Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 1030 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
945 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. I'm preaching this morning from
Mark chapter 15, and I've entitled this message, Christ Numbered
with the Transgressors. Now, that title comes from our
text where it says, and with him they crucified two thieves,
the one on his right hand and the other on his left. That's
Mark chapter 15, verse 27, verse 28. And the scripture was fulfilled,
which saith, and he was numbered with the transgressors. Who is
he? The Lord Jesus Christ, the spotless
Lamb of God, the One who knew no sin, the One who did no sin,
the One whom in Him is no sin, the only holy man to ever live,
the Lord Jesus Christ. He was numbered. He was counted. He was seen. By men, yes, they did not have
any love for him. They certainly didn't believe
he was sinless. They thought he deserved to die because of
his false claims in their idea. And it's also true that God numbered
him. He first numbered him this way. He was numbered with the transgressors. with the ones who committed the
sin, he was put in that bunch. Christ was numbered with the
transgressors. Now earlier, in Luke's account,
before Gethsemane's garden, he made this statement, he said,
for I say unto you, that this that is written must yet be accomplished
in me, and he was reckoned among the transgressors. For the things
concerning me have an end." Now this is from what I like to call
the gospel of Isaiah. Isaiah chapter 53 verse 12 says, He was numbered with the transgressors. And the verb numbered, written
700 years before it has even taken place, is in the perfect
tense, meaning a completed action. 700 years before it took place,
it was a completed action. Now somebody says, how can that
be? Well, Christ is called in Revelation chapter 13, verse
8, the Lamb slain. And there the word slain is in
the perfect tense. Literally, the Lamb having been
slain from the foundation of the world. Before there was a
creation, before there was a sinner, we have the Lamb slain from the
very foundation of the world. And the whole Bible is interpreted
in light of that verse. All of human history is interpreted
in light of that verse, the Lamb slain from the foundation of
the world. Now, let's back back up in verse
22. It says, and they bring him unto
the place Golgotha. which is being interpreted the
place of a skull. Now different reasons are given
for this name. It's the place where criminals
were crucified and executed and some have suggested that their
bodies were just thrown down the hill. not even given a proper
burial, and there were bones and skulls in this place. That could be. Others have said
that the hill was shaped like a skull. Well, that could be
too, I suppose. I don't know why, but it was
called the Place of the Skull. And they gave him to drink wine. This is verse 23. They gave him
to drink wine mingled with myrrh. Some have said this was an offer
of an anesthetic to dull the pain that was ahead. Perhaps
it was, but I kind of think the people who were crucifying him
wanted him to feel all the pain. They had no pity for him, and
the scripture says he received it not. He would not take it. And when they had crucified him,
They parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man
should take." Now, the reason they did this is because Psalm
22, 18 says, they parted my garments among them and cast lots from
my vesture. You see, everything that took place was foretold
in the Old Testament Scriptures. This lets us know that God is
in control of everything that's going on. I love that passage
of scripture, him being delivered by the determinant counsel and
foreknowledge of God. You have taken and with wicked
hands have crucified and slain. Everything was according to God's
purpose. And everything they did was done that the scriptures
might be fulfilled. And it was the third hour, 9
a.m., and they crucified him and the superscription of his
accusation was written over the king of the Jews. And with him
they crucify two thieves, the one on his right hand and
the other on his left, with Christ nailed to the middle cross. A thief on his left, a criminal,
a malfactor, and a thief, a criminal, a malfactor on his right. And
the scripture was fulfilled. which said, and he was numbered
with the transgressors." That's a quotation from Isaiah 53, verse
12. He was numbered with the transgressors. Now, the word numbered is a word
that Paul uses quite often, and it's generally translated imputed
or reckoned, numbered. if you were a part of the census,
that your number was in that census. That's the way the word
could be used. It means to count, to be included,
to judge, to suppose. He was numbered with the transgressors. Now, how can that be? He never
sinned, yet he is numbered with the transgressors. Now, this
word number, It's a verb. I've heard it used as an adjective. People talk about imputed righteousness,
imparted righteousness, positional righteousness. Those are wrong
because this word is always a verb. It's not a description. It's
an action. He was numbered with the transgressors,
and the word has to do with reality. Now, if I reckon, if I think,
if I compute that I have $1,000 in my checking account, the reason
would be is I have $1,000 in my checking account. If I just
up and say, well, I'm going to impute $1,000 into my checking
account, that's not going to put the money there, is it? If I
try to write a check on that money and it's not there, I've
deceived myself, haven't I? You see, this has to do with
reality. The only way I can truly reckon
$1,000 is in my account is if $1,000 is in fact in my account. Now, the reason he was numbered
with the transgressors is because he was made sin. And that is
how God's holy character and how God's holy law viewed him. Now, here's a way to understand
