Let's turn together to Luke 24. Our Lord Jesus is in this passage
walking along the Emmaus Road talking to two of his disciples.
He had not made himself known to these two disciples who were
terribly perplexed, terribly confused. by the fact that he
had been delivered to the chief priest into Pilate's hand, and
he had been crucified at Jerusalem, suffering all the horrible ignominy,
shame, and pain connected with crucifixion. The risen Redeemer
is standing now before these men, and they We had trusted. When I read those words, I think
how sad. We had trusted. Had they given
up their trust? Were they saying, we did trust
him, but we trust him no more? We had trusted that if it had
been he, which should have redeemed Israel. He had, but they didn't
know it. And they were believers. They had trusted, but suddenly
they're thrown into a tailspin. They're utterly thrown into a
tailspin. In verses 25 and 26, our Savior
answers them with the word of stern reproof and a word of blessed
instruction. Here is the word of reproof.
Then he said unto them, O fools, I don't know that our Lord ever
used a stronger word of reproof. to any of his own than right
here. It was no stronger a word of
reproof than when he said to Peter, Get thee behind me, Satan. He says, O fools and slow of
heart to believe, to believe all that the prophets have spoken. That which most dishonors our
God. That which is more foolish than
anything else found among men is unbelief. The most foolish
thing in this world is not to believe God. And the most dishonoring
thing to God in this world is not to believe Him. And when
that unbelief is found in you and I who believe. It's more
foolish and more dishonoring to our God than anywhere else. God saved me from the unbelief
that is in me. But I want to call your attention
tonight to the word of instruction found in verse 26. It's cast
in the form of a two-part question. Our Savior says, Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things? That's the first part. And, if
I can insert a parenthetical explanation, and by suffering
these things, to enter into his glory. Our Lord Jesus here asserts
again what he told his disciples repeatedly in his three and a
half years of ministry walking with them. He repeats again what
he told them repeatedly, especially as the appointed hour of his
death drew near. He tells them that there was
an imperative, an absolute necessity that he must suffer all that
he suffered in Gethsemane, Gabbatha, and Golgotha. And he tells them
that one aspect of that necessity is just this, without his accomplishment
of redemption for his people, without him having obtained eternal
redemption for us by his obedience unto death, suffering all that
he suffered at the hands of men and at the hand of his Father,
He could never have entered into His glory as the God-man, our
mediator. To this end, Paul tells us, Christ
both died and revived that He might be Lord of the dead and
of the living. I have but one object, one purpose
in preaching this message. I want, by the grace of God the
Holy Spirit, to show you from this book, from the Word of God,
the necessity of our Lord's suffering and death, the absolute necessity
of it. Here's the first thing I want
you to see clearly. This is God's greatest work.
The psalmist speaks of the wondrous things God has done for us, the
great things God has done for us. is God's greatest, most stupendous
work, this work of our redemption by the death of his Son. When
we attempt to contemplate what that work involved, we are lost
in astonishment. When we think of the unutterable
depths of shame and sorrow into which the Lord of glory entered
to save us, we are awed and staggered. that God the Son should lay aside
the robes of his absolute glory and take upon him the form of
a servant, that the ruler of heaven, earth, and hell should
be made under the law, that the creator of the universe should
tabernacle in this world being made flesh and have not where
to lay his head is something no finite mind can comprehend. But where carnal reason stops,
faith begins. As we trace the path of our Savior
from the throne of glory to the tomb of death, and behold Him
who, though He was rich, yet for our sakes became poor, that
we through His poverty might be made rich, we are lost in
the wonders that are before us. We know, we know, at least in
this place, we know. that every aspect of our Savior's
life and death, everything connected with it, everything resulting
from it, was decreed by God Almighty from everlasting and was accomplished
exactly according to God's purpose. Yet it was a path of immeasurable
sorrow, unutterable anguish, ceaseless ignominy, bitter hatred
and relentless persecution that finally brought the Darling of
Heaven, God's own beloved Son, to shame and death when He was
made sin for us. Standing at the foot of the cross,
in my mind's eye, as I behold Him covered with his blood, covered
with the excrement of men's throats who spit in his face, made sin for me, shrouded in utter darkness, forsaken
of God, I am at the same time filled with utter astonishment. an indescribable reference. He who knew no sin was made sin
for us that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. That little word, that, tells
us that there was no other way we could be made the righteousness
of God except he be made sin. Christ hath redeemed us from
the curse of the law, being made a curse for us. For it is written, Cursed is
everyone that hangeth on a tree. That is that word again. Why was he made sin? Why was
he made a curse? Because there was no other way
that we could receive God's promise made to Abraham the promise of
