I want you to turn with me in
your Bibles to 1 Peter 1, verse 17. I'm going to read verse 17
through 21. I thought my elder was going
to read the whole portions of Scripture there, but he bailed
out on me. I've gotten used to not having
to read the text of Scripture. I don't know about you, but it's
work. having to stand in front of a bunch of scary-looking people
and have to read 20 and 30 verses and try to keep your focus. So
I'll pray for him when he's up here reading. But I want to at
least establish one context before I cast your thoughts for tonight
on the most germane and sublime subject we can consider I think I will start. I think I'll start at verse 17
and go through 21, as I said, listen to the reading of God's
word. And if you call on the father. Who, without respect
of persons, judges according to every man's work. Past the
time of your sojourning here in fear. It's reverence. It's respect and love for God,
knowing that you've got to meet Him one day. For as much as you
know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things as silver
and gold from your vain or empty or useless or futile lifestyle
received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious
blood of Christ as of a lamb without blemish and without spot,
who verily was ordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you, who by Him do
believe in God, who raised Him up from the dead and gave Him
glory, that your faith and your hope might be in God. Thus is the reading of the Scriptures.
The title of our message tonight is Without Spot and Blemish. Without Spot and Blemish. Now
we've been learning that God uses animals all through the
Scriptures to serve Him in His providential purposes Redemptive
scheme and in the overall service of mankind and you and I are
blessed by the Subordination and submission of the animals
to the rulership and lordship of mankind if you and I are obviously
Echoing something we talked about on Sunday because the Lord used
a fish To help our brother get back into the will of God, didn't
he? but if you and I were to Think about all the animals that
God uses to bless you and I. We would be grateful for that
availability in our lives. Yes, man has the ability through
technology and synthetic wisdom to create things and produce
things that are not generally out of the earth or coming from
animal parts. But for the most part, we still
have a high regard and need for the animals. And there are a
lot of animals in the Bible of which if you took your time to
examine them, you will see how they not only serve men, but
they point to certain majestic qualities and characteristics
of God that's worth our noting. After all, you and I need those
kind of tutors to help us comprehend a God that is too perfect for
us to conceive. But there's an animal in the
scripture that I want to call your attention to, which runs
the full scope of God's eternal purpose from eternity past to
eternity future. This one animal has served God
as a mediator between God and man to help man understand something
about the nature of God. This one animal has served God
and has served man to help man understand how sinful he is. How absolutely sinful we are. And how holy God is this one
animal has served the whole human race to point to the holiness
of God in the utter depravity and sinfulness of man. Over and
over and over and over and over and over Again, this one animal
has served in a enormous and tremendous way to help us understand
something about redemption. Now, the animal of which I'm
speaking, ladies and gentlemen, is the lamb. The lamb. The lamb. I want us to appreciate
something about the lamb. Tonight. And I'm talking about
the lamb. of God. You know what a lamb
is? A little bitty thing. The youth,
the tender youth and offspring, the ewe of a sheep, the baby
sheep. He's a small, tender thing. The lamb, the lamb, the lamb. And this lamb has been used all
over the world by every nation you can imagine. at their availability,
at their bequest, at their use, at their abuse. And yet this
Lamb that we find everywhere in the world is an office of
Jesus Christ. And He's an office of Christ
with respect to our finding our way back to God through Him and
this characteristic and attributes of a lamb, a tender, submissive,
quiet, docile, subject, helpless, creature, non-resistant. He's mild and he's totally compliant,
the lamb. You can take a lamb and pick
him up and carry him away and he will nary holler or scream
or raise his voice. A lamb is completely helpless
in that regard. Completely compliant, completely
subject, completely helpless, totally meek. And our Lord manifested
these attributes all the way through his ministry with the
exception of one or two times he stepped out of character to
let folks know he's still God. But what I want you and I to
do is appreciate the metaphor and the analogy of the lamb,
the lamb, the lamb. And I'm talking about the lamb
of God. And notice how Peter puts it
over in verse 19. You were not redeemed with corruptible
things as silver and gold from your empty lifestyle, but you
were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, here it is,
as of a lamb without spot, without blemish. Point number one in
your outline, God's spotless lamb. Have you ever thought about
a thing being spotless, without blemish, flawless, impeccable? Perfect. Carrying all of the
impeccable qualities and attributes necessary to serve God in the
most intimate way. This is who Jesus Christ is as
the lamb of God. And when we think about the ubiquitous
nature of the lamb, as I said, he's everywhere in the world
found serviceable to all men everywhere. It tells us something
about the availability of God to us. Only it ought to humble
us because just as available as that little lamb is to our
needs everywhere and isn't lamb good to eat So it's God I Want
you to stay with me now I'm talking about this in infinite being
called God and all of his glorious attributes and Perfections that
would blow us away if we were ever confronted with just just
a small portion of his glory Has made himself available to
us the metaphor of a lamb it's a lot for us to learn there isn't
it from eternity past in your outline we talk about protology
and soteriology and eschatology do you know the lamb of god was
an attribute designated to christ in the office of mediator before
the world began did you know that did you know that before
god created the universe He himself, through his son Jesus Christ,
took on the role of mediator in a covenant of redemption and
salvation by which Jesus Christ would be for us, according to
Revelation 13, 8, the Lamb of God slain from before the foundation
of the world. Do you know there was a Lamb
before there was a world? A Lamb before there was a universe?
