Your Bible's with me again to
Lamentations chapter one. The title of my message this
morning is, What is Christ to you? The prophet asks in verse
12 of Lamentations one, Is it nothing to you, all you that
pass by? These words refer to those who
saw our Lord Jesus suffering on the cross. Many were on their
way to observe the Passover in Jerusalem. As they came to the
outside of the city, they saw this one suffering outside the
gate. They saw the Lord Jesus suffering
and dying on the cross. And our Lord asked them, what's
this to you? What is my suffering to you? Is it nothing to you or is it
everything to your soul? It's one or the other. Every
week, by God's grace, we get a view of Christ crucified through
the preaching of the gospel. And I ask us here this morning,
what is that to you? Is this just our habit, we go
to church on Sunday? Is it a social event where we
see our friends and family? Is it a religious duty, something
we do to make ourselves feel better the rest of the week,
church on Sunday? Or is the worship service, where we get a glimpse
of Christ crucified? Is that vital to your soul? Because
this is where you feed upon the Lord Jesus Christ. This is where
your soul is strengthened. Is seeing Christ life to your
soul? Is this where you're reminded
you live because He died in your place? Is seeing Christ everything
to your soul? Because seeing Him is the comfort
of your soul? Were you reminded that your sin
is forgiven through the blood of His sacrifice? Is your soul
comforted to see Christ your righteousness? That your righteousness
does not come by things that you do, but He is your righteousness? What is Christ to you? It's a
vital question, isn't it? What think ye of Christ? Not, what does the pastor think
of Christ? Not, what do these great men of the faith in the
past think of Christ? Not, what does so-and-so or so-and-so
or so-and-so say? Not, what does John Gill say?
Not, what does Matthew Henry say? What think ye of Christ? Well, why is this question so
important? Is it nothing to you, all you that pass by? Why is
this such an important question? First of all, this question's
an important question. because of who's speaking. Jeremiah
is the weeping prophet. He wrote this book of lamentations.
You remember throughout the book of Jeremiah, he warned Israel,
God's going to judge Israel. He's going to destroy this land
because of your idolatry. The people heard him but wouldn't
repent. And now the city Jerusalem that Jeremiah loved, the nation
Israel that he loved, had been destroyed by the Babylonians. Most all the people of Israel,
the people that Jeremiah loved, they've been taken away captive.
Almost all of them will never return to Israel. And Jeremiah
laments, oh, he weeps in deep sorrow. He weeps over the city
and the people that he loved so well, full of genuine anguish
and sorrow. The book of Lamentations was
written while Jeremiah was on a hill overlooking the city.
He looks down at the city and he weeps in sorrow at what he
sees. He mourned over the destruction that he saw. And now these are
the words of Jeremiah. This is his experience. This
is what was on his heart, his sorrow at this time. And believers
at one point or another during our pilgrimage here below can
identify with the way Jeremiah feels at this time because the
people of God are a suffering people. But these are so much
more, so much more than the words of the prophet. These are the
words of the Savior himself. 600 years after Jeremiah has
died, the prophet's gonna come and he'll be on a mount overlooking
the city of Jerusalem. He's on the Mount of Olives and
he'll look down upon Jerusalem and he'll weep. He will cry. for the coming destruction of
his people. It is the nation, not his people,
his spiritual people, but the nation, his own. He came into
his own. His owners saved him not and
they'll be destroyed for it. And he wept. He wept for them. He wept for their destruction.
How often do we weep for the destruction of others? It's the Lord Jesus Christ here
speaking in Lamentations. Because all of Scripture is spoken
by Him. It all speaks of Him. And if
you would get a blessing from the book of Lamentations, if
you would understand the true meaning of the book of Lamentations,
read it as Christ speaking, because that's who's speaking. And I
point that out to make my point here that the importance of words
that we hear depends on who's speaking, doesn't it? You know,
if I came to you and I said, Chris, I got some I've got some
ideas for it. I've got some instruction for it on how to sing better.