the spirit of life everlasting, except by Him being made a curse
for us. The hymn writer described what
I'm trying to say delightfully. Yonder amazing sight I see, the
incarnate Son of God expiring on the cursed tree and weltering
in His blood. Behold a purple torrent run down
from his hands and head. The crimson tide puts out the
sun. His cries awake the dead. The trembling earth, the darkened
sky proclaim this truth aloud. And with the amazed, seething
cry, This is the Son of God." Now here's the second thing. with reverence for my crucified
Lord, and I am awed. And I would not, before God I
tell you, I would not cry into these things, except necessity
demand it, and the scriptures demand it. Awed as I am before
him, there is a question that reason must ask. A question for which any sanity
demands an answer. A question I cannot keep from
asking. Why? Why? Why did the Son of God suffer
such a death? Why did God so torment His darling
Son and kill him in such a horribly painful, shameful, ignominious
way, slaughtering him as though he were a beast for sacrifice. Was it to save my soul? Yes,
it was that. It was that. I know Christ Jesus
came here to save me and there's no other way by which he could
be just and justify me. Was all this done to demonstrate
the greatness of God's love for me? Indeed it was. God commendeth His love toward
us. God sets out His love for us
in this glorious light, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for us. Jesus, who left His throne on
high, left the bright realms of bliss and came to earth to
bleed and die was ever love like this. But surely, surely God
could convince me of his love without killing his son. I'm
convinced of yours. I'm convinced that lady loves
me. I'm convinced she's willing to die for me. I'm convinced
of it, I don't have any question about it. But she never has died
for me. If she can convince me that she
loves me, surely God could convince me that he loves me without dying
for me. Surely he could. What then was
the necessity for the Son of God to be made sin? To be forsaken by his Father? tormented by the furious wrath
of God, put to death, slaughtered in our room and in our stead.
There's only one answer that can be given. Justice must be
satisfied. Justice must be satisfied. Without the shedding of blood,
we're told in Hebrews 9.22, is no remission. God Almighty can
do what He will in His absolute sovereignty, but the scriptures
tell us plainly God cannot lie. Does that limit God's sovereignty?
Oh, no. It just tells us His character.
Being faithful and true, He cannot lie. If He could lie, He's not
faithful and true. He cannot deny himself. He cannot
deny his character. That doesn't limit his sovereignty. And God Almighty could never
extend mercy to a guilty sinner except justice be satisfied for
that sinner. It looks to me like anyone with
any sense ought to be able to understand that, except for one
thing. You can't understand these things
revealed in this book except the Spirit of God revealed them
to you. The justice of God had to be satisfied in order for
God to save his people, and the only way justice could be satisfied
is if a suitable ransom, a suitable sacrifice, a suitable offering
is made to justice by which satisfaction is accomplished. sacrifice. That offering, that ransom, is
God's darling Son, our Savior. But not in His character only
as God the Son, but in His character as the God-man, our Mediator. It was man who died, and man
must satisfy. But no man can satisfy. No man. except that man who is God. And the God-man died and satisfied
the justice of God for us. The title of my message tonight
is The Necessity. I want to show you from the scriptures
both the necessity and the blessedness of our Lord's satisfaction of
divine justice. No subject is more important. The satisfaction of justice by
the death of God's darling son is that which distinguishes the
gospel of God's grace from all other religions and all forms
of religious doctrine. Take away the satisfaction of
Christ, and the word satisfaction is important. Justice being satisfied. Take that away. And that which
is called Christianity is of no more benefit to the souls
of men than Judaism, Buddhism, or Hinduism. Satisfaction is
the very core of the gospel of God's grace. We are here to declare
to men not the love of God, Not the mercy of God, not the goodness
of God, not preeminently, oh no. The gospel is the declaration
of the righteousness of God that he might be just and the justifier
of him that believeth. Now I can't think of a better
place to begin than in Hebrews chapter 2. Hebrews chapter 2. Our Savior said, Christ to have
suffered these things and to enter into his glory? Was there
not a necessity? Was there not an imperative?
Was there not something that compelled that these things must
come to pass? In Hebrews chapter 2 and verse
9 and verse 10, the Holy Spirit states the necessity of our Lord's
satisfaction for sin more clearly than in any other single passage
of Before we look at this, I want you to turn to Hebrews 2 and
turn to Hebrews 10. Among all the damnable heresies
that are embraced and taught by men in this world, none is
more common and none is so utterly destructive to the souls of men
as the denial of Christ's satisfaction. Hebrews 10, verse 29, of how
much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy,
who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath counted
the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified. That is, that professed faith
he had in the blood which separated him outwardly from other people.
