Introduction:
Of all the cruel inventions of barbaric men nothing was ever so cruel and barbaric as the practice of the Romans in executing men by the tormenting death of crucifixion. This was the most painful and shameful means of execution imaginable. It was reserved only for the vilest of criminals. Only slaves could be crucified under Roman law. Crucifixion was considered too violent and repugnant for one who was a Roman citizen, no matter what crime he had committed.
Before being crucified, the criminal was severely beaten with a whip of multiple cords which had pieces of bone tied in them. Every lash of that cruel scourge ripped pieces of flesh out of a man’s back. Then, customarily, the malefactor would be forced to carry his own cross to the place of execution. Once they had reached the place of execution, the Roman soldiers would stretch the criminal out on the cross, strip him naked, and nail his beaten, lacerated body on the cursed tree. The hands and feet of the human body have the largest concentration of nerves in the body. They are more sensitive to pain than any other parts. Therefore they were chosen. The feet were crossed one over the other and nailed to the cross with one huge spike. The hands were stretched out in opposite directions, slightly above the shoulders, the body being stretched as tight as possible, and nailed to the cross, first one, then the other. The cross, with the man being nailed to it, was then picked up and shoved into its socket in the earth. When it fell into its socket, you can imagine what happened. The whole body jerked. The hands and feet were torn. The convulsions of pain are horrifying to imagine! The whole weight of the body would hang upon the nail pierced hands and feet. The wounds would gradually become wider and wider. At last, the man would die in the midst of those tortures. But he would hang there for hours, sometimes for days, before his merciful death would come.
In order to show some sense of justice to the people, the man’s crime would be written out in large, capital letters, and attached to the cross just above the malefactor’s head. This is the death which our Lord and Savior endured for us, as our Substitute. It was not enough that he should just die. His death must be the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross. The cause of his offense and death was written out and nailed to the top of his cross – "Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews."
These are the historical facts of Christ’s death. They are vividly described in the gospel records. The means of our Lord’s physical sufferings and death was crucifixion. But the gospel message does not arise from the fact that a good man was put to death in such a shameful way. The man who knows and preaches the gospel must get beyond the mere facts of the crucifixion and physical sufferings of Christ. We must know something of the meaning of all that took place at Calvary two thousand years ago.
How did the Son of God come to die such a death? Why did the Lord of glory humble himself to die the death of the cross? What are the results of his death? In order for us to understand, as well as mere mortals can understand this great mystery, in order for us to understand the good news of the gospel, we must seek the answers to these questions. We must know something of the nature, necessity, and efficacy of our Redeemer’s death.
My subject tonight is The Death Of Christ. To be sure, that is a subject we can never begin to expound. Our puny, finite brains can never fathom the infinite mysteries of our Lord’s death. But there are a few things clearly revealed in our text about the nature and efficacy of his death. Hold your Bible open here at Isaiah 53:10, and pray that God the Holy Spirit will now take the things of Christ and show them unto us – (Read the text with me – Isaiah 53:10).
Divisions:These questions about the death of our Lord are clearly answered in this text.
I. The death of the cross was a shameful, ignominious thing, reserved only for the violent of men. So my first question is this – HOW DID THE SON OF GOD COME TO DIE UPON THE CROSS?
We see something more in the death of Christ than the malice of the Jews, the cruelty of Rome, the weakness of Pilate, or even the work of satan. Isaiah tells us, "It pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief." In the crucifixion of Christ the solemn decree of God was fulfilled by wicked men. The eye of faith looks beyond the Roman spear and nail and traces the death of Christ back to it original source and cause – The Heart of God (I John 4:10; Rom. 5:8).
A. The Lord Jesus Christ died according to the eternal purpose of God (I Pet. 1:18-21).We do not, we dare not impute to God the sin and guilt of the crime. Wicked men did exactly what they wanted to do. God did not force them to act as they did. But he did absolutely govern their actions and use them to accomplish his purpose. Not a single action, circumstance, or pain involved in our Savior’s death came to pass except by the decree of God (Acts 2:23; 4:27-28; 13:28-29).
1. This is a foundation truth of Holy Scripture. See that you hold firmly – God Almighty has written a Book of Sovereign and Absolute Predestination – "A Book Written."