A Lamb before there was anything but God? a lamb God had prepared
before the world began. Now, this is the idea of the
doctrine of things before creation. What does this signify for us
in relationship to the God who has loved us and gave himself
for us? It means that before God created the universe, do
you know what he did? He secured the eternal destiny
of every one of his people in a covenant of redemption by having
his son take on the mediatorial role of the one who would shed
his blood to secure our eternity. Before he made the world, before
he created the universe, in the eyes of the triune God, the Son
of God was the Lamb. The Lamb. And God said, let's
make this world now. Let's start this thing. Let's
get this thing going. I have a Lamb who can actually
do two things. Help man understand how sinful
he is. and help him understand how holy
God is. That's the lamb. Now you and
I are far removed from the emotional and psychological challenges
we have with taking a little lamb and slitting its throat
and taking its life for our needs. But everyone who has done so
understands the battle that that ensues. beauty of the God of
glory that he would take on the office of being the Lamb of God
that takes away the sin of the world. This spotless Lamb of
God existed before eternity, enters into time and space as
we know it, and works through history in order to perpetuate
God's redemptive plan. Listen, every time man messes
up, A lamb has to show up. Every time man messes up, a lamb
has to show up. We know this because we see a
lamb early on in the history of mankind. Our first parents
fell into sin and transgression. And if it wasn't for the lamb
slain before the foundation of the world, typified in the lamb
slain for their sins to cover their nakedness, cover their
transgressions and give them a temporary covering until the
lamb of God came, where would we be? See, the Lamb has made
Himself available for us. Glorious concept, the Lamb is. And yet I am talking not only
about the Lamb, I'm talking about a spotless, without blemish,
Lamb. As you run through the Old Testament,
you see the lamb in every sacrifice, every sacrifice that had to be
offered. It had to be offered up with regards to man's sinfulness,
his rebellion against God, his breaking God's law. If he were
to have fellowship or restore fellowship with himself before
God, a lamb would have to be offered up. You remember that
great, great notable day that corresponds to what we are now
presently observing as Passover. Back in the year 1500 BC, when
Moses was instructed by God to tell the children of Israel tonight,
I'm going to set you free. But what is going to require
is you having prepared a lamb. Exodus chapter 12, verse five.
And this lamb that you are to prepare is to be without spot
and without blemish. And this lamb was to be slaughtered
in his blood was to be put on the doorpost of every household.
And if a household was too poor to have a lamb, two houses could
come together. This is how serious God was about
making sure you and I understood the precious blood of the lamb. Because it would be through the
blood of the lamb that God would deliver Israel out of Egypt. Powerful, I guarantee you that
night, National Israel entered into a great and deep deep and
profound contemplation of this land Then 1,500 years later John
the Baptist points out and says behold the Lamb of God that takes
away the sin of the world and And for three and a half years,
the Lamb of God occupied and exercised an office of preaching
and teaching and healing, fulfilling His role as Messiah. And when
the appointed time came, everybody turned against the Lamb. Where He had been prophesied
that He would be turned against, all the way going back to the
Exodus 12 account. When God told Israel through
Moses to slay the lamb, he was telling Israel, you're going
to kill the Messiah. And every time they slaughtered a lamb,
they were prophesying that they would kill the Messiah. And finally,
God's lamb comes into the world, God's precious lamb, God's spotless
lamb comes into the world and we have a night like no other
night in human history. The night Our master, savior,
and God was put to death. The night the master was put
to death, ladies and gentlemen, 1980 years ago, the conscience
of all the men present at that time who saw it, who participated,
who gave consent to the death of the Lamb of God was in turmoil.
Every conscience was in turmoil. When you read the narrative of
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, this night was a crisis of conscience. They were in turmoil. Every man
was in turmoil because within them they were struggling with
this reality. They were killing and cursing
a man who was innocent as a lamb and guilty at the same time.
They struggled in their conscience. They struggled in their conscious
as one ought struggle in their conscious. When you have to put
to death someone who is innocent, they struggled in their conscience.
Think about it. Remember pilot? He labored hard
to extricate himself from this deed that the Jews were bent
on doing. He said three times, I find no
fault with this man. Why would you have him to be
put to death? I find no fault. I am the representative
of the legal court in Rome, and we look upon him, we've examined
him, and he is without fault. And yet Pilate could not let
him go. He struggled, struggled. You know who else struggled that
night? Judas Iscariot struggled. Judas Iscariot struggled because
he sold Christ out. He couldn't understand this movement,
this flow, this tenor, this trend of a whole group of people, listen,
unilaterally in agreement to kill. this innocent man. But
he was a part of it. He initiated. He pointed out
where Jesus was. He purchased the death of Christ
for 30 pieces of silver. And he engaged in hunting Christ
down after he had left the Garden of Gethsemane. He said there
He is. And in fact, he even kissed Him. And after the Son of Man
said to Him, Friend, Friend, do You betray the Son of Man
with a kiss? Judas struggled because internally
his conscious was very much aware that he was putting an innocent
man to death. In fact, this is what he said
when he went back in and returned the money. He says, I have I
have shared. Watch this. The blood of the
innocent one. You know, he struggled. That
night he struggled, but guess who else struggled? The disciples
struggled. Now it's one thing for this apparent
group of bloodthirsty religious people who did not want to have
their skirts lifted to get rid of a righteous man. They had
killed all the prophets up to this one. Get rid of him. It's one thing for them to do
that. It's one thing for a vile Depraved roman government that
could care really a little about a group of religious zealots
in the jewish community get rid of him and that's one less Individual
as it were vying for the throne of caesars. It's one thing for
him To say all right, i'll give him to you and he washes his
hand at least it's another thing for the lambs own disciples To
join in full consent with the angry mob and the careless leader
of the Roman Empire in saying, watch this now, I don't know
him, I don't know the man. This is profound because see
what's actually taking place whether you comprehend this dilemma
or not is this, that the precise event that took place 1980 years
ago In the year A.D. 33, around the
month April, on what we call the day of Passover, was explicitly
the determinant counsel and foreknowledge of God Almighty. God, before
the world began, ordained the day where everyone would forsake
Him. That's the psalm. All have forsaken
Me. All have forsaken Me. Isaiah
made it very clear. And of the people, there were
none with Me. God looks around to see if any would help. None.