He has counted the blood of the covenant that made him religious
an unholy thing, and hath done despite to the Spirit of grace. Just in case you don't recognize
it, that is strong language. That is condemning language.
The word unholy Counts it an unholy thing? Do
you know how that word is usually translated in scripture? Counts
it a common thing. Something shed for all, possessed
by all, held by all. Those who count the blood of
Christ a common thing. shed for all, something to benefit
all, something for the good of all. They tread his blood under
their feet and despise the Spirit of grace. That's about as condemning
a word from God as you will find for anything. And it is spoken
concerning all who would assert that Jesus Christ shed his blood
for nothing because he died. They say he died for all men. All right, now let me show you.
Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9. To declare that Christ died to
redeem and save all men. To declare that Christ shed his
blood so that all men might have a chance to get saved. To declare
that Christ by His death offered Himself as a sacrifice for all
men without exception is to declare that satisfaction has not been
made, that He is not a perfected Redeemer, that He cannot by Himself
and has not by Himself purged our sin. It is to declare that
His sacrifice is useless and that He died in vain for some. Now let's see, Hebrews chapter
2, verse 9. Let's read these two verses together,
line by line. We see Jesus. We don't see yet
all things put under Him. As God said, He created the angels
and all things to be put under the feet of man. We don't see
that. Well, I do, because I see everything put under His feet,
who is the God-man, my mediator. We see Him because God the Holy
Spirit has revealed Him in us and given us faith to see Him.
And in Him we see all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. In Him
we see all the fullness of grace. And in Him we see all the fullness
of redemption. By His blood we have redemption,
even the forgiveness of sins. a little lower than the angels. He who made the angels, made
under the angels, made a little lower than the angels. He was
made of the seed of woman, made to be a man, made under the law
for this purpose, to redeem them that were under the law. Now
this is why he was made a little lower than the angels. It's talking
about our Lord's incarnation. For the suffering of death. The
Son of God stepped into this time world in human flesh with
one purpose in mind. Lo, I come to do thy will, O
my God. What will? The will that's described
in the 40th Psalm and described in the 10th chapter of Hebrews,
the will of God was the redemption of his people by the sacrifice
of himself. It is absolutely ludicrous. It is absolutely ludicrous to
imagine that God Almighty stepped into this world in human flesh
so that he could be a king over in that little piece of land
called Israel. Just about the most ludicrous thing in this
world. He was king over there already. He created it. It is absolutely ludicrous that
he came down here to suggest that he came down here in human
flesh to be an earthly monarch who is the monarch of everything.
The Lord Jesus came here to save his people from their sins. That's the language of scripture,
isn't it? That's why he came into this world. And we see this
too. Since he suffered and died in
the place of his people, he is now crowned with glory and honor. In Covenant Grace, you can read
it in Psalm 2, verse 8, the triune God said to Christ our mediator
and surety, ask of me. And I will give thee the heathen
for thine inheritance." And that's exactly what he did in John 17
when he came to the end of his days just before he laid down
his life for us. He said, I finished the work
that thou gavest me to do. Now, Father, glorify thou me
with thine own self, with the glory that I had with you before
the world was. What is that? Thou hast given
him power, dominion over all flesh, that he should give eternal
life to as many as Thou hast given him." Now look at the next
line. Christ was made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death. Now watch this. That. There's that word again. That. Because there was no other
way. Because there was no other way
that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every
man. Now this statement, like all
others, must be understood in the context in which it is given,
here in Hebrews chapter 2. And it must be understood in
the context of the whole of Holy Scripture. Is this a declaration? that Christ died even for those
for whom he refused to pray? There are some things, if a fellow
just thinks about it a little bit, would demonstrate the folly
of false religion. People tell us, oh, Jesus died
for everybody, won't it be a shame that he died for so many who
perish after all? Well, it sure would to him. It
sure would. Well, is this a declaration that
He died for all men? That He, by the grace of God,
should taste death for every man? What is the Apostle saying? What's the Holy Spirit telling
us? Did He really die for people for whom He would not pray? I'll
be honest with you. I might be persuaded to die for
you, but I'll guarantee you if I wouldn't even pray for you,
I wouldn't die for you. No, that's kind of ridiculous.
