Father!
Verse 50: "And I know that His commandment is eternal life. Therefore, whatever I speak, I speak exactly as the Father has told Me."
This is also important because Jesus had to rely on the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit at all times, because He could not sin once!
John 5:30: "I have no power to do anything of Myself; but as I hear… [which tells us that He and the Father were in constant communication] …I judge; and My judgment is just because I do not seek My own will but the will of the Father Who sent Me."
That's really the key in the whole thing for us, too. Then He talks about John the Baptist and said the he was a 'burning light.'
Verse 36: "But I have a greater witness than John's; for the works that the Father gave Me to complete…"
Notice how He was completely reliant on the Father for everything.
"…the very works that I am doing, themselves bear witness of Me, that the Father has sent Me. And the Father Himself, Who sent Me, has borne witness of Me. You have neither heard His voice nor seen His form at any time. And you do not have His Word dwelling in you" (vs 36-38)
- Jesus also tells them Who He is!
- He tells them from where He came!
- He tells them about the Father!
John 3:31: "He Who comes from above is above all. The one who is of the earth is earthly, and speaks of the earth. He Who comes from heaven is above all; and what He has seen and heard, this is what He testifies; but no one receives His testimony…. [just a few do] …The one who has received His testimony has set his seal that God is true; for He Whom God has sent speaks the words of God; and God gives not the Spirit by measure unto Him" (vs 31-34).
There we have it; He did the will of the Father, always!
- He never sinned
Give yourself a little test. This is what we need to overcome:
- Have you ever had a day when you haven't had an evil thought?
- Either yours, or it entered into your mind because you're watching television?
- Or you heard someone speak?
Jesus never sinned!
I just wonder how much the Protestants actually believe? Except for reading John 3:16, and asking for money!
Heb. 2 tells us about Christ being of God. Also the whole life of Christ is wrapped up in the purpose of all of mankind.
Hebrews 2:6: "But in a certain place one fully testified, saying, 'What is man, that You are mindful of him, or the son of man, that You visit him?…. [tied in Psa. 8] …You did make him a little lower than the angels…'" (vs 6-7)—Greek: 'angelos.'
But in Psa. 8 in the Hebrew it is 'Elohim,' a little lower than God!
"'…You did crown him with glory and honor, and You did set him over the works of Your hands; You did put all things in subjection under his feet.' For in subjecting all things to him, He left nothing that was not subjected to him. But now we do not yet see all things subjected to him" (vs 7-8).
That's because the plan of God is way beyond our human existence!
Verse 9: "But we see Jesus, Who was made a little lower than the angels, crowned with glory and honor on account of suffering the death… [His particular one; singular death] …in order that by the grace of God He Himself might taste death for everyone"—so that they can be resurrected out of the grave!
Remember that Jesus said, 'If you believe in Him you will not taste of death forever!' That tells you that you're going to die, but not forever. And there could be no resurrection unless Christ was perfect. This is why He had to come and do what He did.
Verse 10: "Because it was fitting for Him, for Whom all things were created, and by Whom all things exist, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the Author of their salvation perfect through sufferings."
What were the first words of Jesus when He was raised up on the cross? Father, forgive them for they don't know what they are doing! Think of all of the evil, hatred and the things going through their minds when they came after Jesus and had Him crucified!
Over the whole city of Jerusalem there was a great battle going on between Satan and the demons and the angels of God. We will see a reference to that later.
Verse 11: "For both He Who is sanctifying and those who are sanctified…" Made Holy! We are being made Holy:
- by the Holy Spirit of God
- by the Word of God
- by walking in the way of God
These things make us Holy through the power of God!
"…are all of one; for which cause He is not ashamed to call them brethren" (v 11).
Think about that! We're living in a time right now that's getting pretty desperate. It's pretty easy to get discouraged about how bad and evil things are going. I don't think we have ever comprehended how bad and sinful different civilizations have been before our time. But I think we're going to get a taste of it here pretty quick. I think we better be a whole lot stronger—in fact, I know we better be—because 'cancel culture' is going to come here!
Those who hate God hate everything about what He is, what Christ stands for and the Word of God. In the midst of that:
- we must be strong
- we must have the Spirit of God
- we must be against these things
Have to be!
