The book of Job is the oldest
book in the Bible. This account of this man, this
upright man, who loses everything, who because Satan went into the
presence of God and despised Job and wanted to prove unto
God that Job only served God for what he would get. God allowed
Satan to come and to take away from Job all that he had, all
his cattle, all his sheep, all his servants, his children, his
sons, his daughters, his house, and left them with nothing. And
then he came unto God again, when Job would not curse God,
when Job took this loss And sin not, Satan came unto the Lord
again and said, ah, but his flesh hasn't been touched. If I touch
his flesh, then he'll curse thee. So then God allows him to touch
his flesh. And even then, Job sins not. Job in this state sits and suffers. and suffers the rebuke of his
three so-called friends who reason and argue that Job's in this
state because of something Job has done. When in reality, it's
God that has allowed these things to come on Job because of the
accusations of Satan. And to set forth Job as a wondrous
example of a child of God who trusts in his God alone, and
as a wondrous example of salvation. For in the end, Job is delivered
from all his afflictions, and has more in his latter days than
he did in the beginning. The number of his sheep, the
household, is increased, and he praises and blesses God, who
alone is his salvation. There's so much in the book of
Job and in the various discourses, the cries of hope and faith that
Job has at various points. How shall man be just with God? He cries out. Knowing that man
is sinful through and through, knowing that man has no strength
in himself, he asked the question, how can he be just? How can he
be saved? When he's full of sin in himself,
when he's committed so many sins, how can he escape the judgment?
How can he deliver himself? How can he be delivered? And
yet he knows in the end that it's by God's grace alone, through
a Redeemer. For Job cries out, I know, I
know that my Redeemer liveth. He knows he can do nothing. But
there is One who will come. One who will set him free. One who will take away his sins. One who will take away his sin.
One who will make him to be just before a holy God. One who will
save. One who is his Saviour. Yes,
this is the earliest book in the Bible and the oldest picture
as such of salvation that we can read in the Bible. The oldest
picture. We read in chapter one how Satan
comes before God and God asks him what Satan's been doing and
he says, oh, walking to and fro in the earth. And the Lord asked
Satan a question. Hast thou considered my servant
Job, that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and
an upright man? one that feareth God and escheweth
evil.' Then Satan answered the Lord and said, Doth Job fear
God for naught? Hast thou not made an hedge about
him, and about his house, and about all that he have on every
side? Thou hast blessed the work of
his hands, and his substance is increased in the land. But
put forth thine hand now, and touch all that he hath, and he
will curse thee to thy face. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Behold, all that he hath is in thy power. Only upon himself
put not forth thine hand. So Satan went forth from the
presence of the Lord. And there comes this day, we
read from verse 13, when these messengers come to Job and tell
him of all that he's lost. all the disasters that come upon
the sheep the ox and his sons and daughters and we read in
verse 20 then Job arose and rent his mantle and shaved his head
and fell down upon the ground and worshipped and said naked
came I out of my mother's womb and naked shall I return liver
The Lord gave and the Lord hath taken away. Blessed be the name
of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not,
nor charged God foolishly. Again there was a day when the
sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came
also among them to present himself before the Lord. And the Lord
said unto Satan, From whence comest thou? And Satan answered
the Lord and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and
from walking up and down in it. And the Lord said unto Satan
again, Hast thou considered my servant Job, that there is none
like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that
feareth God, and is sheweth evil? And still he holdeth fast his
integrity, although thou movest me against him to destroy him
without cause. Still he holdeth fast his integrity. And Satan answered the Lord and
said, skin for skin, yea, all that a man hath will he give
for his life. But put forth thine hand now
and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse thee to thy
face. And the Lord said unto Satan,
Behold, he is in thine hand, but save his life. So went Satan
forth from the presence of the Lord and smote Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot under his crown. And Job took