They had all scattered. In fact, Zachariah put it this
way. Smite the shepherd and the sheep shall be scattered. This
night, the Lamb of God was left alone. To darkness and hatred
and hostility, and if you and I were there, we would have done
the same thing. This was God's will. This was
God's will. in the life of God's Son on the
behalf of sinners like you and I, for the Lamb of God to be
put to death. This is why we love Him, don't
we? We love him because he first loved us. Don't we love him because
he first loved us? And herein is love, not that
we love you, but that you loved us and gave your son a propitiation
for our sins. See, the man or the woman that
contemplates this sacrificial love of God deeply and profoundly
is going to enter into the kind of comfort that will deliver
your soul from your sin. When you understand enormity
of the sacrifice of Christ for your soul and you understand
that it didn't start when he looked on you it started before
the world began it was secured in the three persons of the glorious
Godhead before the world began father son and Holy Spirit as
we shall see all agreed to set me free through the suffering
of his darling son he would give him up that we all might be one
who trust in Christ and and look to God for salvation by grace
through faith alone, a work that God purposed before he created
anything, and then in time would suffer his son to come under
this wrath, a wrath that would expose us to two realities, how
holy God is, how holy God is, and how sinful we are. This is
why you park it at Calvary. You park at Calvary. The whole
human race should park at Calvary. Pause at Calvary. Stop at Calvary. Contemplate Calvary. Because
in Calvary is the mystery of redemption revealed to us if
we can reconcile the holiness of God with sinful creatures. But this lamb that we are talking
about being betrayed by the whole world, including you and I, had
we been there, was betrayed for this very reason. He was the
spotless lamb of God. You guys got that? He was the
spotless lamb of God. See, Peter didn't simply say,
you must know that you were not redeemed with corruptible things
as silver and gold, but with the what? Precious blood of Christ,
Not as of a lamb, but as of a lamb without blemish and without spot.
I submit to you that Jesus Christ was the only one in the universe
qualified to fit this particular appellation. Will you think with
me for a moment? Can you even contemplate what
it means to be without spot or blemish? Sinless, morally perfect,
spiritually Perfect totally and completely in full conformity
to all of God's holy law now watch this all the time In complete
complicity to the will of God in every aspect never once at
one time Demonstrating the potential of a blemish or a spot in disobedience
and rebellion towards God this one man out of all the human
beings in the universe is fit the qualification of the lamb
without spot and blemish because he was always obedient to his
father. Always. Now watch this. He was
not only obedient in time, he was obedient in eternity. Before
he assumed a human nature, which is what is meant for him to be
the lamb, he loved his father. And his father loved him and
they were in complete compliance with each other from eternity
past. This is what we call the obedience of Christ. In fact,
it was his obedience to the will of God that he assumed our nature,
our humanity. What act of obedience? And then
it was still his obedience yet to finally in time leave the
realm of glory and take on a human nature. so that he would actually
now accomplish eternal redemption for people like you and I. That
took obedience. I don't know if I would leave
glory to come down here for you. It took obedience. Are you hearing
what I'm saying? And then it not only took obedience,
it took the kind of obedience that wrapped itself up in absolute
condescending love. So you're talking about going
from being a majestic God to being a lamb, vulnerable. to
the vile, wicked behaviors of the very subjects. You're talking
about delivering. I took obedience. There is, as
we'll see in a moment, a corresponding obedience between all three in
this. But for right now, you and I are to be amazed that God
the Son would take on a human nature. See, He's called the
Lamb of God. The Father loves Him, doesn't
He? The Lamb of God. He is God's Lamb, but He is God
the Lamb. And He is the Lamb of God for
us who trust Him. You got that? He's the Lamb of
God. He's God's Lamb. He's God the
Lamb. And He's the Lamb of God for
us that trust Him. And guess what? When He went
back to glory, He continued to be the Lamb. He never ceases
to be the Lamb. You read the last book of the
Bible, which is the unfolding of the revelation of Jesus Christ.
And you know what you read in the last chapter of the last
book? And I beheld the throne of God and of the Lamb. The Lamb. He closes out eternity as our
time as we know it and ushers in eternity as the Lamb of God. Glorious. Glorious. And if you
can't get anything out of the message, what I want you to do
is take away the characteristics and attributes of the conqueror
of the universe when he took on the likeness of a lamb, humbled
himself, and bore those attributes in order to deliver you and I.
He was a Perfect spotless love and you know what he did as he
goes through the Old Testament the Old Testament serves as a
model of prophecies and pictures and patterns of Christ Like I
said, you can't go through Genesis and Exodus and Leviticus and
Numbers and Deuteronomy You can't go anywhere in the scriptures
where they aren't soon offering up a lamb But you know what the
law said and Leviticus chapter 1 and Leviticus 22 21 that lamb
that you offer up must be perfect You got that perfect Perfect
See you and I that's what we have to stop because the whole
reality of the efficacy of God's atoning work for our sins is
based on Christ being perfect This is why I am calling your
attention to the spotless Lamb of God without spot Is the language
and the sacrifice that is to be offered up will only be accepted
Leviticus 22 21 and if it is perfect, if it is perfect. And do you remember what our
Lord did throughout the course of his ministry? He would say
things several times of which only he could say. I don't think
you and I could say it unless we are delusional. Let me call
your attention to these things that are exclusive to Jesus.
