Stand in Awe of the Cross 1

 

Stand in Awe of the Cross 1

Isaiah 53:4-7

 

Theme: The Suffering Servant is the Substitutionary Sacrificial Atonement of Jehovah for all our sin—Christ willingly died in our place.

Over the years there have been a few things I mistakenly described as ‘awesome.’ I recall as a young man watching an NBA slam dunk contest featuring people like Clyde the Glide Drexler and Michael Jordan. That day I witnessed Michel Jordan flying from the free throw line to slam a basketball. At the time I was utterly amazed and exclaimed, “That was awesome!” Since those days, the Lord has greatly edited and upgraded my value system to appreciate far more significant feats in differing categories of “awesome”.

“Awesome” means awe-inspiring, extremely impressive, splendid, remarkable, amazing, inspiring great admiration, excellent, and overwhelming. Viewing Christ’s Cross as awesome is the direct opposite of esteeming Christ “stricken, smitten of God and afflicted” (Isa. 53:4). Dr. Walvoord explains, “When Jesus was crucified, Israel thought His hardships were deserved for His supposedly having blasphemed God. Actually He was bearing the judgment that their sin required.” Like so many others, Israel failed to see the atoning value of Christ’s blood sacrifice to God and us.

Many today still view the Cross of Christ as unfortunate, Jesus' punishment, a mistake, or an accident! They say Jesus, the misguided teacher, got Himself crossways with the religious establishment and Roman authorities, which resulted in His premature and meaningless death.

But this is not the picture that Isaiah or the rest of the Bible present of the death of Jesus Christ. Isaiah envisioned the day when Israel as a nation will repent recognizing the truth that Christ’s Cross was for the sins of Israel and the world! Note his great profoundly prophetic words,

      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 every one to his own way;

      And the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

     (Isa. 53:4-6).

Isaiah predicted the Messiah’s death would be for “our transgressions,” “our iniquities” and “the iniquities of us all” (Isa. 53:5, 6). The Suffering Servant was undeniably the Substitutionary Sacrificial Atonement of Jehovah for all sin—Christ willingly died in our place; though sinless, he was punished for our sins that we might be free!

Message: So Why Should We Stand in Awe of the Cross of Christ? What do the Scriptures say?

I.               Christ’s Cross is Clearly Our Substitutionary Sacrifice for Our Sins!

The Prophet Isaiah is not alone in this colossal declaration!

A.    The Apostle Paul exclaimed in Galatians 6:14….

1.     Gal. 6:14, “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.” Again, in First Corinthians 2:2, he asserted, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified.” Evidently the apostle views the Cross of Christ as something to rejoice in, glory in, trust in, cherish, and proclaim for the salvation of us sinners!

2.     Yes, Christ’s Cross is “awesome” in the extreme, because on that occasion God the Son voluntarily took the complete punishment for all sinners!

a.      That is correct; God the Son willingly took responsibility for all sin for all time that day on Calvary. God the Father held the Son completely responsible for all sin and poured out His unmitigated wrath on the Son until He was fully propitiated (1 Jn. 2:1, 2) in our stead.

b.     As New Testament Believers, we do not rejoice in our works to earn salvation; no, we rejoice and glory in the finished work of Christ at Calvary! We are saved by God’s pure grace alone (Eph. 2:8, 9)—Hallelujah!!! This is “Awesome!”

B.    God says Repeatedly that Christ is our Sacrificial Substitute!

1.     If God only indicated this once it would demand our attention, but he repeated and echoed himself time and again to ensure we do not miss this emphasis of Jesus as our substitutionary sacrifice!

2.     Now when I played high school football, I played the position of “Left Bench”.… I was not even on the second-string as a player. Our team was that good, and I was that bad! When the coach had no more options, he would finally put me in a game. Usually when we were way ahead of a team and defiantly winning the game. With some fear and reservation…I am sure. So, I was a legitimate substitute. But, in me the coach got the worst performance; however, in Jesus Christ, God secured the best Substitute for you and me. Now consider these statements.

3.     1 Peter 2:24, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. 

4.     1 Cor. 5:7, For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:

5.     John 1:29, The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.

6.     1John 2:2, And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Bible emphasized this fact repeatedly! Unfortunately, many misguided individuals have wrongly concluded that the death of Jesus Christ was his punishment for his political infractions or an unfortunate mistake altogether. No, Isaiah says Christ sacrifice was for us (Isa. 53:4). But, the Scriptures insist it was neither. It was NOT an accident, God Himself planned for the payment of sin before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4 & 5)!  

