I have a very familiar text today. I'm going to be preaching to
you from the book of Isaiah. Most of you have read this scripture
many times. It's a very familiar passage.
It's a very familiar subject. I'm going to preach on Christ,
our substitute. Christ, the sinner's substitute. And my text will be found in
Isaiah 53. Now you've read it many times,
but let me read it again. It says, Surely, surely, truly,
he, that's Christ our Lord, hath borne our griefs and carried
our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement, or here's a
better translation, the correction, the correction necessary for
our peace, in order for us to have peace with God. There was
a chastisement or a correction that needed to be made. But it
was upon Him, and with His stripes we're healed. Christ suffered
for sins, the just for the unjust to bring us to God. Now, the
text is familiar, and the topic's familiar, but I'm going to bring
out some things today that perhaps you've not thought about, perhaps
you've not seen them in the Scriptures. When we say that Christ suffered
for our sins, as our substitute, that he was stricken, smitten
of God, and afflicted in our place, in our room, in our stead. What do we mean? Well, some people
say, well, he died on the cross for our sins. Well, when we talk
about the sufferings of Christ, Christ our substitute who suffered
in our place and in our stead, we mean, and the scriptures mean,
all of the time that he was on this earth from the cradle to
the cross to the crown all of the time that he was on this
earth from the day he was born until the day that he ascended
back to heaven he was our representative he was numbered with us he stood
in our room and in our stead not just on the cross but from
the very hour that he was born in Bethlehem's manger, not only
on the cross, but from the very time he was made of a woman,
born of a woman, all his life, all of his life, body and soul,
life and death, as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, he was
our substitute in his life and in his death. Now this needs
to be, it needs to be emphasized. It needs to be studied. It needs
to be considered. You know, Paul said in the book
of Hebrews, consider Christ Jesus, the apostle and high priest of
our profession. And I plan to show you today
from the scriptures that everything, everything, not just his death
on the cross, not just the shedding of his blood, but everything,
everything that Jesus Christ our Lord did on this earth from
the time he was born placed in the manger to the death of the
cross to the burial the resurrection and ascension all of it was on
behalf of his people to redeem them as their substitute to bring
them to God now you who have read Some of the old writers
and some of the old theologians and ministers of the past know
that two words that these men used in reference to Christ's
obedience. They talked about his passive
obedience on our behalf, his passive obedience and his active
obedience. And we need to think about this
now. What is his passive obedience? Well, it means just what it says,
passive. Not active, but passive. He submitted
to the will of God. He submitted to his enemies. He submitted to their charges.
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. As a lamb before her
shearers, he was dumb. He opened not his mouth. He was
passive. He was silent. He surrendered. He submitted to judgment. That's
all through his life. He submitted to the temptation
of Satan. You know, he told one of his
disciples one day, he said, I could call on my father and he would
send legions of angels to deliver me. But he passively obeyed and
submitted. Now, here's the other word, active
obedience. On our behalf, passive obedience
and active obedience. What is active obedience? Well,
he lived, he loved, he loved actively. He forgave actively. He showed mercy. He met the law
and obeyed it in every jot and tittle. He met Satan and defeated
him. He met the forces of evil and
dealt with them. He met the religious Pharisees
and conquered them. He was actively obedient, actively. He went to the cross. He set
his face like a flint to go to the cross. He went there on purpose. He said, no man takes my life
from me, I lay it down. So that's what these old men
back there in the past, when theology was taught, and the
scriptures were taught, and the work of Christ dealt with in
depth, they talked about our Lord's obedience. Though he were
a son, yet he learned obedience by the things he suffered passively
and actively, all of which he did. as Christ our substitute
to bring us to God. Now let me show you this. We're
going to start right back there in Bethlehem's manger. And I want you to take your Bible
and look at Luke chapter 2, verse 7. Another familiar scripture,
but maybe we've overlooked the meaning of it. Maybe we've overlooked
the message. Listen to this again. Luke 2,
7. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him
in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger, because there was no room for
him in the inn." No room for him? This is Israel's king. This is Bethlehem's promised
Messiah. This is the Son of God and the
Son of David. This is his city. No room for
him? No room for him? Yes, that's
true. No room for him. Scripture says
he came into the world, the world was made by him, but the world
didn't know him. He came into his own, his own
people, Israel, his own prophets, his own tabernacle, his own city
Bethlehem. And they received him not. He
began his earthly ministry unwanted, unknown, unrecognized, an outcast. Why? He was identifying with
us, because that's what we are. Unknown, unwanted, unrecognized,
outcast. In Adam we died. We are in this
world without hope, without help, without Christ, and without God.