Verse 12: "Saying, 'I will declare Your name to My brethren; in the midst of the Church I will sing praise to You.'
I often think that that's going to happen on the Sea of Glass! It's going to have all the resurrected saints on the Sea of Glass. The Throne of God is going to be right there; we'll see it! It says that 'there was the temple of God that opened up.' There's the Father, and don't you think that that the Father wants to see His children? Christ will be right there at the head of it and say, 'Father, behold Your children!' That's going to be a fantastic day! This is what we need to keep on our mind with the difficult days coming upon us!
Verse 13: "And again, 'I will be trusting in Him.' And again… [where you have 'again, and again,' that's Paul writing (Rom. 15)] …'Behold, I and the children whom God has given Me.' Therefore, since the children are partakers of flesh and blood, in like manner He also took part in the same in order that through death… [here's another thing His death will accomplish]: …He might annul… [KJV: 'destroy'] …him who has the power of death—that is, the devil… [make it as if it never were] …and that He might deliver those who were subject to bondage all through their lives by their fear of death. For surely, He is not taking upon Himself to help the angels; but He is taking upon Himself to help the seed of Abraham" (vs 13-16).
A lot of people think that the Jews are the ten tribes of Israel. NO! We are the seat of Abraham
Galatians 3:29: "And if you are Christ's, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
Hebrews 2:17: "For this reason, it was obligatory for Him to be made like His brethren in everything that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, in order to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For because He Himself has suffered, having been tempted in like manner, He is able to help those who are being tempted" (vs 17-18).
That's quite a thing what Jesus did!
(break)
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What about those people? That's the key thing! That's for later.
But the most important thing right now is all of the brethren—going clear back in time—who are going to be in the first resurrection. That we really be working and preparing for the difficult times ahead and the coming of Christ.
So, don't let the different things coming upon the world come upon you in such a way that you get really discouraged. We haven't seen anything, yet! Nor have we been under pressure or temptation!
Let's continue on with Jesus never sinning. He had to have that because He had to have human nature, and He got that from His mother Mary. He had to have human nature, otherwise He couldn't be tempted.
There are people who say that it was impossible for Jesus to sin. NO! It was not impossible, but it was improbable! The difference being that He could have if He had chosen to, because there's free moral agency.
Heb. 4 talks about the Word of God, about being the most unique book in the world.
Hebrews 4:12: "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword…"
Why is that? A sword can stab you, lop off your head, rip open your guts.
Sidebar: Have you ever seen Forged in Fire? Watch it some night. They have them forge these tremendous swords or other weapons similar to swords, axes and things like this. I'll tell you one thing, warfare back then was a whole lot more bloody than it is today.
They have a manikin that is fixed up like a human being and they take these swords that they make and test them, run the right through. A sword would go right through you and would be a greater wound than a bullet. They hack and chop and lop off heads! When there was war back then it was really a bloody, bloody mess!
The Word of God is living! Jesus said that 'the words that I speak to you are 'Spirit and Life.' It's not just on the paper. The paper tells you what it is, but the Word of God is living because it was spoken by God first, and whenever He speaks it's living!
"…piercing even to the dividing asunder of both soul and spirit, and of both the joints and the marrow, and is able to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart" (v 12).
How many book have you heard of, or ever read, where it says what human nature is like? That the human heart is 'deceitful above all things and desperately wicked' as a true statement. Look at the world! No other book says it that way. No other book tells you how to overcome Satan the devil. There it is right there: "…the thoughts and intents of the heart."
Verse 13: "And there is not a created thing that is not manifest in His sight; but all things are naked and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account."
That's quite an amazing thing! Think about it for a minute. "…there is not a created thing that is not manifest in His sight…"
So, when God looks at us, He can look at us in different forms, I suppose. He can look at us and see all the cells that we're made of. He can look at us and understand exactly what's in our mind. Even Jesus said to the scribes and Pharisees, 'Why are you reasoning in your minds? or Why do you have this evil thought.' So, the power and level of God is greater than us!