C.    Consider Christ’s Cross as God’s awesome plan to provide a Substitute to pay for our sins (Isa. 53:4)! Christ’s death was NOT a waste of life. Christ was crucified that sinners might be saved through His suffering and shed blood. Down through the centuries millions of repentant souls have believed on Him as Savior and Lord becoming His genuine followers. Perhaps the best thing to do is adopt the view of the Scriptures regarding the significance of Jesus’ death at Calvary.

 

II.            Christ’s Cross is the Clarification of Man’s Problem and God’s Solution (Isa. 53:4-6) 

We truly are sinful fallen creatures and Christ’s death was indeed the payment for our sins against a holy God! I believe we all agree on this. Our problem is sin and the solution is the Savior, Jesus Christ! Since the Cross is truly redemptive/substitutionary, we should stand in awe of it! But what would that “stand” look like today? What do we “Stand” for?

A.    Since Christ’s Death is Substitutionary, we Stand for the fact that any sinner who repents and believes the Gospel of Christ will be saved (Jn. 3:16; 1:29; 1Jn. 2:2).

B.    Since Christ’s Death is Substitutionary, we Stand for the exclusion of all religious rituals and worldly religious systems as the means of salvation (Gal. 6:14; Tit. 3:5). Jesus is not only “awesome,” he is enough any where on the entire planet. Take the message to the world (Mat. 28:18-20; Luk. 24:44-49).

C.    Since Christ’s Death is Substitutionary, we Stand for the truth that believers are truly New Creations in Christ, not merely reformed (Gal. 6:15; 2:20).

                                                1.     What really counts with God is a new creation (2 Cor. 5:17). He wants to see the transformed life.

                                                2.     Findlay writes: “The true Christianity is that which turns bad men into good, which transforms the slaves of sin into sons of God.”  

                                                3.     A life of holiness is produced, not by the observance of ritual, but by yielding to Christ and permitting Him to live His life in the believer. The new creation is not an improvement of or addition to the old, but something entirely different. –MacDonald, William

D.    Since Christ’s Death is Substitutionary, we Stand for Victory over Sin for all believers as a way of life (Rom. 6:4-6). “Know,” “reckon, “yield,” and “serve” (Rom. 6:1-23); through our identification and union with the victorious risen Christ, we have victory. We are free from the dominance and enslavement to sin and free to serve the Lord God with our being!

We have looked at the sacrificial substitutionary atoning value of the death of Jesus Christ! I challenge you to view the Cross of Christ as redemptive/substitutionary, not a waist, and therefore profoundly awesome because God the Son died for our sins. He redeemed us unto Himself and an eternal destiny of hope and life with God the Father. Therefore, the Cross of Christ is compelling and demands a Cross-centered and Cross-saturated lifestyle. This relates to our salvation, victory over sin, our service, and our message to the world.

Conclusion:

In light of the Scriptures, there is but one legitimate view of the Cross of Christ—it is redemptive and substitutionary. It was not a waist! In fact, Christ’s died for our sins (Isaiah 53:4-7) that we might live forever with God. That is the purpose. Beloved, that is supremely awesome!!

When Ray Stedman pastored the Peninsula Bible Church in Palo Alto, California, he told the following story in a sermon based on the early verses of Hebrews 10: “I was born on the windswept plains of North Dakota. I remember as a boy sometimes seeing at night the flames of a prairie fire lighting the horizon, sweeping across the grass of those prairies. Such prairie fires were terrible threats to the pioneers who crossed the plains in their covered wagons. Often these fires would burn for miles and miles, threatening everything in their path.

“When they would see such a fire coming toward them, driven before the wind, they had a device they would use to protect themselves. They would simply light another fire and the wind would catch it up and drive it on beyond them and then they would get in the burned-over place and when the fire coming toward them reached it, it found nothing to burn and went out.

“God is saying that the cross of Jesus Christ is such a burned over place. Those who trust in it, and rest in the judgment that has already been visited upon it, have no other judgment to face.” Ray Stedman, What More Can God Say? (Glendale, CA: Regal Books, 1974)

The Cross Points to the Fact that there is a Savior! As the little chorus goes, “He paid a debt He did not owe, we owed a debt we could not pay.” We have one hope: Salvation through Jesus Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as our Substitute, Redemption, and Forgiveness of sin. Turn from your unbelief, rejection of God, freestyle living, and self-willfulness and trust Christ the Savior. Oh dear friend, turn from your wicked ways and turn to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord today. He promised to save whoever will repent and believe on Him (John 3; Rom. 10:8-13). No, Christ’s life was not meaningless. His Sacrifice was not the futile eruption of an overzealous optimist. He is God, who came to earth and became a man to die in our place for our sins. Because of that, we can know God and be with Him forever. How wonderful! What words can we use to say “Thank You” to God? What can we do to show our appreciation? Giving back to Him the life we owe is the only measure complete enough.