I've got some exercises you know you can do. I've got some pointers,
some technical things about music. You practice it. Chris is not going to listen
to me. But if Mike Bartram came to you with that same message,
well that's another matter, isn't it? It just depends on who's
speaking. Who's speaking here? The Son
of God in human flesh. come to save His people from
their sins is speaking. It's the Savior speaking. And
He's speaking to His bride, those that He loved so much. He loved
her so much, He was willing to become a man to be her representative. He's willing to become a man,
bone of her bone and flesh of her flesh, so He could be married
to her. He became a man so He could be
the sacrifice for her sin. This is who's speaking. Oh, it's
an important question, isn't it? This is the Lord speaking.
Second, this question is an important question. Is it nothing to you?
Because of how much the speaker's suffering. The Savior asked,
is my suffering nothing to you? All you that pass by? You know,
how much we care about someone else's suffering depends on who's
suffering. and how much they're suffering,
the seriousness of why they're suffering. You know, if I tell
you, I got a sore leg. I ran the turkey trot the other
day. I'm not in very good shape, and
my leg's kind of hurting. Well, you know, you think, I'm
sorry about that. By the time you get home and have dinner,
you've forgotten all about it. It's not really that big a deal. But if our sister Sue Montgomery
tells you, brokenhearted, so full of sorrow, trying to go
through, make a few arrangements for the husband, the man I married
when I was young. We've lived all this time together
and oh, it hurts so bad to think I've got to say goodbye and bury
him. Now your heart would break, wouldn't
it? Oh, you'd run to the Lord in prayer. You'd remember her,
pray for her often. See, who is suffering and why? The seriousness of what they're
suffering matters a great deal. Well, who's suffering here in
our text? It's not just anybody. This is
the Son of God, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Savior of suffering.
Well, how much is He suffering? Words can't describe it. There's
never been suffering like the suffering of Christ. Look back
in verse 1 of Lamentations 1. He's suffering alone. Now that
makes it worse when you're suffering alone, doesn't it? He says in
verse one, how does the city sit solitary? It was full of
people. She's solitary. She's alone.
That city is a picture of Christ. He suffered alone. Even the father
turned his back on him. He weeps in his suffering because
he's there suffering because a friend betrayed him. Betrayed him for just a few dollars. And the rest of his friends deserted
him. Look at verse two. She weepeth sore in the night
and her tears are on her cheeks. Among all her lovers, she hath
none to comfort her. All her friends have dealt treacherously
with her and there become her enemies. He suffers, betrayed
by a friend. He's suffering untold agony. He suffers naked, stripped naked
before men and naked before his father. Verse eight, he says,
Jerusalem hath grievously sinned, therefore she is removed. All
that honored her despise her, because they've seen her nakedness.
Yea, she sieth and turneth backwards. He's suffering naked. He's suffering
in shame. What shame he's suffering. He's
suffering without any comfort from anybody. No man's offering
him any comfort. His father's not comforting him
either. Look at verse 16. For these things I weep, mine
eye, mine eye runneth down with water, because the comforter
that should relieve my soul is far from me. My children are
desolate because the enemy prevailed. The comforter's far from me.
The Father is not giving him any mercy or grace as he suffers. His suffering is immeasurable. You and I will never be able
to understand it. Our minds can't comprehend it. Our language cannot
express it. He says in verse 12, is it nothing
to you, all you that pass by? Behold, look and examine my suffering
and see if there be any sorrow like unto my sorrow, which is
done unto me or with the Lord hath afflicted me in the day
of his fierce anger. He says, you look and see if
there's any suffering like my suffering. You look and see if
there's any sorrow like my suffering. And the Savior, the Lord who's
speaking says, you won't be able to find it. You'll find no suffering
to compare to my suffering. This is an important question
because of how much the speaker is suffering. Third, this is
an important question because of why. Why is the Son of God
suffering so much? The Savior says there's no sorrow
like my sorrow. There's no suffering like my
suffering. Because my suffering, my sorrow, is for sin. This is sorrow that comes from
suffering for sin. This is sorrow that comes from
suffering as the sin offering before the Father. And I'll tell
you what makes his suffering so bad. He knows he deserves
it. He's suffering because he's guilty
and he's getting what he deserves. You know, if I would suffer punishment,
if I would get arrested for something that I didn't do and convicted
and given some sentence, you know, I wouldn't like that. I'd
be mad as could be because it's not fair. It's unjust. I didn't
do it. But I wouldn't be ashamed. I'd
still walk down the street with my head held high because I didn't
do anything, you know, I didn't do anything wrong. The son of
God is suffering so much because the father made him to be guilty. He made him to be guilty of the
sin of his people, and he's suffering the punishment that he deserves.