"…but all things are naked and laid bare before the eyes of Him to Whom we must give account…. [laid open and everything is there] …Having, therefore, a great High Priest, Who has passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, we should hold fast the confession of our faith. For we do not have a High Priest Who cannot empathize with our weaknesses…" (vs 13-15).
Because we are weak. No man can say, 'I am strong…' Who is the one who said that greater than any other man? Job! The thing is that whenever you do anything that God says to do, you don't take credit for it; you give thanks to God that you could do it!
Don't say that you've been a good boy or girl, 'I keep the Sabbath every week.' God has kept it longer than you and He's the One Who has created it. So, if you keep it every week, that's great. The question is:
- What do you learn?
- How do you live?
"…but One Who was tempted in all things… [each and every thing] …according to the likeness of our own temptations; yet, He was without sin. Therefore, we should come with boldness to the Throne of Grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (v 15-16).
Of course, when is the time of need? Every day! I don't know about you, but that's just the way it is.
- He never yielded once to a temptation of Satan the devil
Since He was God manifested in the flesh, Jesus came to be tempted by Satan when He was a man for 40 days and 40 nights.
Picture this: What if you fasted for seven days? I don't know how long you could last! Some people can't last more than a day and a half or two. But let's just say seven days, and someone came with a big pitcher of ice cold water, and the ice cubes were in there rattling around and the outside of the pitcher was dripping with condensation. He had a glass in his hand and said,
Here take a little sip, it's cool, you need it. Look at you! Look at how much weight you've lost! Your tongue is sticking to the roof of your mouth and your breath smells like terrible rot! Just drink a little water.
That's how Satan comes. He doesn't come march in and saying he's Stan the devil and he's after you. He comes looking really good.
Matt. 4—we've gone over this many times, but let's look at it from the point of view of how important it was the Jesus did not yield one second to Satan, even under the most adverse conditions.
Matthew 4:1: "Then Jesus was led up into the wilderness by the Spirit in order to be tempted by the devil. And when He had fasted for forty days and forty nights, afterwards He was famished. And when the tempter came to Him, he said, 'If… [challenging His very existence] …You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread'" (vs 1-3).
He could have done that, couldn't He? Very simply! Remember when He fed the 4,000 and the 5,000? He asked the blessing on it, and it was just a pittance of food, and every time they would break off the bread it would grow more. Every time they broke a piece of fish off it would be replaced. They fed all of them and then gathered in the baskets of the fragments afterward.
So, Jesus had the power to do it! But He didn't rely on any power of His own to do so, because this was the greatest temptation for Him as the Savior of the world. Notice what His answer was, and this is what it has to be with us.
Verse 4: "But He answered and said, 'It is written, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."'" That's our answer! Same thing for us!
Verse 5: "Then the devil took Him to the Holy city and set Him upon the edge of the temple, and said to Him, 'If You are the Son of God, cast Yourself down; for it is written… [Satan quote Scripture, and He quotes it pretty accurately] …"He shall give His angels charge concerning You, and they shall bear You up in their hands, lest You strike Your foot against a stone."' Jesus said to him, 'Again, it is written…'" (vs 5-7).
The defense that we have is the Word of God and the Spirit of God. The Word of God is Spirit and Life, and combined together that gives us the strength to resist. So, when Satan comes around he's looking for the little weakness.
"…'You shall not tempt the Lord your God.' After that, the devil took Him to an exceedingly high mountain, and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory" (vs 7-8).
What was the promise of Jesus' Kingdom? The whole world! Satan is coming and saying, 'It was given to me and I'll give it to you.'
Verse 9: "And said to Him, 'All these things will I give You, if You will fall down and worship me.'"
Satan wants to be worshipped as 'God.' Think about how many people do that! Well, you take it this way:
How many people gamble thinking they're thinking that they're going to win a whole lot of money? But they lose and they still gamble! They have a little pittance of winning. But Satan has it worked out just like all the slot machines and the gambling joints you lose! The only ones who win will be those who will advertise how good it is to come there, because you're going to win. Satan let's you have some success if you worship him. Notice what Jesus said:
Verse 10: "Then Jesus said to him, 'Be gone, Satan! For it is written…'"
Counter with words; it is the Word of God! That's where He started in v 4, every word of God!
