Now let's look at Isaiah 53 just
a moment. There are two words, neither of which are found in
this chapter, but two words which actually sum up the good news
of the gospel. One is the word substitute, substitution. That's what we find in verse
4. He hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Verse 5,
he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And verse 6, all
we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his
own way, and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
That's substitution. Now, satisfaction is the last
line of verse 5. with his stripes were healed. Those are the two words that
sum up the gospel. Substitution, the Lord laid on
him all our iniquity. And satisfaction, he satisfied. All that the law demanded, all
that justice required, with his stripes were healed. My friends,
it was not only on the cross that Christ was our substitute.
It wasn't only on the cross that he was our substitute. It wasn't
only on the cross that he accomplished satisfaction before God and represented
us before God. From the cradle and before, from
the cradle to the cross to the crown, he represents his covenant
people in all that he is and all that he did. both actively
and passively, fulfilling, accomplishing all that God required, none of
which they could supply. Allow me to show you that. I
ask you to turn in your Bibles, first of all, to Luke chapter
2. Christ Jesus, our substitute,
from the cradle to the cross, to the crown. All that he did
and is was to fully accomplish and complete for us perfect righteousness. Luke chapter 2, verse 7. She brought forth her firstborn
son, wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger. in a manger in a stable, because
there was no room for them in the inn. Here the Lord Jesus
Christ is an infant in a human body, but he's Israel's king. He is Bethlehem's promised Messiah. He is the desire of all nations. He is a son of David and the
rightful heir to the throne, and yet there's no room for him? Scripture says he made the world.
He was in the world and the world didn't know him. He came to his
own and his own received him not. We read in Isaiah 53, he's
despised and rejected of men. In fact, our Lord Jesus Christ
began his earthly life Unwelcomed, no room for him. Unwanted, we'll
not have this man reign over us. Unrecognized. Dealt with as an outcast. And
you know why? He's representing outcasts. He's
representing sons of Adam who with their father was cast out
of the presence of God. God put him out. Adam was cast
out of the garden, and with him we were cast out of the presence
of God. And your sins have separated
you and your God. And I learned in his vicarious
sufferings, which began at his birth, was not allowed to be
born in the city, but had to be born on a farm, in a stable,
and laid in a manger. And when he died, he was not
allowed to die in the city of Jerusalem. They took him outside
the gate on a hill called Golgotha and nailed him to a cross. Our
Lord had to go outside the gate, outside the walls, outside the
city, into the wilderness to find us, because that's where
we were. He had to be identified with
us. having nothing, began at the
cradle. Now turn to Matthew 21, and the angel appeared to Joseph,
and in Matthew chapter 21, Matthew chapter 1 verse 21, the angel
appeared to Joseph, Matthew 1 21, and said to Joseph, verse 21,
she shall bring forth a son. You call his name Jesus. I read
that to you a while ago. The angel said that to me. You
call his name Jesus. For he shall save his people
from their sins. That's good news. But now think
about this. Call his name what? Jesus. Joshua. A common name. But Isaiah 9 says his name's
wonderful. Isaiah 9 verse 6 says his name's
Counselor. His name is the Mighty God. His
name is the Everlasting Father. It's the Prince of Peace. What
do you mean by this Jesus business? Call his name Jesus? But his
name, he wouldn't even pronounce to Jacob, he said, my name's
Secret. nor to Manoah and his wife. My
name is wonderful. You call him Jesus? Well, my
friends, that's his name of humanity. That's his name of humiliation. That's the name of the one who
became flesh, bone of our bone and flesh of our flesh. For this
reason, turn to Hebrews 2. For this reason, Hebrews chapter
2, Verse 14, Hebrews 2.14, for as much then
as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, humanity,
sinful flesh, he also himself likewise took part of the same. Paul said he was made in the
likeness of sinful flesh. that through death he might destroy
him that hath the power of death, that is the devil, and deliver
them who through fear of death were all their lifetimes subject
to bondage. For verily he took not on him
the nature of angels, he took on him the seed, the nature,
human soul of Abraham. Now as Jesus, he came from the
womb. Mary, called his name Jesus. Joseph, called his name Jesus.
As Jesus, he lay in a manger. Who's lying in the manger? Jesus,
son of Mary. As Jesus, he was subject to his
parents. He obeyed them. He grew in wisdom
and knowledge and stature and favor with God and men. As Jesus,
he labored as a carpenter, our representative. As Jesus, he
walked on this earth in full obedience to God, glorifying
God in human form. obedient to God. As Jesus, he
was stripped naked and nailed to a cross. But God hath made this Jesus, whom
you crucified, to be Lord. He's Lord. He's Lord and Christ. They call him Jesus. I call him
Lord. You call him Jesus, that's alright,
do what you want to do, but I call him Lord. And he said to his
disciples, you call me Lord, and you say well, for that's
what I am. I'm the Lord. And everybody in
my generation with a very low opinion of him, they call him
Jesus. But everybody who knows who he is, and what he did, and
why he did it, and where he is now, they have one title. My
Lord and Master. That's right. He's Jesus in this
earthly trip, but He ain't Jesus now. He's God Almighty, Lord
of glory. And every knee's gonna bow, and
every tongue's gonna confess that He is Lord. That's just
so. But he was our representative.