him a potsherd to scrape himself withal. And he sat down among
the ashes. Then said his wife unto him,
Does thou still retain thine integrity? Curse God and die. But he said unto her, Thou speakest
as one of the foolish women speaketh. What, shall we receive good at
the hand of God, and shall we not receive evil? In all this
did not Job sin with his lips. In all this did not Job sin with
his lips. He loses everything. And then
Satan comes again and attacks his very flesh. Gives him his
awful boils from the sole of his foot to his crown. His very
being, his very flesh is attacked. Not only does he have the sorrow
of the loss and the rejection, but now he's got this awful disease,
this awful boils in his own flesh. He's in pain. He's disgusting. He hates what is in him. And yet despite all that has
been done to him, he will not curse God. And in all this we
read, did not Job sin with his lips? As when he lost all things,
he said, naked came I out of my mother's womb, and naked shall
I return thither. The Lord gave, and the Lord hath
taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord. In all this, Job sinned not. Nor charged God foolishly. In
all this, Job sinned not. Now what a man. What a man we
see here. Hast thou considered my servant
Job that there's none like him in the earth, a perfect and an
upright man. What a man to take this affliction
and to still stand. and not to groan and not to grumble
and not to complain at God and say why have you done this and
not to curse God but he holds his integrity and he sins not
and he praises God and worships God what an example and the character
of Job and what he suffered the afflictions he's brought into
and his ultimate salvation and deliverance from them. And the
fact that these things come upon him not as a consequence of his
own sin, but because of this dialogue in heaven above between
Satan and Almighty God. The fact of these things, that
afflictions can come upon a child of God through no fault of his
own, and yet he can still be sustained, he can still stand
by faith, he can still be delivered from all. All of this has been
a tremendous hope, a tremendous example, a tremendous comfort
to the child of God, to the children of God throughout the ages. And
the book of Job is often taken as a book to which you turn when
trouble comes your way, to see some hope and encouragement and
to look up by faith unto Almighty God, who can save from every
state. The child of God Knows what it
is to be chastised. They know what it is to have
trouble. But often their lot is not because of what they've
done. Often their lot, often their
circumstances, the trials they're brought through are used of God
to refine them in the fire. To bring forth the work of grace
within them as gold. Refined in the fire. And we see
this in Job. But nevertheless this is not
all we see in Job. And in many ways it's not the
greatest thing we see in Job. Because this account of Job presents
unto us far more gospel truth than that. It is clear in the
way that Job is presented to us in chapters 1 and 2, and how
God describes him when Satan approaches under him. And how
Job reacts to the events which come to pass. That Job is presented
as a figure, a picture, of the Son of God. God's servant. The last Adam, the second man. If you take Job's name out of
these verses and read them, who do they speak of? God says unto
Satan, hast thou considered my servant, that there is none like
him in the earth, a perfect and an upright man, one that feareth
God and escheweth evil? and though you move me against
him still he holdeth fast his integrity hast thou considered
my servant? We read in verse 1 of Job chapter
1 that the man was perfect and upright one that feared God and
eschewed evil that there was none like him in the east He was the greatest of all the
men of the east. Hast thou considered my servant,
that there is none like him in the earth, a perfect and an upright
man, one that feareth God and is sheweth evil? Well, who else
is this but Christ? Who else really is being described
here by the Lord under Satan? But his servant, his own son,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He speaks of Job, but Job's but
a figure. Job's but a picture of that servant,
God's servant, the Son of God. Outwardly, Job may have been
perfect and upright, morally upright, but Job was a sinner
like all men. And we read as the account goes
on, Job speaking and wondering and saying a number of things
which reveal his sinful mind, reveal his doubts and his fears. show us that he's not absolutely
perfect but the way that God describes his servant in these
verses is in plain terms he's a perfect and an upright man,
one that feareth God and is sheweth evil. Job was only that in type
and figure of Jesus Christ. Job's uprightness, Job's righteousness
was not in himself but in his Saviour under whom he looked.