"…You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him alone shall you serve" (v 10).
This is referring to Himself and to all human beings, because Satan won't worship God. That's not preaching to Satan, 'Satan, you be a good little boy and worship God.' He isn't going to do it!
Let's see that Satan is there to tempt us! We know that he appears as an angel of light. We know that he comes to bring something to add to the Word of God. Always does!
1-Peter 5:6: "Be humbled, therefore, under the mighty hand of God…" When we:
- use the Word of God
- trust the Word of God
- use the Spirit of God
- believe in God
Then we are under the mighty hand of God!
"…so that He may exalt you in due time; casting all your cares upon Him, because He cares for you" (vs 6-7). He loves you!
Verse 8: "Be sober! Be vigilant! For your adversary the devil is prowling about as a roaring lion, seeking anyone he may devour. Whom resist… [jut like Jesus did] …steadfast in the faith… [in the faith and Word of God] …knowing that the same afflictions are being fulfilled among your brethren who are in the world" (vs 8-9).
Now, here is a promise, v 10. So, if you're in a difficult circumstance and it's hard to figure out what's going on, draw close to God! Regardless of how severe the trial may be, there is help coming, always coming, and many times not in the way that you would think! But it always comes!
Verse 10: "Now, may the God of all grace, Who has called us unto His eternal glory in Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while…" Those suffering are tests!
How do you know you have faith unless you're tested and have to make a choice between right and wrong? good and evil? You never know!
"…Himself… [God Himself] …perfect you… [that's what the whole thing is about with the upcoming days of Unleavened Bread after the Passover] …establish, strengthen, and settle you" (v 10).
The "…settle you…" also is very important. That means that you're established in the faith firmly! That's why Jesus had to go through everything that He did. So, He resisted all the temptations of Satan the devil.
Review:
- He's Creator
- He's the only Begotten Son
- He's God manifested in the flesh
- He always did the will of God
- He never sinned
- He never yielded to a temptation of Satan the devil
- He never came under the penalty of death for sin
He came under the penalty of death by choice to pay for sin. So, let's see some of the things that He went through. Let's see the prophecies of these. Isa. 53 is quite a chapter. Remember that Jesus asked the scribes and Pharisees, 'Why don't you believe Me, because it was written of Me?' After the crucifixion they should have understood it.
Without the New Testament to give us the understanding how this was fulfilled, those who read this couldn't understand it. How is this going to be?
Isaiah 53:1: "Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?"
Then it talks about the life of Christ, and gives us a clue about it.
Verse 2: "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; He has no form nor comeliness that we should look upon Him, nor beauty that we should desire Him."
Isa 50:4-5 are talking about how God the Father taught Jesus:
Isaiah 50:4: "The Lord GOD has given Me the tongue of the learned, to know to help the weary with a word. He awakens Me morning by morning, He awakens My ear to hear as one being taught."
Jesus never went to any of the synagogues and was never taught by any of the rabbis; He was taught by God the Father!
- What would the rabbis teach Him? The lies of their traditions!
- Are you going to send the Son of God to learn from liars? No! You're going to learn directly from God!
So, They had communication all the time!
Verse 5: "The Lord GOD has opened My ear, and I was not rebellious, nor turned away backwards."
Notice how the next verse is written, because this will take us back to Isa. 53. This is important, because in the Old Testament this is a perfect example:
Verses 4-5 was Jesus' childhood and growing up and that he was taught by God the Father. Then vs 6-7 is when He was being beaten after He was arrested. So, a whole lifetime between v 5 and v 6.
Verse 6: "I gave My back to the smiters, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I did not hide My face from shame and spitting, for the Lord GOD will help Me; therefore, I have not been disgraced. On account of this I have set My face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed" (vs 6-7).
That's how Jesus endured everything He went through. It's good for us!
Isaiah 53:3: "He is despised…" He had to go through all of these things because of how many people are despised! He had to pay for that sin.
"…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."
- you ever been despised?
- Have you ever been hated?
- Have you ever been looked down upon?
Sure! Don't worry about it! 'If God is for you, who can be against you?' Keep that in mind. Notice what else to become the perfect sacrifice.
