Mt. 28:1-15 - Resurrection 1, Matthew's Story

     The Resurrection of Jesus is one of the most glorious and meaningful events in all of Scripture, rivaled only by the Second Coming of Jesus and the final destruction of Satan and sin and securing of God’s Kingdom rule after the Millennium.
     While we look to the cross for assurance of sins forgiven and the re-assurance of God's love, the Resurrection uniquely establishes and validates what happened at Calvary.
     Over the next few days, we will look at the four gospel accounts of Jesus’ resurrection. Our first goal will be to see what the disciples and other participants experienced. Later we will try to understand the meaning of this great event.
     Matthew's report of the Resurrection is interesting because it is difficult at first to sort the elements of his story out. Like a person who has just witnessed a traumatic event, the Matthew’s description is jumbled, making the logic hard difficult to follow.
     Did the women actually see Jesus raised and the guards fall like dead men from fear? It sounds like it at first. Reading more carefully one realizes the Resurrection must have happened as the women were on their way to the tomb, not at it.
     Mary Magdalene and "the other Mary," probably "Mary the mother of Joses," or John, (Mark 15:47) and James (Mark 16:1) are the first to arrive at the tomb after Jesus is raised.
     Mary Magdalene's devotion, so deep and loyal because of how much Jesus had done for her, will shine out throughout the Resurrection story. James and John's commitment to Jesus is reflected in the devotion of their mother who left all to help care for Jesus' needs and now comes first to the tomb with Mary of Magdala.
     I love Matthew's description of the moment of Resurrection. A violent earthquake. An angel who's "appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow." The powerful Roman guards, trained to be tough as nails and fearless in battle, shaking with terror and becoming "like dead men."
     No one can stand when God decides to act. The effort of the priestly leaders and Roman governor to make the tomb secure only serve to spotlight the weakness of human authority when confronted by the power of God.
     It is the same angel who calls Jesus from His tomb who is still present when the women arrive. He considerately calms their fears at finding an empty tomb and reminds them of Jesus' promise: "He is not here; he has risen, just as He said." Then he invites them to examine the evidence of the empty tomb and sends them on their way to announce the resurrection to the disciples.
     Matthew says the women "hurried away from the tomb, afraid yet filled with joy (Mt. 28:8)." I can imagine their confused thoughts and emotions at that moment. They had seen Jesus tortured and killed, and had watched as His dead body was taken from the cross and placed in the tomb. Jesus was dead, and over the Sabbath, they had tried to come to terms with their dashed hopes and dreams. Now, in an instant, a stranger reverses all this and tells them Jesus is alive. (Mark says the angel looked like a "young man dressed in white," so he had significantly dimmed his brilliance out of respect for the women. Mk 16:5). Still, who can blame them for being afraid?
     Then Matthew reports, "Suddenly Jesus met them. 'Greetings He said.' They came to him, clasped his feet and worshiped him." It is clear to them that Jesus is more than a man. He is God, and they worship Him.
     Throughout the Resurrection stories, Jesus appears to various people. It seems to me that He chooses who He goes to based on their level of need. Like a first responder at the scene of an accident, Jesus triages His grieving disciples and goes first to those who need Him most.
     So He appears first to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary because they are grieving so deeply; then to the two disciples on the Road to Emmaus. That is so like Jesus, isn't it, and it is reassuring to us. When we are in great need, He will come to us too. "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit" (Ps. 34:18). "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything" (Phil. 4:5, 6).
     The guards have finally recovered their senses, and trembling, they flee back to Jerusalem to report everything that had happened to the chief priests. I can imagine those priests’ faces turning white as they hear the guards' emotion-filled report. One more chance to repent, but instead they concoct a lie and promise to keep the guards out of trouble: Tell everyone that "His disciples came during the night and stole him away while we were asleep."
     Like most lies, this one didn't hold together. If the guards were asleep, how did they know it was the disciples who stole the body? And why weren't the guards disciplined, or even executed, as Roman military regulations required? How did the whole detachment fall asleep in the first place, knowing the penalties for doing so? It is highly unlikely that every last soldier would doze off. Matthew is clearly answering questions about the Resurrection that existed in his day when he reports, "And this story has been widely circulated among the Jews to this very day."