And our Lord Jesus Christ stooped, condescended, to be identified
with us. And he began his life on this
earth as an outcast, which we are by nature. So his suffering,
his humiliation, think of the humiliation. No room for it. Put him in a manger. That's a
cow stable. That's a trough where the cows
and the horses eat. Full of hay. Lay him in a manger. His vicarious sufferings and
substitutionary work began at his birth. He was not allowed
to be born in his own city or to die in Jerusalem. He died
outside the walls. They didn't want him born there.
or die there. And that's when he began his
suffering. Now, here's another scripture, Matthew 121. Listen. Eight days later, they called
his name Jesus. That's right. They called his
name Jesus. You know, the disciples, I mean,
his father, his foster father, Joseph, when the angel came to
him, the angel said, call his name Jesus. Call his name Jesus. The Lord God said in Isaiah 9
verse 6, His name is Wonderful. Unto us a child is born, unto
us a son is given, His name is Wonderful, Counselor. What is His name? The Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father. The Prince of Peace. When Jacob
wrestled with him back there years before, Jacob said, what
is your name? He said, why do you ask my name?
My name is Wonderful. Manoah and his wife said, what
is your name? He said, my name is Secret. It's
Wonderful. But when he came to the earth,
he's called Jesus. Call his name Jesus. That name
is the name of His humanity. That name is the name of His
humiliation. His name is Wonderful, Counselor,
the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
His name is I Am. I Am. But for a while, for a
while, His name is called Jesus. You don't call Him that now.
He's the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the Lord. As Jesus, He came
from the womb. As Jesus, He lay in a manger. As Jesus, He walked this earth
in humiliation, as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. As
Jesus, He died on the cross. But Peter said on Pentecost,
God hath made this same Jesus, whom you crucified, Lord and
Christ. Lord, every knee shall bow, every
tongue shall confess that he's Lord. So here you see his suffering
and humiliation began at birth, born in a manger, no room for
him, called Jesus, Jesus, just Jesus. And then thirdly in Luke
2.21 says, And when the eight days were accomplished for the
circumcision of the child, his name was called Jesus. The Son
of God circumcised? The Holy One of God circumcised? They took a sharp knife and circumcised
and shed his blood? Circumcision refers to guilt.
He had no guilt. Circumcision refers to cleansing,
the circumcising of the heart, the cleansing of the flesh. He
had no sin. Circumcision refers to the sons
of Adam and the sons of Abraham. He's the son of God. Circumcision
is a token of mercy. He doesn't need any mercy. What
in the world are they doing taking that precious Son of God, Immanuel,
God with us, and circumcising Him. Circumcision is for us. But no sooner was He born than
He shed His blood. This is the beginning, I told
you, of His humiliation, of His identification, of His substitutionary
work for us. As a man, He's got to submit
to everything to which we submit. As required of us, though he
were a son, yet he learned obedience by the things he suffered. And
no sooner did he come into this world than he started that trail
of blood. He shed his blood. See him? Our substitute, born in poverty,
unknown, unwanted. See our substitute? Named with
a common name, Jesus. Jesus. See, our substitute circumcised
as a man of flesh, with guilt, in need of cleansing and covenant
mercies. But look at Matthew 3, 13. Here's
another familiar scripture. Here's the path of obedience,
the walk of faith, our substitute. Then cometh Jesus from Galilee,
this Jesus, this man, the God-man. We call him Lord. We know who
he is. He came from Galilee to the river
Jordan unto John to be baptized of him? What is this? What are you saying, preacher?
The Son of God in human form, the Son of God in human flesh,
the Christ of God standing in a river, about to be baptized
by a sinner? John? Yes, that's right. But preacher-only
sinners are baptized. Baptism is a confession of sin. Baptism is the baptism of repentance. Baptism says, I deserve to die. I deserve to be buried. I must
be put out of sight and risen with a new life to walk before
God in obedience. Baptism says, I repent. He has
no sin, nothing of which to repent. He doesn't deserve to die, we
do. Baptism is to justify God in
His charges against us. Read that over in the book of
Luke. What has all of this got to do
with that perfect One? Not a thing, except as He stood
in my place and your place. That's why He's there. That's
why He's in that manger. God sent forth His Son made of
a woman. made under the law, made in the
flesh, to redeem them that were in the flesh. That's why he's
called Jesus, to save his people from their sins. That's why he was circumcised,
to fulfill righteousness, to do what was required of us and
every son of Abraham. That's why he's standing here
in the baptismal waters. John said, I have need to be
baptized of thee, comest thou to me?" What did the Lord reply? He said, John, suffer it to be
so now, now, to fulfill all righteousness. There's the key word. That's
what he's doing. That's what he's doing in all
of this walk as a man, obedience to his parents. He grew up in
a home as a child, obedient to the orders and commandments of
his parents. All of this is on our behalf.