this word. Paul said to reckon yourselves to be, this is Roman
611, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive
unto God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Now, the only way I can
reckon myself to be dead to sin The only way God can tell me
to reckon myself to be dead indeed to sin is if I am in fact dead
to sin. And when Christ bore my sin,
he put them away, and I am dead to that sin. It has nothing it
can say against me. It has nothing it can bring to
my charge. I am dead indeed to sin. Christ put it all away. It can't
come back up on Judgment Day. It is gone. Separated me as far as the east
is from the west. He was numbered with the transgressors. Now what I want to do is go to
Isaiah chapter 53, which is one of the There's no more important
chapter in all the Bible than Isaiah 53. And Isaiah 53 is that
great prophecy concerning the substitutionary work of the Lamb
of God in the sinner's stead. And in verse 12, he says, because
he hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with
the transgressors. And he bare the sin of many,
and he made intercession for the transgressors. Now that was
written 700 years before it took place. And Mark says, here's
why he was Crucified between two thieves, both great and grievous
transgressors, he was numbered with them. He was in that demographic
because of what he was doing as the sinner's substitute. Now,
in Isaiah 53, beginning in verse 1, Isaiah says, Who hath believed
our report? Now when Isaiah says that, it
seemed like no one believed. Who has believed? I report. And to whom is the arm of the
Lord revealed? Now he answers his own question
in that second statement. I know who has believed the report,
those to whom the arm of the Lord has been revealed. You see,
if you believe, it's because God himself revealed himself
and his gospel to you. You couldn't have figured this
out. Canst thou by searching find out God? No. The only way
you or I can truly know the truth, truly know the gospel, is if
God himself reveals himself to us. We don't know by nature,
and we will not know by nature, unless he is pleased to reveal
himself. Now, he says in verse two, for
he And I want to say that I believe this is talking about the first
30 years of the Lord's life before his public ministry. For he shall
grow up before him, his father, as a tender plant and as a root
out of dry ground. And there is no form nor comeliness
There was nothing about him that you would say, he must be the
son of God. Look how good looking he is. Look how impressive he
is. Look how educated he is. Look
how much he owns. Surely this man is somebody. No, there is no comeliness. He hath no form nor comeliness.
And when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him. Now when the Son of God walked
upon this earth, nobody knew he was the Son of God. There
wasn't anything about him physically that stood out as making him
different than any other man. And this is so beautifully illustrated
in the tabernacle in the Old Testament. You know what it was
covered with? Badger skin. When's the last time you looked
at badger skin? It's not very impressive. It's not very pretty.
And I have no doubt that the Moabites and the Amalekites and
the Hittites would look down on that camp of Israel around
that tabernacle covered with a badger skin and they thought,
what's the? big deal about that place, but they didn't know that
the Shekinah glory of God dwelt on the inside, the very presence
of God. But they couldn't see it. Verse
three, it says, he is despised. I think this is talking about
his three years of public ministry. He is despised and rejected of
men, a man of sorrows. He said, I've been afflicted
from my youth. You know, he always knew that his end was to be separated
from his father as the sin-bearing substitute. He was obedient to
this, but he knew that he would be made sin. He knew he would
be cut off, and how that weighed upon him. He's a man of sorrows
and acquainted with grief, and we hid, as it were, our faces
from him. We didn't want to be identified
with him. Have you ever seen somebody and you hide your face,
you don't want them to see you, you don't want to be identified
with them, you don't want to talk to them? That's the way
we were with him. He was despised and we esteemed
him not. How sad. The glorious Son of
God, altogether lovely, and we esteemed Him not. Nothing worse can be said about
any individual than this. We esteemed Him not. That's our sinfulness. Now, Isaiah
goes on to tell us the gospel. Surely, I love the way he begins
with that word, surely. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Now, this is why he went to Calvary
three. He hath borne our griefs and
carried our sorrows. And I have to ask this question,
who is meant by our? Does that mean every man? Does
that mean every man without exception? Does that mean every son and
daughter of Adam to ever live? Well, if men go to hell, And
they do. The Lord gave us the parable
of the rich man who in hell lifted up his eyes being in torments.
If a man goes to hell that Christ bore his griefs and carried his
sorrows, the death of Christ didn't do anything for that man.
Such a thought is monstrous. To think that Jesus Christ could
pay for somebody's sins and they end up having to go to hell anyway,
that takes away the gospel. There's no gospel in that message.
So the hour is the elect. The hour is those who believe. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. We thought he's getting what
he deserves. We didn't understand what he was doing, but in spite
of our wickedness, He was wounded, pierced is the word. He was pierced
for our transgressions. He was bruised, he was crushed
for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him. And with his stripes, we are
healed. Now, the only way I can have
peace is this way. He was wounded for my transgressions.