Now, the natural man, in his natural understanding, says,
well, okay, I can understand a substitute. Christ is suffering
as a substitute. I can see that. Not for his own
sin, because he had no sin. He did no sin. He can't be sacrificed
for anything he did wrong, but he's suffering for the sin of
somebody else. He's taking their punishment
as a substitute. And they say, well, you know,
it's not like he's actually guilty or anything. He's just taking
the punishment somebody else deserves. That's wrong. That's not the way scripture
describes the suffering of the Savior. The suffering of Christ
goes a whole lot deeper than that. You know, I would gladly
die to save the life of my children. Savannah's sitting there. Suppose
she goes out and commits some horrible crime. and she's sentenced
to death, I would gladly, I would beg the judge, let me die so
she can live. Gladly I would do that. And if
the judge would allow that again, there'd be no shame in my death,
you know? I knew I'm not guilty of anything.
Really, there'd kind of be a little bit of glory in it, you know?
Look what a great dad I am. I'm suffering so my children
don't have to. Well, the Savior did suffer so his people don't
have to. But his suffering goes a whole
lot deeper than that. The suffering that he describes
is the suffering that sin deserves. Yes, he's bearing the punishment
for sin, but only because he's guilty of that sin. He's suffering
the shame of that sin. He's suffering the curse of that
sin. The only way the Holy Father
could put his son to death is if he's guilty. It would be unjust
for the father to put an innocent man to death, wouldn't it? And
the father's just. God did not put an innocent man
to death because he's just. The father killed his son in
justice because he made his son to be guilty of the sin of his
people. Now I can show you that from
scripture. You all very well know the scripture, 2 Corinthians
5.21. He had made him sin for us. And he died because he's guilty.
And this is what Jeremiah tells us. Look at verse 14 of Lamentations
1. He says, the yoke of my transgressions is bound by his hand. They're
wreathed and come up upon my neck. He made my strength to
fall. The Lord had delivered me into
their hands for whom I'm not able to rise up. He says here,
the father has yoked him. Now usually we think of being
yoked as being yoked for service, don't we? Like an oxen is yoked
here to pull the plow, but that's not what he's referring to here.
He's talking about being yoked for punishment. Christ, the servant
who pleased his father, he was obedient unto death, is speaking
here not as the servant, but as the sinner. He's being yoked
with the sin of his people. And he talks about their wreath
that come up upon my neck. That word greed is intertwined
together. The sin of God's elect was intertwined,
woven together with Christ to substitute so that that sin became
his. Now, how real is that? Is that just doctrine, you know,
that we want to spout? How real is that? Well, it's
so real that Christ who cannot lie said, this is my sin. Look
at verse 18. He says, the Lord is righteous
for I've rebelled against his commandment. And he doesn't say
the Lord's righteous for my people have rebelled against his commandment,
disobeyed him. That's not what he says, is it?
He said, I have. That sin became his sin. Look
at Psalm 40. Psalm 40, just like Jeremiah's
lamentations is Christ speaking. Look, I want you to look what
he says. Psalm 40 verse 12. For innumerable evils have compassed
me about. Mine iniquities, not the iniquities
of my people, not the iniquities of my lack, mine iniquities have
taken hold upon me so that I am not able to look up. They're
more than the hairs of my head. Therefore, my heart faileth me. This transfer of sin to Christ,
the guilt of sin to him is real. God never acts. God never pretends. God always deals with things
as they are. I have an example. Jane's not
gonna like this, but this is a good example. When I was in
high school, I was in two plays, two class plays, and I enjoyed
that. I enjoyed getting to go and pretend
to be somebody else for a while. You know, when you are pretending
to be somebody else, especially in a play, you know, you can
say things and you can do things that you can't do as yourself.
When I was in this play, I got to kiss two of the prettiest
girls in Williamsburg High School. And, you know, you had to practice
the play. So, I mean, I got to kiss them a lot. I could do that
as Tom. That was who I was pretending
to be, this fellow named Tom. Frank couldn't do that. When
that play was over, the kissing was over. It was just pretend.