Christ is fulfilling all righteousness. All righteousness. Our Noah is
building his wondrous art to save his people, his house. Look at Matthew 26, verse 36. Then cometh Jesus, this man,
this God-man, this Lord Jesus, the Christ. Then cometh Jesus
to a place called Gethsemane. And he told his disciples to
wait with him, and he went yonder to pray, and he said, My Father,
my soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death. Now listen carefully
to me. He's not on the cross now, he's
in this garden. He's praying. And he says, Oh
my father, my soul, I told you he suffered body and soul. My
soul is exceeding sorrowful even unto death. Oh my father, if
it be possible, let this cup pass from me nevertheless. Not
as I will, but as thou wilt. Now this is such holy ground. But I'm going to tell you what
he's saying here. Our Lord Jesus is in prayer before
the Father, and he's in such agony of soul, soul agony, he's
about to die. Now here's what's taking place. All the sins of all the people
of God, of all believers, of all ages, of all generations,
have met on him. Our sins were laid on Him, the
guilt of them, the filth of them, the weight of them, the burden
of them, and He's about to die. This human nature, though it's
strengthened by God and enabled by God to do more than any human
being could possibly do without the strength and grace and Spirit
of God, it's about to die. Luke said blood came from the
pores of His body. Have you ever been in great depression
and great agony? Some of you have. And you just
think, I'm going to die. I can't stand this trial. I cannot
bear this burden. I cannot live through this night.
Think of our Lord, who didn't have just your sins. He had all
the sins and wretchedness and burden and sorrows and grief
of God's people of all ages on Him. And He says, I'm going to
die. My soul is so sorrowful, even
unto death. He's the Son of God, but He's
the Son of Man. He's God, but He's in human flesh.
He has the nature of deity, but He has the nature of man. And
our sins were laid on Him, and His soul is so crushed even to
die in this garden. And that's why He's saying, My
Father, this cup right now. He didn't pray to avoid the cross. He said, I came into this world
to go to the cross. The apostles tried to get Him
not to go to the cross. He said, for this cause came
out of this hour. He wasn't praying to escape the
cross. That's the way God intended.
He's the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. He was
praying about this time right here, when his soul was so sorrowful,
even unto death. And Luke said, an angel of the
Lord appeared and strengthened him. And strengthened him. Oh, I tell you this, if you and
I knew the guilt and fear and wretchedness of our sins, we'd
die too. That's right. We'd die right
now under the filth and guilt of it if we looked on it like
God does. Christ is our suffering substitute
from the cradle to the name to the circumcision to the baptism,
to the man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, to the prayers of
Gethsemane, to the rasslings of his soul with our sins. And
then look at John 19. And he being, and he bearing
his cross, he bearing his cross, went forth to a place called
Golgotha, where they crucified him. That's my text, surely. He hath borne our griefs, and
carried our sorrows, yet we did see Him stricken, smitten of
God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquity.
The correction of our peace was laid on Him, and by His stripes
we're healed, and there on that cross, All the wrath of God,
judgment of God, fell on him, bearing our sins. Here the sword
of God's justice pierced his heart, drove him through. Here he poured out his soul unto
death. You and I don't understand the
death of Christ, the sufferings of Christ, until we can somehow
understand it wasn't just physical punishment. He made his soul
an offering for sin. When he shall see of the travail
of his soul and be satisfied. Here he was cut off out of the
land of the living. My God, why stop forsaking me? I'll tell you why God the Father
has forsaken him. Our sins separated him and his
God. Our sins were laid on him. Here
he paid it all. All the debt we owe. Sin left
a crimson stain. He washed it white as snow. Here
his work was finished. And he cried, it's finished.
The suffering is finished. The redemption is finished. The
pictures and types of the Old Testament are finished. Redemption
is finished. Suffering is over. He bowed his
head and gave up the ghost. I tell you, when one considers
the sufferings of our Lord, remember, body and soul. Body and soul. Because he had to redeem us,
body and soul. And sin is not just an act of
the flesh, it's an act of the heart, and the will, and the
soul, and the spirit. It's an inward rebellion against
God. So from the cradle to the cross, he's a man of sorrows,
acquainted with grief. Standing in our room in our stead,
suffering all that was required of us. Now last, and he was buried. That's humiliation. Buried. in a hole in the ground. Our
Lord was buried. Why was he buried? I'll tell
you one of the chief reasons. Number one is this. He was buried
to truly reveal to all men that he did die. He did die. They buried him in a tomb in
which no man had ever lain. So that when he came forth, no
one could say, well, maybe it was the other fellow. No, sir.
He died. And what do you do with dead
people? You bury them. You wrap them in burial garments
as they did back then and bury the dead out of sight. He was
buried to reveal that he did indeed die. And secondly, he
was buried to be identified with us. Someday we'll die, like our
Lord, and we'll be buried. But I'll tell you this, his footprints
not only lead into that grave, But comfort of comforts, we see
Him coming out. He was raised to reveal this,
that He did indeed accomplish all that God gave Him to do.
He did indeed accomplish and was victorious over even the
last enemy, death. Death. And God is pleased, for
the Scripture says, God raised Him from the dead to give evidence
to all men. that one day he'll judge this
world by that man, Christ Jesus. And now, he's exalted. He's ascended. And the Father said, Sit thou
on my right hand, till I make thine enemies thy footstool.
He's our representative. Born an outcast. Named a human
name. Circumcised. Baptized. Agonized. Man of solace. acquainted
with grief crucified buried risen and I exalted and everything
in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you
and I Believers are complete in him. Do you see that? Salvation
is Christ All that he is all that he did and all that he's
doing