Yes God kept Job, yes God lifted Job up as an example before all
men, yes God kept Job from the worst of sins as others around
him fell. But Job was still a sinner, but
here he's presented to us. as a figure, as a type of Christ. A perfect and an upright man. These words may describe Job
but in reality the words go far beyond him unto Christ. It's
Christ who's in view here. It is Christ alone who truly
fits the description and only him. Consider my servant Christ. There is none like him in the
earth. A perfect and an upright man. Consider the account of this
man of Job. His love for others. In Job 1 verse 5 we read that
Job would offer burnt sacrifices and he said it may be that my
sons have sinned and cursed God in their hearts so he not only
served God himself but he served God for others. Who is this but
Christ? Who are we pointing to but Christ? And we see in all that came upon
Job that it is said when he lost all things He praised God, he
worshipped God, he said, the Lord have given, the Lord have
taken away, blessed be the name of the Lord, and in all this
Job sinned not. This is Christ. In all this,
though Christ suffered the loss of all things, though Christ
was rejected by all men, though Christ was despised by you and
I, in all this, Christ sinned not. He sinned not. Yes, Job lost all. Satan, hearing
of this servant of the Lord, said, he only serves you because
he's blessed. He only serves you because you've
hedged him about. Oh, you've given him all these
things. you've given him this land, this
cattle, this sheep this house, these children but you take them
away and he will curse thee to thy face and he took all these
things from Job just as he did to that servant of whom Job is
a figure when Christ came into this world the Son of God Born
a man, the Son of God, the Word of God made flesh. When He came
into this world He laid aside His glory. As Hebrews 2 and Philippians
2 tell us, he laid aside that glory, he humbled himself. Being found in fashion as a man,
he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even the
death of the cross. He made himself of no reputation
and took upon him the form of a servant and was made in the
likeness of man, even though he was God. even though he thought
it not robbery to be equal with God. The Son of God made Himself
of no reputation. He laid aside all the glory of
being God, of being the King of Kings, of being the Creator. He laid it all aside and came
into this world of darkness, this world of rebellion, this
world of sin. Born a man, a nothing, a servant,
a carpenter by trade, a nothing. He humbled himself, he emptied
himself, he laid aside his glory, as God, as divine, he put it
to one side. He could do anything, but he
came into this world, made a man, to suffer as a man. He was made
flesh. He entered this world of darkness,
hatred, sin, rebellion. He came unto his own, the Jews,
and the Jews received him not. All men rejected him. He had
no home here. The son of man have nowhere to
lay down his head. He was born in Bethlehem, in
a filthy stable. because there was no room in
any inn for the parents to give birth to this child. This world
did not want him. Born in a filthy stable, this
world had no room, no time, no space, no concern, no care for
this man. You had no room, no time, no
space, no concern and no care for this man. And neither did
I. He had nowhere to lay his head. Isaiah 53 says of him, have no form nor comeliness and
when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire
him he's despised and rejected of men a man of sorrows and acquainted
with grief and we hid as it were our faces from him he was despised
and we esteemed him not. What does this world think of
Jesus Christ? It hates him. It takes his name
and makes it a vulgar swear word. It tramples him underfoot. When
he came in the flesh, it put him to death. Surely he have borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten
of God and afflicted. He was wounded. wounded for our
transgressions he was bruised bruised for our iniquities the
chastisement of our peace was upon him and with his stripes
we are healed it says of God's own all we like sheep have gone
astray we have turned everyone to his own way and the Lord have