He said, which of you, John chapter eight, verse 46, can convince
me of sin? Do you understand how bold that
statement is? He was talking to the lawyers,
the scribes, the ones who spent all their life looking at sin
under that covenant of works, trying to determine what's right
and what's wrong. They were the ones with the magnifying glass
looking for sinners. Christ said, which of you can
convince me of sin? You and I better never ever begin
to approach that proposition as applying to ourselves. Stay
with me now. I'm talking to you about the
spotless lamb of God. He declared his own impeccable
righteousness and perfect obedience publicly. He was the one that
said in John chapter eight as well, around verse 26 or so,
I always do those things that please him. That's amazing. I don't even always do those
things that please me. What I am talking to you about
is the spotless Lamb of God essential to our next thought. And the
Bible records this spotless Lamb of God, ladies and gentlemen,
this way. In 2 Corinthians chapter 5, verses
19 through 21, God was in the world, reconciling the world
unto itself, not imputing its trespasses unto them, beseeching
them to be reconciled unto God. And you know what they said concerning
Christ? He knew no sin he was never acquainted with sin sin
and christ this lamb without spot and blemish were incompatible
totally incompatible you got that the new testament writers
under inspiration of the spirit said this lamb was without spot
and blemish he knew no sin you know what peter said in first
peter chapter two peter said watch this He did no sin. The testimony of the Spirit in
Peter was this, that Christ not only was never acquainted with
sin because of his nature, because of his character, because of
the quality of his work, because of who he was and because of
something else we shall see, but he never ever once did it.
Well, it stands to reason if he didn't know it, he wouldn't
do it. All you and I ever do is sin by nature. If God puts
the magnifying glass on us, we're doing sin but the narrative of
the inspired writers was he knew no sin and he did no sin and
you know what John said in first John chapter 3 around verse 3
you know what he said watch it and in him is no sin at all and
what that means is Christ never in himself at one time entertained
a speck of transgression and sin That's why the God of glory
said, without spot and without blemish is this lamb. Isn't that good? Isn't that good?
Now, I know this is alien to you and I, but there must be
one person in the universe who bears that quality and it's Christ. And by the way, watch this. It
was for this very reason that God could make him our sin bearer.
If Christ were not perfect, if he were not impeccable, if he
were not righteous, if he were not the one with whom there was
never ever any sin acquainted, practiced, thought, meditated
upon in eternity past, in time present, in his human nature,
after death, his ascension to glory, being seated at the right
hand of God, running this universe even now, God could never use
him. and you and I could not be redeemed.
For when God says He knew no sin, He was speaking from an
eternal perspective. You got that? For all eternity
it will forever be true that Christ is the spotless Lamb of
God. But it's for this very reason
the writer in the book of Isaiah chapter 53 Verse 7 says, and
like a lamb led to the slaughter, yet opened not he his mouth. Sheep led to his shearers. He
subjected himself to his father's will. And it also says in Isaiah
53, around verse 9, because there was no guile found in his mouth,
he was taken to judgment. Because there was no guile found
in him. He was the one now qualified to be taken into judgment. Can
you imagine that? Because he was sinless. Because
there was no guile in him. Because he was without sin in
every way. He now is the one taken. You
got it? He's taken. Why was he taken
almost 2,000 years ago? Because he was the spotless Lamb
of God. Why did God, as it were, forsake him when he hung on that
cross? My God, my God, my God, why have
you forsaken me? Because he was the spotless lamb
of God. Why did the world rush to destroy
him? The only human being in the world
that could love us perfectly because he was the spotless lamb
of God. See, his love was perfect and
we can't stand perfection. We can't stand perfect righteousness. We can't stand a glory of God
that is without any of this fallenness that you and I did. I'm telling
you the truth. You can't stand it in your fallen nature. We
can't stand it. He's too glorious. We had to get rid of him. We
love our iniquity and we love our transgressions. And guess
what else? God can't stand it either. Point number two in our
outline then quickly, he was qualified. because of his spotlessness,
because of his righteousness, because he was without spot and
blemish, he was qualified to be God's only holy sin-bearer. You guys see that in point number
two? He was qualified to be God's only holy sin-bearer. It is this
qualification that marks him out as the perfect specimen for
so eternal a transaction, I'll talk about that here in a moment,
of taking sin. Now watch this, ladies and gentlemen.
Talk about a mystery of taking sin from one place and situating
it on another place. How do you take sin, which is
inherent to my fallenness, sin, which is a byproduct of my actions,
sin, which is rooted in my motive, in my thoughts, as long as I
have a being, how do you take all that from me and put it somewhere
else? This is the mystery of the doctrine
of imputation how God can take sin from one place and put it
somewhere else. Now, mark this now, if Christ
was not the holy, harmless Son of God, separate from sinners,
knowing no sin, doing no sin, in Him was no sin, God would
have no place to put our sin. You'd be stuck with your sin.
And such is the case who don't know Christ. They are stuck with
their sin. But God, but God, at one time,
in one place on one person was able to take my sin from me and
put it on him. See, this is what Peter says.
He bore our sin in his own body on the tree. You know what Peter
says? Go with me in your Bible to Isaiah. I want you to see
how this works. Why was God able to take my sin
and impute it to Christ? It was precisely because Christ
was the only one qualified to be the one who could take my
sin. It was precisely because Christ was the only righteous
one that could bear my sin. It was precisely because Christ
was the one who was willing to take my sin as my federal head
and as my substitute and as my shurik. When I think about this
as I'm sharing with you right now, you know what I'm thinking
about? And we're going to see this here in a moment. I'm thinking
about a mediator. I'm thinking about a mediator.
You know what a mediator is? A mediator is a person, now watch
this, that stands between two people that are arguing. Now to be a good mediator, you
know what your job is? To reconcile those two people.
Now when I think about Christ as the Lamb of God from before
the foundation of the world, you know what I think about?
A mediator. And when I think about a mediator, do you know
what I think about? I think about the person on the other side
of mediation against me. He's got something against me. Which causes me to be at variance
with him. And without the work of this
mediator, I am forever at variance and hostility with this one.