It was just pretend. I hate to even equate this. The
crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ is no play. It's no play. These passion plays are blasphemous. This is no play. God the Father
punished his son fully and wholly, not pretending, in full wrath
and fury against the sin of his people, because Christ was made
to be guilty. Verse 13, from above hath he
sent fire into my bones, and it prevailed against him. He
spread a net from my feet, he turned me back, he made me desolate
and faint all the day. The father sent the fire of his
wrath into the soul of his son. He made his soul an offering
for sin. The father made his son to be
desolate. That word is destroyed. He destroyed him. You know, the
Jews said they wanted to just give us Braavos and we'll destroy
Jesus. That's what the father did to
him. He destroyed him in his wrath against sin. The father
killed his son in just Because that's what the law demands.
The law demands death for sin. When he talks here about being
faint, it means I was dead. He killed, he put him to death.
When the father made the son to be sin, he crushed him. Think of verse 15. The Lord hath
trodden underfoot all my mighty men in the midst of me. He hath
called an assembly against me to crush my young men. The Lord
hath trodden the virgin, the daughter of Judah, as in a winepress. The father crushed his son under
his heel, just grounded him, crushed him. He put him in the
wine press and just crushed the life out of him. He didn't do that pretending.
He did that in his holy wrath against sin. And he did it. He punished his son with no hint
of mercy. Why not? Why was there no mercy
for the son? because he was made guilty. Christ
took on him the guilt of sin. He took on him the punishment
of sin. He took on him the vileness of sin. Look here at verse 11. All our people sigh. They seek
bread. They've given their pleasant
things for me to relieve the soul. See, O Lord, and consider,
for I am become vile. He took on him the vileness of
sin. Look back up here at verse nine, or filthiness. His inner
skirts. He took on Him the filthiness
of sin. In verse 4, He took on Him the
bitterness of sin. The ways of Zion do mourn, because
none come to the solemn feast. All her gates are desolate. Her
priests sigh. Her virgins are afflicted. And
she is in bitterness, in the bitterness of sin. The Savior,
the Holy Son of God, is suffering for sin. He's suffering for an
untold amount of sin. It's all of the sin of all of
God's elect. And the Lord Jesus, because He
is the Son of God, because He is holy, because He is perfect,
because He is eternal, condensed hell, condensed the eternity
of suffering and hell into three hours. In those three hours,
He had untold suffering. And that makes this question
important because of why he suffered. Fourthly, this is an important
question. Is it nothing to you, all you
that pass by? Is the Savior's death, is it
nothing to you? It's an important question because
of the results of this suffering. What was the result of his suffering
on Calvary Street? It was the salvation of God's
elect. the complete and utter eternal
salvation of everyone for whom he died. This is a whole lot more than
mere doctrine. Chip, this is good doctrine,
but more than that. This is real, complete, utter
salvation from sin. You see, the only way a sinner
can be saved is if his sin is really taken away. And if that
sin was completely transferred to Christ, He put it away. If it wasn't transferred to Him,
it's still on us and we'll be damned. If our sin was really,
in reality, not transferred to Christ, then His blood couldn't
put it away. And we're yet in our sin. So
there's a whole lot more in doctrine. This is our hope. Our hope of
forgiveness. Our hope of pardon. Why did Christ
suffer so greatly? so He could remove forever, so
that He could bear away forever the sin of His people. He suffered
so greatly so He could accomplish what the Father sent Him to do,
to save His people from their sin. See, if our sin is not really
transferred to Christ, His death means nothing to us. The only
way Christ could die for us is if He died for our sin. Christ
was not made sin for us and His death would do us no good. But if Christ was made sin for
us, He died for our sin, blotting out our sin with His blood, then
we'll never die. God's justice will demand that
too. God's justice can't let two men die for the same sin.
If Christ took it and put it away, you'll never die. That's
a whole lot more doctrine. That's salvation. My salvation,
that's your salvation who believe. That's our hope of eternal life. This is an important question.
Why did Christ suffer so greatly? So that his people could look
and live. Look to him, lift it up and live.