Does the Spirit here intend for us Understand that he died for
those who are not his sheep, when he said, I lay down my life
for the sheep. And he said to those who got
mad at him because he declared that, you believe not because
you're not of my sheep. Does the Spirit of God mean for
us to understand? that the Lord Jesus died in the
room instead of those people from whom he hides both his word
and his works and says, Father, I thank you, you've hid these
things from them. I don't think so. Certainly not.
To say such is to declare that there are some for whom Christ
shed his blood in vain. Some for whom his redeeming work
was meaningless. Some for whom he died, who shall
not at last be redeemed by him. Some for whom he obtained eternal
redemption, who shall never possess eternal redemption. Well, what's
the meaning of those words? Now, I don't suggest by any means
that everyone needs to understand Hebrew or Greek. I don't even
understand them, and I don't pretend to. But I do look at
things. And this particular word translated
or given to us in the end of Hebrews 2, 9, man, it's not there. Why the translators did not put
it in italics, I will never comprehend. The word man is not there. Look
it up in any Greek text you want to, old or modern, it's not there. It's not there. They put it in
there to make the sentence read smoothly, because the sentence
really It ends, really it's not an end, it's just part of the
sentence that ends, that he, by the grace of God, should taste
death for every. Every. And if you want to read
the passage exactly as it ought to be read, that he, by the grace
of God, should taste death for every period, period, period. Which means, now this is what
it means. And then read the rest of the chapter. The word is pas. It means the whole. That he by
the grace of God should taste death for the whole. It means
every. The word really means that he
by the grace of God should taste death for every one of those
whom I'm about to name. And here they are. Every son,
verse 10, whom he would bring to glory. Every one of the brethren
he's not ashamed to own as his own. Verse 11. He tasted death
for every member of that church in the midst of it which he sings
God's praise. Verse 12. He tasted death for
every one of the children of God the Father has given him
to save, for whose sake he assumed flesh and blood. Verse 13. And
then in verse 60, he tasted death for every one of Abraham's seed. Do you see that? He took not
on him the nature of angels. He didn't take hold of the angels
to save them. But he took on him, or he took
hold of, the seed of Abraham. If Hebrews 2 intended us to understand
that he tasted death for every son of Adam as their representative. Hebrews 2.16 would read, He took
hold on the seed of Adam, but he didn't. He took hold on the
seed of Abraham, God's elect, God's covenant people. Those
people for whom God had made a covenant with whom God had
made a covenant in Him. Those people God had given Him
to save. Those people He came to redeem.
Why was the Son of God made so humble to suffer and die for
His people, these covenant people? What necessity was there? Read
on. For it became Him. It became Him. There again is
a strong word. It was necessary for him. If
God would save sinners and bring them to glory, that the Son of
God must suffer in their room instead. All that law and justice
could demand. The scriptures plainly declare
that there was a necessity for our Savior's death. As Moses
lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the
Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should
not perish, but have everlasting life. Our Savior's death was
necessitated by the decree of God. necessitated by the holy,
just character of God, necessitated by His own covenant engagements
as our surety, necessitated by all the prophecies of Old Testament
scriptures. He died for our sins exactly
according to the scriptures, exactly as the Old Testament
prophets said He would and must die, exactly as the Old Testament
types portrayed Him as dying. And it was necessitated by the
election of grace. Now listen carefully. No, God
did not have to save anyone. No. Somebody says, well, God
has to be just. And He has to be merciful. Because God is love. And there
was a great vacuum in God. Because he needed someone to
love, so he created us that he could love us. What foolish nonsense. Do you really think God Almighty,
the self-sufficient eternal I Am, needs you? The Father, Son, and
Holy Spirit dwell together in everlasting eternal ineffable
love one for another, the Father loving the Son and the Spirit,
and so on, and no vacuum in God. God must be just. He may be merciful. He may be
merciful. He didn't have to save anyone,
but having chosen to save some. Larry Chris, He can't save you
apart from justice. He can't save without righteousness
being established. He cannot save without justice
being satisfied. Read on. When Paul says it became
him, that it was necessary for God to slay his son to save his
people, lest we begin to think that this somehow implies some
sort of weakness in God, he immediately describes for us the character
of our God in these words. for whom are all things, and
by whom are all things." Don't ever get the idea that something
slips up on God. Don't ever get the idea that
somehow something is out of God's control. Don't ever get the idea
that somehow something happens contrary to God's absolute purpose. Nothing does. all things are for him. Understand it or not, they are. The Lord hath made all things
for himself, you and me. Yea, even the wicked for the
day of judgment, and all things are by him. For of him and through him and
to him are all things to whom be glory forever. In bringing many sons to glory
it became him, for whom were all things and by whom were all
things, in bringing many sons to glory. an intimation of God's
gracious design toward his elect, the seed of Abraham, on whom
Christ laid hold to redeem. Those Christ came to save are
many sons. They were already his sons when
he came to save them. He came to save his people from
their sins. God the Holy Spirit tells us
here that the Lord Jesus Christ came into this world for the
purpose of bringing God's chosen, predestinated, elected, adopted
children unto everlasting glory. He came here. that he might by
the sacrifice of himself lift us up from the dung heap of fallen
humanity and bring us out of the pit of condemnation and death
and bring us up at last into glory itself, even the glory
that the Father gave him as our mediator. The person by whom
we are brought to glory is described next. as the captain of our salvation. I like that. Why is he called the captain
of our salvation? For three reasons. He's the one
in charge of it. He's the one responsible for
it. And he's the one who does it. He's the one in charge of it.
