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[0:00] I just want to share with us briefly this evening a few words about the substitutionary death of Christ.

[0:11] ! Paul says in Galatians 3.13, Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written, cursed is the one who is hanged on a tree.

[0:27] As we consider the death of Jesus, many things of significance could be taken into account in this many accounts of his passion.

[0:40] It is of the utmost significance, though, that we remember that the death of Jesus was the sacrifice that accomplished our salvation.

[0:51] I want to repeat that for us. It is of utmost significance that we know this, that the death of Jesus was the sacrifice that accomplished our salvation.

[1:03] After all, his very name, Jesus, Yeshua, meaning Yahweh saves, signify that this child that was born, is born specifically for a mission, born to save his people from their sins.

[1:22] And this man came into the world as took on half a frail, weak frame, and he dies in our place.

[1:40] In the place of guilty sinners, he dies as a substitute. Now, we ought to know that his death was not his own, insofar that as the sins that led him there were not his sins.

[1:59] We know also that the wages of sin is death. The Bible tells us that. But here we have a sinless man. A man who perfectly kept the law of God, loving his God with all his heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving his neighbor as himself.

[2:21] Pastor Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2 that he committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. But the wages of sin is death.

[2:32] But this man had no guilt of his own to atone for. So his death is the sacrificial death of our Lord.

[2:45] This death is a sacrificial death. For us, for our sake, in our stead. And what of the manner of his death? Death on the cross.

[2:56] Now, this manner of death was no coincidence. In the Roman world, crucifixion was reserved for the most despicable of criminals.

[3:09] It was the arseous means of punishment that Rome could wield. It was a means of death that was forbidden to be inflicted on Roman citizens.

[3:23] And in Jewish terms, to be hung on a tree is a curse. Such a man is called the curse of God. Deuteronomy chapter 21 tells us this.

[3:38] For a hanged man is cursed by God. So of all the ways Jesus could have died, ye hung on a tree to demonstrate the nature of our sin before God.

[3:54] Our sin, our guilt, our punishment. He became a detestable criminal and an accursed man for you and for me.

[4:06] Brothers and sisters, here is the gospel displayed in the starkest of terms. The innocent and blessed son of God was hung on a tree as though he was a reprehensible criminal.

[4:25] And he suffered the unspeakable experience of the wrath of God in our place. So as we reflect on what Christ accomplished for us today and we think of the cross, we ought to think of it as the place of the great transfer.

[4:50] Our guilt, our sin, our curse was placed upon him and his righteousness is innocence and blessings was placed on us.

[5:04] Paul says in 2 Corinthians, God made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf so that we might become the righteousness of God in him.

[5:17] And you may ask, as many people do in our days, you may ask this question, why is this necessary?

[5:29] Why would God do such a horrific thing to his own son? It seems so barbaric. To which I will say, yes, it is.

[5:40] It is first. It is necessary. If we are to be saved, it is necessary because there is no other means by which we can be saved than through someone taking our place.

[5:55] That's someone being God himself. And yes, it is barbaric. Horrendously so. But we ought to remember that God spared Abraham's son from that same fate.

[6:12] but he did not spare his own son. Such is his father's love for us that he will send his beloved to death for our redemption.

[6:26] Such is God's love for us that he will willingly go to the cross for our sake. It is necessary that he should.

[6:39] It is necessary because God is holy and he must judge sin. He will cease to be a holy and just God if he lets sin and rebellion go unpunished.

[6:52] But we also see in his holiness that he is merciful and gracious and that is also what we see at the cross. God's mercy and grace is seen most supremely in Jesus Christ.

[7:12] God's mercy and grace so the call for us as we reflect on the cross as we reflect on this great exchange is to rest in Christ's finished work.

[7:32] He has taken our guilt our shame and our punishment upon himself. He alone could do that.

[7:46] And so we are called to rest in the work he has accomplished. We are also called brothers and sisters to persevere so that as we look to the cross we remember what Christ has accomplished we remember how great God's love is for us how undeserving we are but how loving and merciful and gracious he is.

[8:11] And we are able to say that he would take us us who were prodigals rebellious sinners raging our fist against God that he would pull us out of the merry clay of death and give us life new life abundant life makes us sons and daughters of God.

[8:36] And so we are called to rest in Christ's finished work and to persevere knowing that our God is with us. I want to lastly reach for you Hebrews chapter 10 from verse 19 as a means of encouragement for us.

[8:54] This is what the author of Hebrews says therefore brothers since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus by the new and living way that he opened for us through the curtain that is through his flesh and since we have a great high priest over the house of God let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith with a heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water our heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience but this is the manner of God's love for us that he forgave us our sins in Christ Jesus and he's the father that says to us I put your sins away from me as far as the east is from the west

[9:55] I remember them no more can you imagine if maybe you have a parent that or a loved one that's constantly reminding you of your sins and your failures and says I've forgiven you but constantly remind you can you imagine how debilitating and how wracked with guilt you will be but not so with God our father he has put our sins away from us so that he calls us to be set free from an evil conscience he has sprinkled us our bodies washed us with pure water because of what Christ has done brothers and sisters in Christ you can stand before God clothed in his righteousness as sons and daughters of God he embraces you he brings you in and the devil will come and tell you otherwise but remember what Christ has accomplished on the cross remember what he has accomplished and fulfilled and remember how he sees you so let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering let us persevere for he will promise this faithful and let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works not neglecting to meet together as is the habit of some but encouraging one another and all the more as you see the day drawn in near the day is drawn in near

[11:33]  Christ who came as the lamb will come again and on that day he comes as king it is interesting that the Jews were yelling crucify him and Pilate rightly said crucify your king and they said yes but he is the king who came to die but he will come again as the king will reign to judge but if you're in Christ this is the promise that you have he comes to take you home he comes to complete the work he has started and to consummate his kingdom so we await as we look as we look hopefully and longingly for that day amen