laid upon him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and
he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He's brought as
a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers
is done, so he openeth not his mouth. Though afflicted, though
rejected, though he lost all, like Job, with his mouth he did
not sin. In all this did not Job sin with
his lips. Christ never cursed God. Christ never complained. Though the world hated and rejected
him, though he lost all, he never complained. Yes, Christ lost
all, all that he have. This world is his. He's the Creator,
He spake in the beginning. God spake by Jesus Christ, the
Word of God. He spake and the world was made. This world is His. Yet where
man fell into sin and Satan deceived man, Satan became the prince
of this world. Satan sought to take it from
God. Satan sought to enter into all
men and lead them into hell. God's good creation, defiled,
blackened, tainted by sin. The man that God made turned
against Him. The race that Christ Jesus brought
into being and sustains by the word of His power turned against
Him and rejected Him. In the days of His flesh, a number
of disciples followed Him. They saw His miracles, they saw
what they could gain from Him. And yet when they heard His Gospel,
they were offended and left. So many left Him. And He says
to the few that remained, will ye also go away? No, they said. Yet even those few at the end,
in Christ's greatest hour, when Christ was taken and tried and
nailed to the cross, even those few were scattered and deserted
him. When he was in Gethsemane in
great trial, knowing the hour of his death was coming upon
him, the disciples slept. Oh, do you sleep. Do the things
of God come upon you in such a way that you fall asleep? Unconcerned. Unmoved. Uncaring. Apathetic. They slept. And they scattered. And Peter, though he promised
never to deny Christ in the hour of Christ's greatest need, he
denied Him. Christ was alone. taken away
the mob cry out crucify him crucify him away with this man slay him
he's led away mocked scourged ridiculed by the Roman soldiers
nailed to a cross stripped naked like Job here in chapter 1 when
Job lost all things He rent his mantle and shaved his head. And he fell upon the ground and
worshipped. And when they stripped Christ
of all, rejected by all, took his very clothes off his back
and nailed him to that tree, did he deny his God? No, he didn't. He worshipped and he trusted. And he looked unto his father
to deliver him from all that would come upon him. Yet he was
taken and rejected. They, as it were, stole his glory
when they took the robe from off his back, his cover. That
rogue, to speak of righteousness, they took everything away. They, as it were, pulled his
righteousness from off him and left him naked and exposed before
God to die. Oh, how Christ was prepared for
that death on the cross. In figure there, all is taken
away. Left to bear the sins of many. Left to be made sin. Left to
die. Christ was alone. He had nothing. The King of Kings hung penniless
naked alone on a cross to die. He'd lost all. As Job had. Job had lost all. His sheep. His servants, his sons, his daughters,
his house. Oh, what figures of Christ and
all that he had. Christ lost his sons and his
daughters. The Jews he came unto, his people,
his people, his household of faith, turned against him and
rejected him. They cried out, crucify him.
His house with his sons and daughters had deserted him. He lost the
servants and the sheep. The sheep. A picture of Christ's
sheep. Christ's sheep are lost until
he finds them again. Why did he come into this world?
To find the lost sheep of Israel. To seek them out and to save
them. Yet until he finds them, until
he finds you, they are lost sheep and you're a lost sheep. And his servants were fled and
scattered. So many that he sent as servants
were put to death. How many of the prophets who
prophesied of the coming of Christ, how many of the preachers of
the gospel since, how many of the disciples and the apostles
were put to death. How many have been martyred down
through the ages in the Reformation days? How many are put to death
in our day in various parts of the world? And how many, though
physically alive, are put to death in the hearts of others?