Pastor Michael Brownfield


       

Mt. 28:1 - Crucifixion Sabbath

     "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb" (Mt. 28:1).
     Luke tells us why they went--to finish preparing Jesus' body for burial (Lk. 24:1). Friday afternoon, after Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus removed His body from the cross and carried it to Joseph's new tomb, the ladies had just enough time to see where Jesus was placed and perhaps spend a few minutes grieving and weeping together. Then "they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Lk. 24:56).
     The people who loved and followed Jesus kept the Bible Sabbath, the seventh day of the calendar week. Jesus had created the Sabbath (Gen. 2:1-2; Jn. 1:1-3) and wrote it into the Law which He and the Father gave on Mt. Sinai.
     When He came to this world, Jesus also kept the Sabbath (Lk. 4:16) and did His best to restore it to its original purpose by protesting the man-made restrictions that kept His people from enjoying God's plan for this special day (Mk. 2:21-3:6).
     Luke tells us the women "rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment" (Lk. 24:56). Nothing in Jesus' teaching or practice led His followers to think He was changing or abolishing the Sabbath. They followed His perfect example and kept the Sabbath in the same spirit He did, avoiding legalism, but keeping it according to the commandment (the fourth of the Ten Commandments given on Mt. Sinai: Ex. 20:8-11). This included not doing any ordinary work. That was the reason they prepared the spices for embalming, but didn't have time to do the work until Sunday morning.
     What a sad, sad Sabbath that must have been for Jesus' followers. It was a day spent in grieving and asking "Why?" I'm sure none of them slept much Friday or Saturday nights. It was not just their hoped-for Messiah who had been crucified, but their dear Friend who had helped them each so much. For them it was a Sabbath of crushed hopes, grief-stricken loss, and wondering what the future held now.
     But for heaven it was a Sabbath of tremendous rejoicing. They knew the end of the story. They had not forgotten Jesus' predictions that He would rise again. In fact, they were making preparations for it! When Jesus died, His followers grieve, but heaven exploded with cheering.
     I'll bet the Resurrection angel was waiting like a champion runner at the start line to dash to earth at God's command. His accompanying angels who were going with him to push back Satan and His angels must have been so eager for their assignment to begin.
     Heaven was also rejoicing because they knew Jesus' death had conquered Satan. Jesus' cry of victory and last breath were Satan's death knell. Christ had conquered God's foe (Col. 2:15), and now it was only a matter of time until Satan could be destroyed (Heb. 2:14; Rev. 20:10).
     While heaven celebrated in joyful praise and worship, Jesus spent the Sabbath sleeping the sleep of death in Joseph's tomb. I believe it was in God's eternal plan that Jesus died on a Friday and rested in the tomb over Sabbath. By God's arrangement Redemption was repeating the cycle of Creation.
     In Creation week, Jesus presided over bringing God's new masterpiece into existence (Jn. 1:1-3; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2). When He finished (Gen. 2:2), He ceased His work by resting on the seventh day and spending a day of blissful fellowship with His new children, Adam and Eve. Then He "Blessed" the Seventh Day and "made it holy," designating it a sacred day (Gen. 2:1-3).
     In Redemption week, Jesus moved through the week very deliberately, calling attention to His forthcoming work on Calvary. Then, just before He died, He shouted "It is finished!" and breathed His last.
     The epic plan was now complete, to come to this world, reveal the Father's character, defeat the devil, and pay for humanity's sin. Now our Creator-Redeemer rested again on the same day He rested on in Creation. In saving us, He honored the Sabbath He created and set apart at Creation week, by again resting on it.
     On the First Day, He would take up His work of ministry again. But for now, He slept the restful sleep of death, waiting for His Father and glorious angels to call Him to life.