I no longer bear them. He was bruised for my iniquities. They're put away. The chastisement
of my peace, the only way I can have peace is through his chastisement,
him suffering the wrath of God and actually putting away my
sin. That is the only peace there
is to be had. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. Not we will be
healed. When he said it is finished,
the salvation of everybody he died for was accomplished. Now
Isaiah goes on to make this confession of sin. He says, all we, like
sheep, have gone astray. A sheep goes astray so easily. A sheep is dumb. A sheep doesn't
have any means of defense. It doesn't have fangs or claws
to protect itself. A sheep is totally dependent. And once a sheep goes astray,
it can't find its way back. And you know, it's only sheep
that go astray. Goats don't. Sheep do. All we
like sheep, this is talking about everybody he died for, all we
like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way. You see, my sin is my fault.
I can't blame God's sovereignty. I can't blame you. I can't blame
my circumstances. I'm no victim. I've gone my own
way. All my sin is my fault. I can't
blame anybody else. We have turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord. hath laid on him the iniquity
of us all. You see, he bear our sins in
his own body on the tree. The Lord laid on him the iniquity
of us all. My iniquity became his. Verse seven says he was oppressed
and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. He's brought
as a lamb to the slaughter as a sheep before shears is done.
So he opened on his mouth. Now, why didn't he open his mouth?
Why didn't he defend himself? Because he really was guilty.
When my sin became His sin, it became His sin. And He owned
it as His sin. And the reason He didn't open
His mouth and try to defend Himself is because He stood guilty before
God and He knew it. Verse 8 says He was taken from
prison or from oppression and from judgment. Everything about
this transaction of the cross that men did was unjust. And
no one protested. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. Who shall declare his generation? For he was cut
off out of the land of the living. He died. He was put to death. He died on that cross. He who
is life died. He was cut off out of the land
of the living. They took down a dead corpse
from that cross. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. That's why God struck him and
killed him, because of the sins of his people. You know, Matthew
121 says, thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save
his people from their sins. That's what was going on. Verse
nine, and he made his grave with the wicked and with the rich
in his death. And he was buried in a rich man's tomb, Joseph
of Arimathea, just as God said he would. And even though he'd
done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. He never
sinned. Even when he was made sin, he
never sinned in his person. But here's what was going on,
verse 10. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. Now that's not talking about
some kind of sadistic pleasure of the Lord God out of inflicting
the death of the cross on His Son. This was God's eternal purpose,
to save the people for the glory of His name. It pleased the Lord
to bruise Him. You see, he's the lamb slain
from the foundation of the world, and now in time it's taking place. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. He hath put him to grief. Many hands were raised against
him. None would interpose to save.
But the deepest stroke that pierced him was the stroke that justice
gave. It was his father who put him
to grief. When thou shalt make his soul
an offering for sin. Now this is what is taking place.
God the Father has made the soul of the Son an offering for sin. Now that word offering for sin
in the Hebrew is only one word. He made him sin. He made him
guiltiness. Second Corinthians 521 says,
for he hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin that we
might be made the righteousness of God. In him, when thou shalt
make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, his
people, his elect, and he shall prolong his days. He said, I
am he that liveth and was dead, and behold, I'm alive forevermore.
He raised him from the dead to die no more. He shall prolong
his days. He abideth continually, a high
priest after the order of Melchizedek. He shall prolong his days, and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. You see,
what he does is successful. He shall not fail nor be discouraged. Everybody he died for must be
saved. He's no failure. Everybody he
represents is saved. Verse 11, he shall see of the
travail of his soul. And that's speaking of the cross,
speaking of the travail, the pain of his soul. and he shall
be satisfied." You know, God the Father is infinitely satisfied
with what His Son did. Nothing else is needed. God the
Son is infinitely satisfied with what He did. He's not looking
for something you do to add to what He did. God the Holy Spirit
is infinitely satisfied with what He did. Are you satisfied
with what He did to where you don't look anywhere else but
to Him only? That's what God's people do.
He shall see the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied by
his knowledge. Shall my righteous servant justify
many? For he shall bear their iniquities."
That's how they're justified. He bore their iniquities, put
them away, takes his righteousness, gives his righteousness to them,
so they stand before God without guilt. Therefore, verse 12, Well,
I divide him a portion with the great or the many and he shall
divide the spoiled with the strong because he had poured out his
soul unto death. And here's why he poured out
his soul unto death. He was numbered with the transgressors.
That's why the cross took place. He was numbered with the transgressors. And here's why, he bare the sin
of many. When he was on the cross, he
was actually bearing the sins of his people, the individual
conglomerate trillions and zillions of sins he bore in his own body
on the tree. That's why he was numbered with
the transgressors. The sins of his people were in
him. He bore our sins in his own body
on the tree, and made intercession for the transgressors, there's
a man in glory right now representing everybody he died for. Christ
was numbered with the transgressors. Thank God he was pleased to do
that. This is Todd Nyberg, praying
that God will be pleased to make himself known to you. Amen. To
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