Verse 4: "Surely He has borne our infirmities, and carried our sorrows; yet, we esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted."
But that wasn't the case. Not that He was taking this because of what He did, but because of what wedid!
Verse 5: "But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we ourselves are healed."
Here's what's going to happen afterward; Isaiah 52:13: "Behold, My Servant shall rule well; He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high."
That's talking about when He takes over the Kingdom. But then it goes back to the time of the crucifixion:
Verse 14: "Many were astonished at Him—for His body was so disfigured—even His form beyond that of the sons of men."
So, the beating and scourging that He took was absolutely incredible!
Verse 15: "So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths because of Him; for they will see that which was not told to them; yea, what they had not heard, shall they consider."
All of this together. There are other Psalms and things that tell us some of the things that Jesus thought and said, which are quite amazing really.
Isaiah 53:5: "But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon Him…"
All of this means that it was so that we could have peace with God. Think about all the Epistles of Paul, the words love, peace and faith are always mentioned in the introduction.
"…and with His stripes we ourselves are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned each one to his own way…" (vs 5-6).
We all use our human nature to go and do what we think is right.
"…and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (v 6)—each and every human being!
Verse 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 its shearers is dumb, so He opened not His mouth" Study that, read that and go over what He went through:
- so that we can have peace with God
- so that we can have eternal life
- so that He could pay for the sins of all mankind
Verse 8: "By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and with His generation who did consider that He was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgression of My people He was stricken."
He willingly laid His life down! Talk about love! When those of you who have children, you love your children and you want to do the best for them. Same way with God! But look at what human beings have done to human beings. How is that sin going to be paid for? By having the One Who was God come in the flesh as a human being, grow up as a human being and then be offered as the perfect sacrifice for our sins! Then have it so that we come to Christ and we say, 'O Lord God, forgive me for my sins! Forgive me for this.' And we're forgiven! Think of that! That's quite a thing!
Verse 9: "And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; although He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth."
Think about that the next time you have some deceit rolling around in your brain, because it will come!
Verse 10: "Yet, the LORD willed to crush Him and He has put Him to grief: You shall make His life an offering for sin. He shall see His seed… [we saw that, the children of God] …He shall prolong His days…" How? By the resurrection from the dead!
Notice that all of this comes down to this next sentence and answers the question partly: What is God doing?
"…and that the purpose of the LORD might prosper in His hand" (v 10). The purpose of the Lord for each one of us. God knows!
Verse 11: "He shall see of the travail of His soul…. [His whole living body ] …He… [God the Father] …shall be fully satisfied. By His knowledge shall My righteous Servant justify many; and He shall bear their iniquities."
You talk about a tremendous thing that God has done through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. He says, 'I will remove all of your sins.' All of them!
Verse 12: "Therefore, I will divide to Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He has poured out His soul to death; and He was counted among the transgressors; and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors."
That's quite a thing that Christ has done! That's what it means for Christ to bear the sins of the world so that we can come to God! That's why we need to know these things so we can believe them. We're almost 2,000 years removed from when He died.
- to believe that
- to believe that that occurred
- to believe what is in the Bible is true
- to believe that salvation comes only from God the Father and Jesus Christ
- to believe that salvation comes only through the words of God
That's why we have the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread every year! That's why it says in
1:Corinthians 5:7: "…For Christ our Passover was sacrificed for us"—each one of us individually!
That shows you the great love of God!
Scriptural References:
- John 3:16-21
- Hebrews 10:4-5, 9-10
- John 1:1-2
- Romans 5:6-12
- Romans 8:6-7
- John 1:29
- John 10:11-14, 16-18
- 1 Timothy 3:16
- Luke 22:40-44
- John 12:44-50
- John 5:30, 36-38
- John 3:31-34
- Hebrews 2:6-16
- Galatians 3:29
- Hebrews 2:17-18
- Hebrews 4:12-16
- Matthew 4:1-10
- 1 Peter 5:6-10
- Isaiah 53:1-2
- Isaiah 50:4-7
- Isaiah 53:3-5
- Isaiah 52:13-15
- Isaiah 53:5-12
- 1 Corinthians 5:7
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- Psalm 8
- Romans 15
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 3/10/21
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