But listen to how Isaiah puts it. Listen to the way Isaiah
uses the language in Isaiah chapter 3, Isaiah chapter 53. I'm going
to go through verses 3 through verse 8. Now watch this. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with griefs. We hid as it were
our faces from him. He was despised and we did esteem
him not. That's all of us. Do you remember
that day when Christ meant nothing to you? Surely he hath what? Born our what? And surely he
hath what? Carried our sorrows. Yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Now what
I want you to understand, the author right there is telling
us what it means for Christ to bear the responsibility of our
sin, the fillings of our infirmity. When the Bible says our sins
were laid on him, that's later on in the text. He laid on him
the iniquity of us all. What it means is he laid on Jesus
Christ as the sinless lamb of God. Watch this now. The responsibility,
the burden, the consequence of our sins. Got that? The responsibility, the burden,
the consequence of our sins. He couldn't have done that had
Christ not assumed a human nature. And so as we are looking at the
language of the transfer of the guilt of the sinner to the lamb,
we are looking at the language of the doctrine of incarnation. Be sure to know that Christ as
our mediator had to assume our nature. And by the way, in order
for him to be a legitimate mediator, he had to bear both certain similar
qualities that could meet the needs of the person on one side
of the conflict as well as the person on the other side you
got that as our legitimate mediator he had to be both God and man
he could not be our mediator if he was merely a man he could
not be our mediator if he was merely a God he had to be able
to represent not only us but God and this is what the high
priest ministry is all about The role of the high priest was
that he was taken from among men in order to minister in the
behalf of men to God. You know what we're dealing with,
ladies and gentlemen, and particularly my ladies in biblical theology,
we are dealing with covenant theology, aren't we? Stay with
me now. The whole subject of the matter
of sin in relationship to the glory of God and the objective
of God to redeem people for himself for all eternity is a covenant
issue. It's a covenant issue. It's a
matter of the covenant. God had chosen before the world
began in a covenant scheme to save us by a mediator who would
be like us and like God. Only he's called a lamb. Are
you following me, ladies and gentlemen? And God says, take
all of their responsibilities, all of their troubles, all of
their pain, all of their guilt, all of their damnation, all of
their punishment. And lay it on him. And lay it
on him. He was qualified to be that because
there was no guile found in his mouth. Listen to what it says
in verse nine. And he made his grave with the wicked and with
the rich in his wife because he had done no violence, no violence
where to God's law, to God's justice, to God's holiness, to
God's righteous. Listen, it wasn't merely that
Christ didn't hurt anybody. In fact, I would actually say
he tore a few tails up pretty good at the beginning of his
ministry. And at the end, that's where he stepped out of character
for a moment. Remember that? When the zeal of his father's
house got him so fevered that he pulled down a bunch of switches,
like my grandparents used to do in Louisiana, and tied them
together in braids. Used to scare me to death. And
went in there and whipped out all the money changers. That
was a little bit more than docile and quiet. And then he went back
in the form, saving and loving and healing and doing all the
work of a lamb. And then at the end of his ministry,
he let them know again, this is my father's house. You won't
turn this into a den of thieves and robbers, not while I'm here.
And yet, listen to the text. Here's what it says. 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. You got that? See, when the language
says there was no deceit in his mouth, what it means is that
his heart was pure. Out of the abundance of the heart
doth the what speak? The mouth. God could see through
the whole of his being and there was not one moment where Christ
was in nonconformity to the will of his God. Perfect mediator. Perfect lamb. Perfect go-between. And he was the one, therefore,
because of his holiness, because of his righteousness, because
of his spotless blamelessness, qualified to engage in the transaction
that would meet the needs of our sin. And as I said before,
This role of bearing our sin is really the role of a high
priest. It's in your Bible, Exodus 28 verses 12, 29 and 38. Israel is the typical model of
all of God's people and Israel had a priesthood that stood before
them and before God in order to mediate between them and God. And Israel always had to have
a high priest. The high priest stood as a representative
of the people. what God told Aaron was this
you are to bear the names of all the children of Israel on
your heart that's verse 12 of Exodus 28 you are also to bear
watch this you are also to bear the judgment of all of Israel
on your heart see those the garments of the high priest signified
spiritual responsibility on the part of the high priest toward
the people So when Aaron put on his garb, he put on the outer
garments, he put on the long rope, he put on the ephod, he
put on the breastplate, all of that, and he put on his high
turban, all of those were typical of the qualities and characteristics
of a mediator who would stand between a holy God and a sinful
people. When he was laden with those
outfits, you know what he was laden with? He was laden with
God's holiness and man's sinfulness. For the people that was on his
heart, represent the elect of God in the heart of Jesus Christ
who is our high priest. Can you imagine Christ then not
only always thinking about his father, loving his father, as
he went about every duty that he engaged in to perform what
was necessary for him to be the lamb that would be slain, but
everywhere he went and everything he did, guess what? Guess who
he thought about? God's elect. He thought about you and he thought
about me if we're trusting Christ every act he engaged in he thought
about us because he knew he stood as a mediator and a Representative
and the federal head of a whole new race of people and whatever
he did He did as a representative of us you guys got that but now
you understand the reverse don't you that because his righteousness
is imputed to us by the accomplishment of his redemption our sin is
imputed to him and That means he also bore the guilt of my
sin, the pain of my sin, the responsibility of my sin, the
shame of my sin, the rebellion of my sin, the weight of my sin,
the judgment of my sin. My name was on his heart. My
name was on his heart when he left glory. Assume the human
nature my name was on his heart when he began to live out a perfect
life and where in his humanity He would find himself inclined
in the dubiousness of the task of growing up. He kept my name
on his heart No, I've got to do this for him for them I've
got to love my father perfectly keep all his will perfectly do
his will perfectly For not only my father's glory, but for them
That's called love Love hopes all things. It believes all things.