Pastor Michael Brownfield

Mt. 27:57-61 - Two Rich Leaders Bury Jesus

     Matthew tells us, "As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus' body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him" (vs. 57-58).
     John adds that "He (Joseph) was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night (Jn. 3). It is interesting how the four Gospel writers add different pieces of information, which fills out the story for us. In some cases it is difficult to reconcile their facts, but our confidence in Biblical inspiration does not rest on the authors' perfection of memory or reported detail. It is the message that is important, and differences in reporting or even occasional discrepancies of fact need not trouble us at all.
     The Bible was given in the language of men. God did not dictate the Scriptures, He moved on the hearts of the men who wrote each book, and they communicated His message in their own words, language, style, and literary mode. The Bible was written by inspired men, but everything human is imperfect. It is not God as a writer that is portrayed in Scripture, but human beings who are telling us about God. If a writer forgets, or misreports a detail or story, it does not detract from God or His message at all. God hasn't placed Himself on trial in the Bible--in its words, logic, or rhetoric. The writers were His penmen, not His pen. (See Selected Messages, Vol. 1, p. 20-21)
     Joseph and Nicodemus were both wealthy, influential men, who had secretly come to believe in Jesus. John says Joseph "was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because He feared the Jews" (Jn. 19:38). Nicodemus had believed in Jesus ever since his secret night visit recorded in John 3. From then on, he watched and followed Christ from a distance.
     Each man belonged to the Sanhedrin, the Jewish ruling council. Mark tells us that Joseph was a "prominent" member of the Council, who was waiting for the kingdom of God" (15:43). Both had used their influence to protect Jesus (Jn. 7:50-52)--until finally the Council simply went around them to get rid of Him. Joseph "had not consented to their decision and action," Luke tells us (23:51).
     Over time, the conviction had grown in each man's heart that Jesus was the Messiah. Imagine the consternation and grief they felt as they saw their leaders rejecting Jesus and plotting His death.
     What was it like for them when Jesus was crucified? Did Nicodemus remember Jesus' prediction that "Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life?" (Jn. 3:14-15). As he helped to remove Jesus body from the cross, did He believe on Him as His Savior, the Lamb of God sacrificed for the sin of the world? Or as with the disciples, did it take a while for that truth to register in His mind and heart?
     Despite appearances, God is at work in human hearts, in all classes of society. These two rich and influential men came forward at the death of Jesus and did what the poor, infant church could not do. They secured Jesus' body from the governor, purchased burial spices, and laid Jesus in one of their own tombs. God always had means of providing for His church. If a church group is poor and struggling, but is following Jesus faithfully, He will provide for them when it is needed. After all, the Kingdom and the power and the glory all belong to Him.

Pastor Michael Brownfield


    

Mt. 27:54-56 - Unlikely Witnesses at the Cross

     In addition to the ancient holy people who were resurrected to declare Jesus the Messiah, Matthew lists other unlikely witnesses--the Roman centurion in charge of the crucifixion and his soldiers.
     They had watched Jesus from the time they took charge of Him for execution, and quickly noticed how different He was. Jesus was not cursing or swearing like the two other men scheduled to die that day. He did not seem angry, or afraid, or demeaned. He carried Himself with a God-like dignity, even while suffering the greatest pain.
     The soldiers heard when Jesus prayed for them as they nailed Him to His cross, "Father, forgive them; for they don't know what they are doing."
     They heard the Jewish leaders and common people mocking Jesus, but in the taunts, they pieced together Jesus' claim to be the Messiah and Son of God.
     They listened to Jesus answer the dying thief's request for salvation and provide for His grieving mother.
     They saw the supernatural darkness cover the land Jesus’ last hours of suffering. Then they heard His cry of abandonment, followed only a short time later by His shout of victory. And then immediately an earthquake.
     Suddenly, just like for the repentant thief, it all became clear--Jesus was Who He claimed to be! He was the Son of God."
     This tough commander and his men, battle hardened though they were, still had hearts open to evidence, while the religious leaders and teachers rejected it all. Scripture says, "When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, 'Surely He was the Son of God!" (Mt. 27:54).
     All through His Gospel narrative, Matthew loves to show how it is unlikely people who accept Jesus for who He is. The religious leaders reject Him, but tax collectors, Roman soldiers, prostitutes, lepers, the demon possessed, and centurions accept Him. Those who realize their need of God seem to find Him better than the religious ones who depend on their goodness and knowledge. God seems very open to the broken and unreligious.
     Another group of unlikely witnesses are the women who followed Jesus to His crucifixion. Matthew describes them: "Many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons" (Mt. 27:55-56).
     In many cultures women have been degraded in one way or another, but Jesus always treated them with honor and respect. He welcomed the tired mothers who brought their children for blessing, when the disciples wanted to send them away. He forgave and restored to dignity the woman caught in adultery, used as a sexual pawn to trap Him. Women play a prominent role, not a lesser role in the Gospels.
     Creator of woman, Jesus comes also as Redeemer and liberator to her, and women sensed His deep respect and compassion for them. He let them minister to Him and for Him. He elevated them above the cultural norms of the day and they responded in gratitude and service.  
     "Many women followed Him." I've noticed through the years how often women fill the church and carry the ministries. They come in larger numbers to prayer meetings and linger for spiritual conversation while men often are absent or not connected. Is this because women feel their need more or are more used to acknowledging their need of God's help while men are more self-dependent?
     I don't know. But Jesus welcomes women and Roman centurions too. All who come to Him will be received and blessed.