Nothing escapes the will, purpose, decree, and power of God. Everything that comes to pass in time was ordained by God in eternity. And you can be sure that God who, according to his eternal purpose, feeds the sparrows, clothes the lilies, and numbers the hairs on our heads, left nothing to chance or circumstance regarding the life and death of his dear Son.
The death of Christ is the very core of predestination. It is the center and mainspring upon which God fashioned all his other purposes. It is the foundation upon which the structure of God’s decrees was built. Jesus Christ is "the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world," because "it pleased the Lord to bruise him."
a. Long before there was a sinner, God provided a Savior.
b. Before ever we went astray, God provided a Shepherd.
c. Before we fell in Adam, God provided a second Adam to save.
d. Before we broke God’s law, He provided a Ransom.
e. Before we became polluted, Christ was our Cleansing Fountain!
f. Before we incurred the debt of sin, Christ stood as our Surety to pay!
g. Before we were Cursed by the Law, Christ stood as our Redeemer!
h. Before we died, Christ was the Resurrection and the Life!
2. The Son of God was sent into this world to die for us because God loved us (John 3:16).
a. The Father loved us and sent his Son to be the Propitiation for our sins.
b. The Son loved us and came to die in our place – "He loved me, and gave himself for me!"
c. The Spirit loved us and came to give us life and bring us to glory.
3. The Lord Jesus came into this world to die in order to accomplish his Father’s will – (Heb. 10:5).
In the fullness of time God took his Son from his bosom and freely delivered him up for us all. "Here is love" – The offended Judge took his own holy Son and gave him up to suffer the pains of hell in death for the redemption of rebels and traitors who would never love him in return, except he create love in them!
B. Understand this too – Our Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily laid down his life for us as our Substitute(Ps. 40:6-7; John 10:17; Heb. 12:2; Isa. 50:5-7; Pro. 8:23-31).
C. Yet, the unutterable agony of Christ’s death upon the cross was the work of His Father’s own hand– "It pleased the Lord to bruise him."
Read the terrifying agonies of Christ in the 22nd Psalm, as he hung upon the cursed tree, suffering the wrath of God, and mark this fact – The hand of God bruised his Son!
1. He died a violent death – His death could not be by natural causes. It must be a sacrificial death, as a slain victim.
2. He died a painful death – Tormented in Body and Soul.
3. He died a shameful death – He "endured the cross, despising the shame!"
4. He died a cursed death – "Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree!"
5. He died a slow, lingering death.Here then is the cause of our Lord’s death –
"It pleased the Lord to bruise him. He hath put him to grief."
II. WHY DID THE LORD OF GLORY ENDURE SUCH A DEATH AS THIS?
God Almighty bruised his Son and put him to grief upon the cursed tree because "he made his soul an offering for sin." Christ died as he did, he had to die as he did, so that he might be to God a suitable substitute and sin offering for his people. Here are four reasons for the crucifixion, four reasons why the Lord of glory died the painful, shameful, ignominious death of the cross.
A. That he might bear the curse of the law in his death(Gal. 3:13; Deut. 21:22-23).
B. That he might fulfill the Old Testament types– All the sacrifices were lifted up to God upon the altar – (The Brazen Serpent – Num. 19:9; John 3:14; 12:32).
C. That he might fulfill the Old Testament prophecies regarding his death.
D. Christ Jesus endured the death of the cross for us, a Substitute for sinners!That God might be both just and justifier (Rom. 3:24-26; Ps. 85:10-11; Pro. 16:7).
III. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF THE DEATH OF CHRIST?
The Armenian, of course, must say, "Well, there are no certain and sure results. Everything is left to chance; and it all depends on the will of man." Nonsense! Blasphemy! Isaiah declares emphatically that there are three certain, absolute consequences, three things that must come to pass as results of our Lord’s death.
A. "He shall see His Seed"(John 12:24, 32).
C. "And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand."
Application: Read this text one more time – Isaiah 53:10. Behold the crucified Son of God, the Substitute for sinners slain and know that…
1. God will punish sin!Illus: The Scapegoat – Here comes the fit man without the goat – Christ’s Resurrection!
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