It bears all things. It endures all things. Are you
hearing what I'm saying? You must bear the names of the
children of Israel on your heart. Bear their judgment and bear
their iniquity. Bear their name, their judgment,
and iniquity. Three, their name. What is my
name? Judgment. You better get that. What is my name? Iniquity. and
transgression and rebellion against God. And the Son of God had to
bear that. He had to take that all to himself.
And this is why every year they went through a very ominous sacrifice
called Yom Kippur. Yom Kippur, where the high priest
once every year enters into the Holy of Holies in order to meet
with a holy God to deal with the judgment of God's people.
You guys remember that. This is what's taking place.
in the great and eternal transaction when our Savior is hanging on
the cross of Calvary. He's standing between a holy
God and a sinful people. Let me see if I can make this
work. Turn with me your Bible now to Hebrews chapter 9. Hebrews
chapter 9. In Hebrews chapter 9, the Hebrew
writer is clarifying to us many things that's worth a New Testament
Christian knowing. But one thing in particular the
Hebrew writer is underscoring significantly, and that is the
superiority of a new and better covenant built upon better promises
that was ratified and established permanently by a mediator and
high priest and shepherd named Jesus Christ on our behalf. It
would behoove every Christian to gain a comprehensive understanding
of what took place when Christ as our shepherd and mediator
accomplished our eternal redemption. It would behoove you. The Hebrew
writer says it like this in Hebrews chapter nine. I'm going to read
verses 11 through 15. Under this term, the work of
our triune God in the purging of our sins once For all the
work of our triune God and the purging of our sins once for
all in Hebrews chapter 10 verse 11. Here's what it says I'm sorry, it's Hebrews chapter
9. That's a That's a typo Hebrews chapter 9. I'm gonna start at
verse 11, but Christ being come and high priest of good things
to come see that I He's the mediator of good things to come by a greater
and more perfect tabernacle not made with hands That is to say
not of this building Neither by the blood of goats and calves
but of his own blood he entered in once into the holy place having
what? obtained eternal redemption for
us For if the blood of bulls and of goats in the ashes of
a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctified to the purifying of
the flesh Watch this how much more? shall the blood of Christ
who through the eternal spirit offered himself. Here it is without
spot to God. Do you see it? Let me read that
verse again and we'll talk about it briefly. Verse 13, for if
the blood of bulls and of goats and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling
the unclean sanctified to the purifying of the flesh, this
is all Israel had in the Old Testament economy was the blood
of bulls and goats. And God allowed that to be a
temporary covering under that old covenant scheme of words
until Jesus came. But once Christ came, the Lamb
of God, once he assumed the human nature, the Lamb of God, Christ
would offer himself up as the ultimate and final Offering by
which he would not only put away the old covenant, but establish
this new and eternal covenant and listen to the language How
much more? Shall the blood of Christ who
through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God Purge
your conscience from dead works to serve the Living God in your
outline There are four things that I want to call your attention
to briefly under this point. The work of our triune God and
the purging of our sins once for all. Four things here that
I want you to consider with me. First, a spotless sacrifice. Secondly, a spirit aided work. Thirdly, a God glorifying offering. And fourthly, a once for all
act. It's all inherent the verse again
notice what the writer is saying he's as he's presenting to us
our great high priest in verse 11 Jesus becoming an high priest
he's juxtaposing Christ not with Aaron but with Melchizedek and
Melchizedek pointed to Christ in a greater way than Aaron did,
but Christ is now taking on the role of high priest and the high
priest is a mediator, right? The high priest is a mediator.
This high priest Jesus Christ now is about to mediate in our
behalf. Whenever you think about Calvary,
think about a high priest mediating on your behalf. When you think
about the man that hung on Calvary Street, your job is to think
about a mediator. You think about a mediator affecting
a covenant purpose in your behalf. That's what you are to think
when you think about Calvary. Calvary was not just some ad
hoc event. It was God's express purpose
by which he would affect a new covenant on our behalf through
his mediator and his high priest, who happens to be our mediator
and high priest. Will you notice what it says?
The Lord Jesus Christ through his own blood and by the work
of the Spirit of God offered himself without spot. Now, the
first thing that I want you to comprehend is a spotless sacrifice. The writer says he offered himself
without spot to God. That's what we've been talking
about now for the last 45 minutes. See, the high priest every year
when he went into the Holy of Holies, guess what he had to
bring? Blood. He couldn't come before God without
blood. Because the law said the wages of sin is death, and without
the shedding of what? There is no remission of sin.
So the high priest had to bring blood to God. Now in our text,
be very careful, because where you read the language, he offered
himself without spot to God, he brought his blood. It does
not mean that Christ literally took his blood to heaven. Be
careful now. Okay. There are a lot of people who
will teach that Christ died and as our great high priest, he
took his blood into the presence of holy God. Well, what did he
take it with? What bowl did he use? What bowl did he use? Be careful. Be careful. We can
demonstrate that not only Christ entered in to the, uh, holy of
holies through his own blood, but we enter in according to
Hebrew chapter 10 through blood, through the blood of Christ as
well. Do we take Christ's blood to the father? No. The term,
the blood of Christ corresponds to the death of Christ, to the
cross of Christ, to the judgment of God on Christ. Are you guys
following me? It corresponds to his sacrifice. It corresponds to his once for
all sacrifice on Calvary street. Flesh and blood cannot enter
the kingdom of heaven. And the son of man didn't take
one drop of human plasma to glory. God didn't need that blood. All
that blood was, was back on the other side of the old covenant
scheme. And when Christ died on Calvary Street 2000 years
ago, you know what the centurion did? He took a sword, he pierced
his side and guess where the blood went? Into the ground.