He substituted. He had to be Jesus. He had to
be the carpenter. He had to be the son of a woman.
He had to be born in the flesh. He had to take on himself that
nature and that existence. And he did it. But that's not
what he is now. He's the risen Lord, exalted,
name above every name. And we're going to see him as
he is when he comes. Lord. Turn to Luke 2, verse 21. I'm showing you how he's our
substitute now. Luke 2, 21. And when eight days
were accomplished for the circumcision of the child, his name was called
Jesus. That's when they named the Jewish
babies, boys, when they were born, eight days later they circumcised
them and gave them a name. His name, he was circumcised
and he was called Jesus, which was so named of the angel before
he was conceived in the womb. But here's my point. This is the Son of God. The Son
of God, the Holy One of God, circumcised? Circumcision refers to the sons
of men. Circumcision was given to Abraham
as a token of the covenant and identification as a son of Abraham. This is the son of God. But he
became a son of man. Circumcision refers to covenant
mercies. That was a covenant God gave
Abraham, I'm going to show mercy. Mercy. Well, this Jesus Christ
needs no mercy. He's the giver of mercy. But
he needs it bearing our sins and so on. Circumcision refers
to guilt, but he's holy. Circumcision refers to cleansing.
He has no sin. Yes, sir, he's a man. And I place him in our stead.
He must be circumcised. You know why, too? He obeyed
the law that was then in force. God said every male Israelite
shall be circumcised. He is a male, he's an Israelite,
he's the son and seed of Abraham through Isaac, he's under the
law to be circumcised. He's fulfilling all righteousness.
He's truly in the likeness of sinful flesh, perfectly identified
with us in every way, and no sooner was he born than he shed
his blood. just like every human being shed
his blood. Though he were a son in every
sense of the word, yet he learned obedience by the things he suffered. He accomplished obedience by
the things he suffered. So at eight days old, born in
a Jewish home, they circumcised him. All right, Matthew 3, let
me show you something here. Matthew chapter 3. Our substitute. We are following him from the
cradle to the cross to the crown. Always representing us. Matthew 3, verse 13. Then cometh
Jesus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. And John forbade him, saying,
I have need to be baptized of thee. Comest thou to me? Jesus
answered and said unto him, Suffer to be so now. Thus it becometh
us to fulfill all righteousness. And he baptized him. What is
this? The Son of God? The Christ of
God standing in a river? Submitting to baptism by a preacher? Yes, my friend, only sinners
are to be baptized. You've got that right. Baptism
is a baptism of repentance. And all who came to the baptism
of John confessed that they were sinners. Let me show you that.
Turn to Luke 7. All who came to John confessed
that they were sinners in Luke chapter 7, verse 29. And those who refused baptism
refused the charge that they're sinners. Let me show you that
here in Luke 7, 29. All the people that hurt him,
and the publicans, justified God, being baptized of John with
the baptism of John, which is the baptism of repentance. Baptism
says, I deserve to die. I deserve to be buried. I hope
to be raised. But I deserve to die. That's
what baptism says. But the Pharisees, the religious
people and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves. Would not be baptized. They refused
it. Our Lord Jesus Christ came to the baptism of John, the baptism
of repentance, confessing sin on behalf of his own people whom
he represented. Submitted himself to baptism.
I justify God in all of his charges against me, and I rest in his
redemptive mercies, that when I'm buried, he'll raise me from
the grave. What has all this got to do with
our substitute? Fulfilling all righteousness. That's what he's doing for us. All right, one more, Luke 22. Every time I turn to this passage
of scripture, it dawns upon me that this is
such holy ground that I hesitate to try to comment. But there
is such an awesome picture here in Luke 22, beginning with verse
39, of our substitute bearing our terrible guilt. It impresses on us just what
terrible guilt our Lord bore in our place instead. Look at
Luke 22, verse 39. And he came out and went as he
was walked to the Mount of Olives. His disciples also followed him.
And when he was at the place, he said to them, Now you pray.