If Christ was not really made sin, then his people are not
really made righteous and God will never accept them. See,
that's a whole lot more than doctrine. That's our comfort.
Why did Christ suffer so greatly? So He could make His people what
they're not. He could make them righteous in Him. Why did Christ
suffer so greatly? He suffered the full wrath of
God so that God could be merciful to the people He loved. Look
over Lamentations chapter 3. We looked at this in our lesson
this morning. Christ died to purchase this hope for you who
believe. Verse 21. This I recall to my mind, therefore
have I hope. It took the Lord's mercies were
not consumed. I'm not consumed because he was
consumed as my substitute. Because his compassions fell
not. They're new every morning. Great
is thy faithfulness. If you ever wonder how great
the faithfulness of the Lord Jesus Christ is, just look to
him, lift it up. He's faithful to suffer and die
so that his people can live. He's great as thy faithfulness.
The Lord's my portion, saith my soul, therefore will I hope
in him. The Lord is good unto them that
wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. Oh, this is good. It's good that a man should both
hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord. Christ
suffered so much to purchase that mercy and that hope for
his people. Now, back to our original question. What is Christ to you? To you. I want you to answer that. Every
one of us. I want us to answer that question. What is Christ
to you? As we pass by and see the Savior
suffering, I'm preaching to you, Christ and Him crucified. You
see Him there. What is it to you? Can you look
on Him suffering? and not be overcome? Can you
look at him suffering and not be overcome with concern? Not just concerned that he's
suffering. That's horrible. But can you look on him suffering
and not have concern for no soul? Dale, that's what sin deserves.
Oh, that's what I deserve. Could He be my substitute? When
I get a glimpse of Him there, could He be my substitute? Could
my salvation be accomplished in Him? Could it be? When you see the Son of God in
human flesh, suffering as your substitute, suffering what you
deserve, do you see Him bearing your sin, bearing your punishment?
Do you see the precious perfect body of the Lord Jesus Christ
being broken for your sin. In a few moments, Eric's going
to come. He's going to break this bread. You'll hear it. Auditorium
will be silent. You'll hear him breaking that
bread. Is that Christ's body being crushed, broken for you? Is he bearing the punishment
you deserve? If so, this day was for you. This is a picture
of your salvation. This is done to remind us of
the salvation we have through the substitute, through the sacrifice.
Is Christ crucified as preached? Do you see Him there shedding
His blood? Not as payment for the sin of
a nameless, numberless group. But do you see Him shedding His
blood as a remedy for your sin? Are you such a great sinner that
the only way your sin can be put away is in what this wine
represents? In the precious, holy blood of the Lord Jesus
Christ? Is that your hope of forgiveness?
Is that your hope of cleansing? If it is, this tape is for you.
This is to remind you of that blood that the Lord shed to put
your sin away. Do you see Christ dying? As he
shed his blood, he gave up the ghost, he died. Because that's
what the law demands for your sin. He died the death you deserve.
If so, this table's for you. If Christ satisfied justice for
your sin, he bore the curse of your sin away in his sacrifice,
in his death, then this table's for you. The way we confess Christ
the Savior is through believer's baptism. When we're baptized,
we're identifying with these sufferings of Christ. When we're
baptized, we're saying, His death is my death. His death, His burial,
His resurrection, that's my only hope. My only hope. That's the
only way God could save me. And when we observe the Lord's
table, this is not just a ceremony. When the men hand out this bread,
and you reach and you take a piece of that bread, you know what
you're saying? You're confessing before everyone. That's my hope. When they hand
out this wine, you're not just taking a glass because, oh, better
because everybody else is. No, you take that glass because
you're confessing. The only hope I have of the forgiveness
of my sin, the only hope I have to be cleansed from the vile
wretchedness of my sin is in his blood. When I take that cup,
that's what I'm confessing. Christ is all my hope. He's all
my plea. All I need is the sacrifice of
the Savior. That's my hope. That's Christ
in crucifixion. Is nothing to you? I pray God will make it so, but
not so. There's not nothing to you, but that it's everything
to you. If it's everything to you, you take this bread, you
take this wine, in remembrance of the Savior that put your sin
away. All right, Eric, you may come hand out the bread.