Salvation is his. He's the one responsible for
it. If any of those given him to save are not saved by him,
if any of those given him to redeem are not redeemed by him,
if any of those committed to his hands and the portals of
time open are not found with him in the harbor of heavenly
glory, it's his fault. He's responsible. And he's the
one who does it. Salvation is done by his hand
alone. Now watch this. As the captain
of our salvation, the Lord Jesus was made perfect through sufferings. He could never do the work. He could never be our perfect
captain of salvation. He could never bring us to glory. except he suffer and die in our
room and in our stead. Hold your hands here and turn
to chapter 5 of Hebrews, verse 8. Though he were a son, yet learned
he obedience. That doesn't mean he learned
what it is to obey, though certainly experimentally that was true.
But rather, he learned obedience spiritually. He said, I will
redeem. And he learned it by the things
which he suffered. And being made perfect. But wasn't he perfect before?
Yes, the perfect son of God. Yes, the perfect man. Yes, the
Holy One, without sin, without blemish, lacking nothing. But
He wasn't perfect as the captain of our salvation, because salvation
wasn't accomplished. His work wasn't finished until
He had suffered and died in our stead. He learned obedience by
the things He suffered, and being made perfect, He became the author
of eternal salvation unto all them that believe. Yes, it was
necessary for Christ to die on the cross, to die under the wrath
of God as one on whom our iniquities were laid, as one whom God made
sin for us. If God Almighty would save us,
Christ must die in our stead, for it is written. Let me show
you two passages. Turn to Proverbs chapter 6, or
chapter 16. I don't want you to just hear
them, I want you to read them. Proverbs 16 and verse 6. How does God put away sin? Well, by the blood of Christ,
yes sir, you're exactly right. Now let me tell you what that
means. No, let Solomon tell you what that means. Proverbs 16, 6. By mercy Iniquity is purged. Well, that's
not just exactly so, is it? By mercy and truth, iniquity
is purged. By God's mercy and God's truth,
iniquity is purged. Let's see what it means. 1 Peter
3, verse 18. Don't lose proverbs, I want you
to turn right back there. For Christ also hath once suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust. There's that word again, that. Because there's no other way
it could be done. He suffered the just for the
unjust that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh. but quickened by the Spirit. Now, how is all this accomplished? Back in Proverbs 17, verse 15. He that justifieth the wicked,
and he that condemneth the just, even both or an abomination to
the Lord. Well, preacher, that doesn't
explain anything. That just makes a mass of confusion. Hang on.
Hang on. You mean God Almighty cannot
justify us? No, He can't do it. You mean
God cannot condemn His Son as our substitute? He cannot do
it, except first he make his son sin, punishing his son to the full
satisfaction of justice, and by doing so make us righteous,
even the righteousness of God in him. Now, now, when God made
his son sin, what did he do with him? Awake, O sword, against
one that is my fellow, smite and slay the shepherd. And then Christ arose from the
dead and entered into His glory. And when the Spirit of truth
has come, He comes and convinces you He done it. He convinces you of your sin,
of Christ's satisfaction of judgment, of condemnation done. and of
righteousness. Now hear what the Savior said,
because I go to my Father. I go to my Father. The Lord Jesus
could not enter into his glory, being given power over all flesh,
to give eternal life to sinners like us, except he suffer all
these. And having suffered all these
things, he has entered into his glory, and he gives eternal life
to every sinner for whom he died. And none for whom he died shall
ever perish. For payment God cannot twice
demand, first at my bleeding surety's hand, and then again
at mine. And that's the blessed, glorious
revelation of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Amen.