People hate Christ's servants. People hate those whom he sends
with his gospel. How many Christ has lost in that
sense? They've been put to death. his
sons and daughters were in the house like Job's sons and daughters
and the house was destroyed and the sons and daughters were slain
well when Christ came to this world his house Israel was apostate
and today his house, his church the Gentile church is much the
same is much the same how much is taken away. Yet in all this,
Job sinned not. And in all this, Christ has sinned
not. Christ looks and says of all,
the Lord gave, the Lord took away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. Christ willingly laid aside all
these things that he might come for the salvation of his people. Christ entered the Son of God. God made man. Christ entered
a sinful world. Yet in all this, Christ sinned
not. Christ touched and healed lepers. He touched those who were unclean. Yet in all this, Christ sinned
not. Christ received sinners and was
condemned for doing so. Yet in all this, Christ said
not. How could the eternal God be
made man? How could the word be made flesh? How could he take humanity into
union with his divinity? How could it be? Well he did. And though he did, and though
he walked as a man amongst wicked men, He said not. How could the light, the light
of God walk amongst those who are in darkness and not be defiled
and not sin himself? How could he touch those who
are wicked sinners and not sin? Well he did. And in all this
he said not. How could he who is eternal life
die upon a cross How could God be slain? Well as Christ he did. And in all this, he sinned not. In all this he sinned not. Oh
how hard Satan struck Job. And what a picture it is of the
way that Christ, the Lord's servant, that perfect and upright man,
was struck. But Satan was not satisfied. He was not satisfied to strip
Job of all he had. He says, skin for skin, yea,
all that a man hath will he give for his life. But put forth thine
hand now, and touch his bone and his flesh, and he will curse
thee to thy face. For the Lord says to Satan, behold,
he's in thy hand. and Satan smoked Job with sore
boils from the sole of his foot under his crown. Oh, how he sought
to attack him, and how close he got. He attacked his very
flesh. Oh, the pain, the affliction,
the suffering. Touch his bone and his flesh,
he says, and he'll curse thee to thy face. Well he touched
Job's bone and Job's flesh. And Job did not curse God to
his face. In all this did not Job sin with
his lips. He put a loathsome disease into
him. Boils from the sole of his foot
to the crown of his head. And in all this Job sinned not. And is this not what came to
pass with Christ himself? Christ suffered the loss of all
things. All things. But for Christ to
save his people from their sins, he must go to the cross, to the
place of execution. He must suffer the judgment of
God against the sins of others. He must be made sin. Christ took
flesh as a man. He was made as a man to be a
sacrifice equal to men. He was made as a man to be shown
forth as a perfect substitute of sinners. A man without sin. A man just as they are. human,
with human flesh and a human soul, and yet without sin, spotless,
unblemished, he never spoke a false word, he never fought a sinful
thought, he was perfect. And yet at the cross, when nailed
to that tree, when he was slain as a substitute for sinners,
when he was sacrificed, he took their very sins and bore them. and he took their very sin and
was made to be it. That loathsome disease that had
entered mankind when Adam sinned and plunged all mankind into
sin and death, that loathsome disease that man needs to be
delivered from, God made Christ to be it that he might take it
away. And this is what this picture
in Job is of. from the sole of his foot unto
his crown. This happened to Job in his flesh,
yet God says, in all this did not Job sin. In all this Job
sinned not. despite what happened to him,
he did not sin. And despite what happened to
Christ, though he bore the sins of many, though he was made to
be sin for them that they should be made the righteousness of
God in him, though he suffered the affliction and the torment
and the judgment of God against that sin and sins, though that
sin was destroyed in his own flesh, though he died, throughout
in all this Christ sinned not because he himself as the son
of God he himself in his very person and character remained
God and remained perfect and upright though his flesh was
afflicted though he bore sins though he was made sin through
that mystical union between him and his bride, as they were made
one with him as the children of Adam, and as he took what
they are in Adam, that he should destroy it and take it away.
Though he was wrapped around with all his multitude of his
people, though he was made sin and bore their sins, he himself
in the midst as the Son of God was perfect and upright, and
he did not sin. It wasn't enough, you see, that
Christ was made man. It wasn't enough that he was
made lower than the angels, that he left behind heaven's glory. It wasn't enough that he was
rejected by all, that he lost all and that he suffered all,
but now nailed to a cross. what he would have to endure,
to suffer in the flesh, in his flesh, from top to bottom, from
his sole of his foot under his crown, from top to bottom thoroughly,
what he would have to suffer was the bearing of his people's
sins and to be made sin. Yes, this is what Job is a figure
of. This is why this is so stressed
with Job. This is why this disease was
so loathsome. It's not merely something, an
affliction that came upon Job as an example of a suffering
child of God, as something to encourage us in our walk when
we get ill, when trouble comes our way. Job is a figure of Christ. Two-fold loss. First the loss
of all things, the rejection of all men, then the bearing
of sin in his own flesh. A loathsome disease. That disease
as it were which entered mankind when Adam rebelled against God.