Pastor Michael Brownfield

Mt. 27:51-53 - God Makes a Statement

     God made some powerful statements when Jesus died. "At that moment (the minute of Jesus' death) the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus' resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people" (Mt. 27:51-53)
     The curtain that separated the holy and most holy place was ripped from top to bottom by an unseen hand. It is significant that Matthew says it was ripped from above since it was very tall, and the top was much higher than a man could reach. It was clearly a divine act. God was showing two things by this.
     First, He was demonstrating His grief. It is customary in Eastern culture to tear one's garment as an outward act of sorrow. God's Son had just died, and the temple veil represented His covering--the covering of His presence. God grieved at the death of His Son. Although it was necessary and part of His eternal plan, He loved Jesus very much and mourned His death.
     Second, God was showing the sacrificial service was now at an end. The One to Whom it all pointed had died.
     From the time of the Wilderness Sanctuary, built by Moses from God's blueprint, the temple had been a symbol of the plan of salvation. The daily sacrifices, the ministration of the priests, and the yearly Day of Atonement, symbolized God's way of saving humanity, His way of dealing with sin.
     The Most Holy Place contained the Ark of the Covenant, a golden box which contained the Ten Commandments. Its cover was called “the mercy seat." Together, the commandments and mercy seat showed God's justice and mercy.
     In the Wilderness and Solomon Temples, God often manifested His glory above the Ark of the Covenant, so the Most Holy Place was considered very holy.
     No one but the high priest could look into or enter the Most Holy Place; and He could enter only once a year on the Day of Atonement. This room was where God revealed Himself to His people, personally or through the high priest.
     Every aspect of the temple and its services pointed forward to Jesus and the salvation He would bring. So when God's Lamb (John 1:29-36) died, there was no more need for the symbolic system. The real Lamb had been sacrificed for the world's sins and how His ministry would shift to the heavenly temple where Jesus would minister as our true High Priest. (See Heb. 9:11-15, 24-28; Heb. 7:24-28; Heb. 4:14-16)
     God also made a statement with a resurrection. Jesus had provided the sacrifice for all sin and conquered Satan (Col. 2:15) and death. Now God had the right to raise people from the dead.
     As a sign of His victory and a herald of that great Resurrection Morning when Jesus returns again the second time, God resurrected some of the saved from ages past and made them living witnesses to Christ's resurrection.
     Imagine walking down the street of Jerusalem on Sunday morning and seeing a group of people from all previous ages and then hearing from their lips that Jesus was truly the Messiah and had been raised from the dead. How amazing that would have been! Who made up that group we don't know. Was the great sufferer Job part of it? What about John the Baptist who gave his life as the forerunner of Christ? Would Abel the first martyr have been raised? We don't know.
     What happened to those special people? They likely were taken to heaven sometime later as a "first fruits" sample of Christ's resurrection power. Some think the twenty-four elders of Revelation may be from that group. They certainly worship Jesus and the Father with great gratitude and passion. It would make sense.

Michael Brownfield
 

Mt. 27:50 - "It is finished!"