that ye enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn from them
about a stone's cast, and kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father,
if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. Nevertheless, not
my will, but thy will be done. And Matthew said, he cried to
God and said, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. I'm
in such agony of soul that I'm going to die right here. Not
going to be a cross, I'm going to die right here. My soul is
exceeding sorrowful even unto death. And there appeared an
angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him in this awful hour. And being in agony, in an agony,
he prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was as it were great
drops of blood falling down to the ground. What in the world? This is the Son of God. But this
is the Son of Man. In nature God, but God was in
Christ. Yet a human nature, and that
human nature was faced with and bearing our sins, our evil thoughts,
evil words, evil imaginations, evil deeds, the corruption and
sin, all the sins of all those people were laid on him, and
his soul was so exceedingly sorrowful, it was about to be crushed. It
was about to be destroyed under the full judgment of God, and
the agony and shame of this guilt plunged his soul into such agony
that the blood came out of the pores of his body. I tell you this, if you and I
could realize even a measure of the fearful weight of our
And if we knew how God hates sin, and if we could even imagine
the full wrath of God against our sin and its shame, we'd be
in this agony too. That's exactly right. If we thought,
and here's what Christ is facing. He's facing the judgment of God
for all these sins without a mediator. He's the one that's going to
die. literally die under the weight of our sin, he's going
to feel this judgment. He's going to feel this wrath
of God. And if we could imagine ourselves
without a Mediator, I believe we'd die right now under the
agony of our sin. If we could imagine what's ahead
without a Mediator, without a Redeemer, facing God charged with my sins. I'd sweat drops of blood, too,
if I could realize what that means. Well, he did. He knew. And that's the reason he cried,
my God, if it be possible for this particular
time and experience to be lifted, to pass from me. Now, not my
will, thy will be done. And God the Father sent an angel.
and ministered to him. And our Lord came to his disciples
who were asleep, and he said, you can get up now. It's all
right, let's go in. God gave him relief. And I'll
tell you, when we realize our sins, oh, my sins, the exceeding
sinfulness of my sins against God and his wrath. But you know
what the Lord does when I look and see my sin? He turns my eyes
to Christ and gives me some help. If any man is saying, we have
an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, and
because he bore this, you don't have to. Our substitute. All right, turn
to John 19. John 19, verse 17. And they crucified him. Substitute,
cradle, now cross, John 19, verse 17. And he bearing his cross, whose
cross? My cross, but it's his now, my
substitute. He went forth into a place called
the Place of the Skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha,
and there they crucified him. and two others with him. But that cross on which he is
nailed was intended for somebody else. There was a murderer called
Barabbas. Barabbas. Turn to Mark 15. Let's read something about Barabbas. Mark 15. There was a murderer
called Barabbas. In Mark 15 beginning with verse
7. There was one named Barabbas
which lay bound with them that had made insurrection with him
who had committed murder in the insurrection. And the multitude
crying aloud began to desire him to do as he had ever done
unto them. But Pilate answered them saying,
Will you that I release unto you the king of the Jews? He
knew that the chief priest had delivered him for envy. But the
chief priest moved the people that he should rather release
Barabbas, the murderer, release Barabbas unto them. Pilate answered
and said unto them, Well, what shall ye that I do unto him who
is called the king of the Jews? They said, Crucify him. And they
cry out again, Crucify him. And then verse 14, Pilate said
to them, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out the
more exceedingly crucified. So Pilate, willing to content
the people, released Barabbas, set him free. These soldiers came down into
the dungeon and there sat that man Barabbas in chains, a murderer,
sentenced already to be crucified with these other two. They came
down and they unlocked his chains, stood him up, let him out the
door, got to the outside and they said, you're free. You're
free to go. Why am I free to go? Out there
on that hill, on that center cross, on your cross, is a man
called Jesus. He dies and you're released,
free to go. That's substitution. You and I are set free because
he died. From the cradle to the cross. Now, one more scripture. I'm
not going to leave him on that cross or in that tomb. Acts 17. I said from the cradle to the
cross to the crown. Acts 17, verse 31. Now sin, our sin, justly demanded
his death. Our sin sent him to the cross
and slew him. And God raised him from the dead.
Now listen to this, in Acts 17, verse 30. And the times of this
ignorance God winked at, but now commandeth all men everywhere
to repent, because he is appointed a day in which he will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained.
whereof he hath given assurance unto all men. What is the assurance? He raised him from the dead.
And when he raised him from the dead, it declared this. Turn
to Romans chapter 6. Romans chapter 6, verse 7. Romans 6, verse 7. Now he that
is dead is freed from sin. When our Lord was put to death
on the cross, bearing our sins, paid for them and buried, he's
free from them. Now, if we be dead with Christ,
we believe that we shall live with him. Knowing that Christ
being raised from the dead doth no more. That's what God said.
He raised him from the dead. He doth no more. Death hath no
more dominion over him. Sin, death, all these iniquities
he bore, they have no more dominion over him. None at all. He's free
from them. For in that he died, he died
unto sin once, one time, I thought. In that he liveth, he liveth
unto God. Now, you, my friends, likewise, reckon ye also yourselves
to be dead indeed unto sin, unto its charges, unto its curse,
unto its power, unto its penalty, unto one day its presence, dead
to sin. but alive unto God, how and when,
through Jesus Christ our Lord. That's how. Jesus, man, Christ,
the Messiah, our Lord, God Almighty. That's our freedom. Satisfaction. It's done. The great transaction's done.
I'm my Lord's and He's mine. And I'm free. He that's dead
is free from sin. Reckon yourselves to be dead
indeed unto sin. But alive unto God, through our
Lord Jesus Christ, who, as our substitute, all the way, endured
everything God required, paid it in full. God is satisfied.