That disease of rebellion, that very spirit of rebellion from
which our sins flow. That evil polluted heart that
causes us to commit sins. But that very sin itself, that
loathsome disease, those boils from head to foot. Job had to
suffer it because Job was a figure of the Saviour to come who would
suffer that, of which that was a picture, who would suffer bearing
the sins and being made sin for his people that he should deliver
them from it all. That he should save them with
a mighty salvation And yet whilst he suffered this, in all this,
Christ sinned not. Do you hear that? He sinned not,
he was perfect, though he bore this loathsome disease in his
flesh. Though Christ bore our sins,
though He was made sin, He was perfect, just as Job bore it. And just as Job sinned not, Christ
sinned not. In the end, for Job, the disease
was removed from him. and all things were restored
to him. And just like Job, Christ took
away sin and he rose from the grave without one spot or blemish
on him, perfect. And in the end he had all things
restored and more so, he was greater in the latter end than
in the beginning, just as Job was. Job had many servants in
the latter end. He was given 14,000 sheep, when
at the beginning he only had seven. Only 7,000. His sheepfold
was doubled as a picture of Christ's. Because when Christ came, he
came to the Jews. But in the gospel, he sent it
forth to the Jews and to the Gentiles. And when Christ rose
from the grave, he sent forth his gospel into the entire world
to gather in thousands of sheep from all corners of this world. As it were, 14,000, double the
sheepfold, Jews and Gentiles, all gathered in as one company. And his latter end was greater
than his beginning. His latter end. But to bring
in that salvation and to gather in those sheep he must go through
this way of affliction. And as Satan said, touch his
bone and his flesh and he will curse thee to thy face. His bone
and his flesh. His bone and his flesh. Well,
what is this a picture of? But the body of Christ. Christ,
the head of his body, united with his bride, the man and the
woman, the man united with the bride, one body and one flesh,
bone and flesh, as Adam said of Eve when she was given unto
him, this is bone, she is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. Such was the union between the
man and the woman, between Adam and Eve, and such is the union
between Christ and his bride. that she is his bone and his
flesh and he was made sin because of that union because he would
save her he must be joined to her and if he's joined to her
he takes all that she is and all that she has done as if it
were his he never once sinned but he took her sins as though
they were his sins He was made born without sin, yet He was
made to be her sin that He might deliver her from that sin. They
became one, He became responsible for all that she was and He delivered
her from all that she was. He would have a bride without
spot and without blemish. He would wash her thoroughly
in His own blood. We read that these loaves and
boils came upon Job from top to bottom, from the sole of his
foot to the crown of his head. It's furrow. And when we read
in 2 Corinthians 5 of the ministry of reconciliation and of how
Christ was made to be sin, the word used for that ministry of
reconciliation of substitution in the Greek is katalaso and
it means a thorough exchange, a thorough substitution from
which reconciliation is the result. But the exchange is furrowed
top to bottom, sole of the foot to the crown of the head. And
this is stressed with Job to highlight this, that what happened
to Job must happen to Christ. He must take away all his people's
sins. He must do the job completely. He must accomplish it. Not one
sin can be left out. Not one sin. Yet all this, yet
all this was done to Christ, not by him. Just as all these
things were done to Job, not by him, and in all these things
Job sinned not, so Christ never once sinned, they were done to
him. He who knew no sin was made sin. made to be it by another,
made to be it by God the Father. God laid upon him the sins of
his people. God made him to be their sin. It was done to him that he might
deliver them from it. But it was never done by him.