Remember that? And straightway came out what?
Water and blood. And where did the water and blood
go? To the ground. To be what? A witness. According
to 1st John chapter 5 there are three that bear record in heaven
the father the word and the spirit There are three that bear record
on earth the water the blood and the spirit what's bearing
record down here the humanity of Christ the incarnation of
Christ the the death of the God-man Christ and the blood that poured
out of his side into the ground as a witness that he was the
Lamb of God slaying for our sins forever. The blood of the God-man
will testify in the earth of the one who came and died for
our sins. But he didn't take it to glory.
He didn't take it to glory and you and I don't take it to glory
either. You can see it over in Hebrews
chapter 10. Notice what it says over in Hebrews chapter 10. over
in verse 20. Listen to how I'll start at verse
19. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest. God is calling us to enter into
the presence of God, the holiest of all by the blood of Jesus.
Well, you and I have freedom to come in, but we don't come
in by Christ's literal blood. The language explains it by a
new and living way, which he consecrated for us through the
veil, that is to say his what? So his flesh, being mediating,
being a mediator for you and I as our high priest suffered
on Calvary Street, shed his blood that made the way by which we
could enter into the presence of God. Do you remember what
God did the night that Christ died from the top to the bottom? He rent the veil and twain. signifying that we now have access
into the presence of the Father. It was because of the sacrifice
of the Lamb of God that that access was made. God was not
looking for his literal blood. So when we talk about the blood
of Christ, we are actually talking about a synonym that corresponds
to the sufferings of Christ the atonement of Christ go back now
let us look at a few more things before we wrap this thought up
about Calvary's tree I want you to mark this now now this work
of Christ on Calvary's tree by which the language here describes
him offering himself up and that's when he offered himself up he
offered himself up that very night that he agonized in the
garden of Gethsemane he cried out father if there be any other
way And heaven didn't say a thing and Christ knew there was no
other way. Christ had to go this way and he went this way. And
the language informs us in chapter nine that the way he did it not
only was with a spotless sacrifice, a spotless offering for he offered
himself without spot to God. But I want to call your attention
to the other thing that he did. He offered himself without spot
by the spirit of God. Notice what it says. This used
to always intrigue me. How much more shall the blood
of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit, do you see it? Who through
the eternal Spirit. May I submit to you that from
the moment that Christ assumed a human nature and became a real
man and a real mediator for us, He was assisted by the Spirit
of God. May I submit to you that it was the Spirit of God of which
the Scripture says, conceived in the womb of the woman Mary,
that holy child Jesus, that thing in you is conceived of the Holy
Ghost. The third person, therefore,
is altogether involved in the Lamb's life, for he brings about
his humanity in that miraculous, mysterious, hovering over this
virgin girl who now conceives the Son of God. He lives his
life under the supervision and guidance of the Spirit of God
as a man, in fact the last Adam, the second man from heaven, obedient
to his father. And we see the Spirit of God
once again entering into his life in ministry because that
would be the fiercest part of his call as our Lamb. He would be assisted by the Spirit
of God. The Spirit of God was given to him without measure.
The Spirit of God assisted Christ all the way. It didn't mean that
Christ was not operating out of his own divinity. It didn't mean that he wasn't
capable of making his way all the way through on his own. He
is indeed very God of very God. But it does mean that all three
persons are involved in your salvation in the most intimate
way. And don't ever forget it. The
Father sent the Son. The son bore the full responsibility
of all of his people. The spirit of God is the one
that helps him make it all the way to Calvary through the eternal
spirit. He offered himself without spot. And finally, notice what it says,
unto God. You see that? The work of Christ,
ladies and gentlemen, on Calvary's tree ultimately was to his father. He came for his father's glory.
He came in the behalf of sinners, but he came to affect his father's
will. I came to do the will of him
that sent me and to finish his work. These are the tandem tensions
that Christ constantly operated out of the will of his father,
the good pleasure of the salvation of his people. Never forget that
those were the two things in his mind, his father's glory,
and his people's salvation. Are you following me? His father's
glory, his people's salvation. Remember at the end of Christ's
ministry in John chapter 17, how he said, Father, I have finished
the work that you have given me to do. Now glorify thou me
with the glory which I had with you before the world began. Do
you guys remember that? Oh, how he longed to return to
his father. Why? because now He was just
about at the end of His mediatorial work by which He would effect
the new covenant by which all of His people now would be eternally
blessed and eternally secure and eternally established, satisfied
with doing the will of His Father. He's ready to go back and be
with His Father. So the three things we learn
out of verse 14 is Christ gave his life to God as a spotless
sacrifice. It was done by the assistance
of the spirit of God. It was a work that was offered
up to God in order to honor the father and affect the covenant.