In all this, Christ sinned not. And when these things came to
pass, Job sat down among the ashes. He sat down among the
ashes. as a result of what he suffered,
the ashes. What do ashes speak of but fire? But the place of sacrifice. But
the end result of fire burning up. And where was Christ when
he was made to be sin? But in the place of judgment,
the place where the fires of God poured down. He was a burnt
offering. When made sin it brought down
the judgment and the wrath of God upon his head. He was burnt. He was consumed. As Hebrews 13
tells us, he was consumed outside the camp. The bodies of the sacrifices
whose blood was shed for sins were taken outside the camp and
burnt. The blood was shed for the sins
of the people and the carcass, the body, the flesh was burnt
because of the sin that it was figuratively made to be. Now Christ bore the sins of his
people and shed his blood to wash them away but he was made
to be their sin and in his flesh, in his bone and in his flesh
he was burnt up as it were under God's wrath and sat among the
ashes. From this point on, in this book
of Job, in such a place, in such a state, We read countless chapters
of these others coming along and seeing Job in such a state
and arguing and debating and reasoning and saying it must
have been something you Job have done. Why would God bring these
things upon you except that you yourself were a sinner? Doth
not this book consist of constant repeated accusations, claims
and the reasonings of men that Job must have sinned? That these
things came upon him because of his sin or that they would
result in his sin? How he's tempted to sin. Curse
God and die. His wife says why do you retain
your integrity? Do you retain it? Curse God and
die. Yet he did retain it. And in
all this, he said not. He retained it. All the way through
this book we see man and his reasoning. Surely Job sinned. Surely. We see the same line
of thinking in the Gospels. The man at the pool. Christ came
and healed. But the people said surely he
must have sinned or his parents have sinned to bring this evil
upon him. Yet he had not. And the same thing happens with
Christ himself. The same thing happens with Christ
himself. The reasoning of man looks upon
these things, looks upon the mystery of the cross, looks upon
the doctrine of substitution, of reconciliation, and says surely
this makes Christ to be a sinner. They look upon his incarnation
and say, how could God be made man? And they wonder at his death
and say, how could the everlasting eternal God die? And they wonder
that God could truly walk in this world. God who pre-existed,
the Son of God, the eternal Son of God. They say, how could he
walk in the darkness and mix with sinners? And how could he
receive sinners and touch the lepers and heal them and not
be defiled himself? And they look upon the cross
and they say of the Son of God, How could he really bear the
sins of his people in his own flesh upon the tree and not be
a sinner? And how could God, the Son of
God, be made sin? How could he have loaves and
boils in his own flesh from head to foot and not sin himself? Surely he must have sinned, reason
said. If God laid upon him our sins
and made him to be sinned, he must have sinned. Surely he must
have sinned. That's what reason says. Perhaps
that's what you say. But the scriptures say, God says,
the truth says, in all this, in all these things, in all this,
Jesus sinned not. In all this Job sinned not nor
charged God foolishly, in all this Jesus sinned not and all
that Christ did when he suffered for his own wrought their salvation. It delivered them from sin, it
wrought their salvation, their salvation and without it it would
not have been wrought. Was it your salvation for which
he suffered these things? Was it your salvation for which
Christ lost all things and was rejected by all including you? Was it your salvation for which
he was slain and crucified and put to death even by you in your
heart? Was it for your salvation that
he bore sins and was made sin and suffered the judgment and
outpouring of the fires of God's wrath? Was it for your salvation
that he sat in the ashes? Was it for your salvation that
he suffered the abuse and the scorn of all men around him? Was it for your salvation that
others said unto him, curse God and die? Was it for your salvation
that he suffered the hatred of all men? That he suffered your
hatred? Was it for your salvation that
he was made sin? Was it? For except Christ suffered
in this way, there would be no salvation. And except Christ
suffered for you in this way, there would be no salvation. But He did suffer, and He did
save. He did come into this world to
save sinners from their sins. He did come into this world to
save His people. He did save. Did He save you? Did He? For in all this, Jesus
sinned not. For He is a great, great Savior
with a wonderful salvation. Amen.