And the last thing in this particular point that I want to call your
attention to, which is critical, is it was once for all. The thing that you and I rejoice
in is the once for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Ladies and gentlemen,
Christ offered himself one time for our sins. He died one time
for our sins. He gave himself one time for
our sins. Never ever to have to do it again. I want you to see the few verses
in the book of Hebrews that emphasizes this I think you can look back
at verse 12. He said over in verse 12 Neither by the blood of bulls
and goats No, it's not in verse 12 Look at Hebrews chapter 10
verse 10 through 10 and 12 Hebrews 10 10 and 12. Here's what it
says. I Let me start at verse 9 then said I lo I come to do
thy will O God He takes away the first that he may establish
the second verse 10 by the which will we are Sanctified through
thee here it is offering of the what body of Jesus Christ once
Do you see that once and look again at verse 12? but this man
after he had offered one sacrifice for sins did what forever and
sat down on the right hand of God. Do you see that? Forever
sat down at the right hand of God. Now this is absolutely astonishing. The priest in the Old Testament
never sat down. Their work was continual. In
fact, they did it by course every two months. Priests had to come
into the temple to work, constantly working, constantly shedding
blood, constantly offering sacrifices. The high priest was always in
there every year offering the same sacrifices over and over
and over again. You know why? Because the blood
of bulls and goats can never take away sin. The old covenant
was a covenant of works. They were laboring, laboring,
laboring, laboring. And under that system, because of the kind
of high priest it was, and because of the kind of covenant it was,
it could never come to rest. It was in a six-day cycle of
working, but the seventh day would be given to the Son of
God alone. I want you to marvel at this as I close. Jesus Christ,
as our great high priest, is also the sacrifice himself. See, the high priest in the Old
Testament had to offer a sacrifice independent of himself, first
for himself and then for the people. Christ is our high priest
and he's our sacrifice. Now imagine this then, if we
are the Old Testament Jewish people and we are dealing with
Yom Kippur, our glorious high priest on the day of atonement,
rather than bringing a lamb or a bullock or a he-goat in, offers
himself to God. pours out his own life and atonement
for sin. Now watch this. And then he enters
into the veil to not be seen by any of the people so that
he might offer himself to God. The people are standing on the
outside, absolutely terrified. Because if he does not come out,
it means his sacrifice was not accepted. And if Christ had not
risen from the dead, it means His sacrifice was not accepted.
And this is why we can't wait to get to Sunday. We can't wait
to get to Sunday, because we already know that He came out.
We already know that His Father accepted His sacrifice. We already
know that the blood atoned for our sin. We already know that
the covenant wasn't affected. We already know that we are accepted
with God. Don't we know this? Oh, but watch
this ladies and gentlemen as I shut it down He he leaves this
world and he goes to glory as our great high priest and he's
there as it were in the holy of holies now Are you with me? He's there in the holy of holies
now To come out one more time and the whole world will see
our great high priest and we will see our great high priest
and We will see the one of whom the father said yes, and we said
yes and the Holy Ghost said yes And the whole world will see
this great and glorious high priest. Are you following what
I'm saying? They will see him and we will see him. We will
see him because we want to see him They will see him because
they must see him They must see him. They must see him and the
last point in our outline is Without spot and blemish. Do
you see that? I want to say this with respect
to the Lord Jesus Christ, and I've shared this with you as
an axiom many times. You and I go up and down and
we struggle with who we are, don't we? Don't we struggle with
who we are? Now, the secret to the Christian
life, if you're going to ever make your boat float from this
world to the next safely, is to understand and believe with
all your heart that everything that Christ is, you are in him. That how the father views the
son is how the father views me. Are you hearing what I'm saying?
So now watch this. If he views the son as being
without spot and blemish. Do you know how he views me?
As being without spot and blemish. If Christ was the Lamb slain
from before the foundation of the world. If He was the Lamb
slain in AD 33, 1980 years ago. If He is the Lamb slain, sitting
in glory on His throne, having opened all the seals, only allowing
the world to unfold until that great day when the Lamb comes
back with the wrath of the Lamb against those that don't believe
on Him. If He is the Lamb without spot and blemish when He comes
back, guess who He's coming back for? bride Who will come with
him on that day? the lamb without spot and blemish
Will marry a virgin without spot and blemish The lamb will get
married on that day to a virgin Without spot and without blemish
or without any such thing Did you guys get that and watch this
now? This is the work of our great high priest This is the
work of our mediator. This is the work of Him in whom
we are. So that the joy of the believer
is this. Watch this now. As we agree with
the Father that there is no spot in Jesus Christ. Do you agree
with that? Do you agree that He's wholly harmless, separate
from sinners? Do you agree that He's without sin, did no sin,
knew no sin, in Him was no sin at all? Do you agree that He's
the only one without sin? Do you agree therefore because
you are in Him? You are just like he is in him. Do you agree with God that all
of God's elect are without spot and without blemish in him? Now
watch this. And when he comes back, the last
act is for him to make it so because he's going to marry a
virgin. And that's every one of us that trust in Christ, that
bow to his crown rights. that submit to the gospel of
a perfect sacrifice by a perfect God with a perfect lamb for people
who are not perfect like you and me. That's our hope for glory,
isn't it? That's our hope for glory. And
therefore, what we say is, hallelujah, what a Savior. Hallelujah, what
a Savior. Men of sorrows, what a name for
the Son of God who came, ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah,
hallelujah, What a Savior. So we respond in holy reverence
on this night. They call it Good Friday. I don't
know what for. And we respond in humble gratitude. And we respond with thanksgiving
and triumph and jubilant expression for so great a love towards us
by our God. And we thank him for giving his
life for our sins, don't we? This is why I wanted the tenor
of our message to be the way that it is. I want us to understand
the importance and preciousness of the cross. Don't ever take
light the cross. On your good days, you know the
cross is not that important, but it becomes sweet when your
sin rises up, doesn't it? on the days when you lose your
mind and you think you can walk without God and then he lets
you fall and the Spirit of God turns you back to Calvary again
and you see the one who was stretched out high and wide for your sins
Calvary becomes sweet all over again And when you are alone
just walking in a stupor of fear and doubt, you know how we get
crazy, don't we? We get to that place where we
don't know if we're coming or going. And we hear the immutable
counsel of the once-for-all Word of Jesus Christ. And we hear
the words, It is finished! It delivers us from all of that
doubt. It delivers us from all of that
fear. It delivers us to this reality that God had my back
before He created the universe. when he placed me in his son
and he gave his son for my life and his son went back to glory
to bring me to glory with him. Nothing is more glorious than
the cross work of Jesus Christ for which we agree with the apostle
Paul. I will glory in nothing save
the cross of Jesus Christ. Amen.