     Jesus' final words on the cross reveal an amazing truth. Comparing the gospel writers' record of Jesus' last words (John 19:30 and Luke 23:46) we discover Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "It is finished! Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." Then He bowed His head and died.
     What was "finished?" And what happened in Jesus' heart and mind between His cry of abandonment, "My God, why have you forsaken Me?" and His final shout of conquering faith?
     Before the foundation of the world, sometime way back in eternity, Father and Son had made a covenant that if sin should ever arise (and of course they foresaw it on this blue planet), Jesus would offer Himself as the Bridge between the Justice and Mercy of God. He would take the place of sinners and suffer for their sins (Rev. 13:8; Tit. 1:2; 2 Tim. 1:9, 10) to bring us back to our Father.
    In the Psalms it was written prophetically about Jesus, “Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared me; burnt offerings and sin offerings you did not require. Then I said, ‘Here I am, I have come—it is written about me in the scroll. I desire to do your will, O my God; Your law is within my heart’” (Ps. 40:6-8). Now, through His infinite suffering, Jesus had accomplished this.
     Jesus had made the sin offering for our salvation. "Christ's sacrifice on behalf of humanity was full and complete. The condition of the atonement had been fulfilled." Acts of the Apostles, p. 29. Jesus was "the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world" (1 Jn. 2:2).
     But again, what happened in Jesus' mind between feeling forsaken and conquering by faith? We can learn a vital lesson about the power of Scripture to anchor our souls in suffering from these final moments of His experience.
     Andrew Hodges, M.D., a Christian psychiatrist, made a study of Jesus' thought processes by comparing the record of Scripture with what is known about human experience. He reported his study in his book, Jesus, An Interview Across Time (Village House, 1986).
     His narration of Jesus' suffering on the cross is especially moving and enlightening.
     "By now my thirst was so great that finally I said aloud, ‘I thirst.’ They offered me some wine to kill the pain, and I refused. As much as I wanted relief, I refused because I was God and I was accomplishing salvation not by numbing the pain but by accepting the pain.
     "My chest was heaving. The pain was now wearing me down more than ever. And I was constantly short of breath and so thirsty.
     "It was extremely dark. It was past three in the afternoon by then, and I had been on that cross for more than three (actually, six) hours. Everywhere I turned, there was no relief. There was no relief even in thinking about all the memories--the Last Supper, the Transfiguration, the miracles, or even my Baptism. I could no longer hear the words "My beloved Son." They all seemed too far away, as if they had never happened. It was so hard to concentrate. Thinking about my future glory seemed too far away. I felt suspended in time as if I had been there and would be there forever. The pain was unbelievable. The staring and mocking never let up. "So you trust the Lord. Why? Is He really looking after you? Healer, heal yourself." "Why don't you come on down, Prophet?"
     I was defenseless. My mother and John my friend were too far away to comfort me. I looked at the man on my right, and at that point he wasn't any help. He was in as much pain as I was. It was like looking in a mirror. Frighteningly, my Father's words had no comfort for me now. ‘The Lord is my strength.’ But I had no strength. His words seemed as dry as my mouth. That had never happened before, and I felt a terrible panic. I waited a minute and went back over His words. But it was only worse.
     "It became blacker and blacker for me. I was squirming like a worm on the end of a hook with all of my enemies watching me squirm and enjoying it. I was totally alone. And now my Father was gone, too. I was nude, dangling there disfigured. Gasping for air, writing in pain, I was totally helpless. Time was standing still. The oppression was horrible. . .I did not believe this much pain was possible. Every time I would try to get back up that mountain, 'Think of your glory, think of why you are doing it, the Lord is my strength'--nothing--I would just fall back again. No comfort from His words. I wanted to run, to get down--but He was still my Father--but now He was gone. My head was pounding, blood and sweat were in my eyes, my back and legs were rubbed raw, my hands and feet were on fire, my joints were throbbing, all out of place; I was constantly short of breath and I was suffering incredible thirst. I couldn't take it anymore. Suddenly I screamed: 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?'
     "When that came out of me something happened. I was back at the beginning of the 22nd Psalm, and almost reflexively, I began to quote it from memory. Now I was back home. First that Psalm went through all my experiences on the cross. My strength poured out like water. My bones out of joint. My dry mouth, the mockery, and the gambling for my robe were all part of it. Then the Psalm comes to that great part, 'I will declare your name to my brethren. . .'
     "There they were. I could see some of them. My spirit began to life, and then came the next part of the Psalm as though He were reading my mind: 'For He has not despised or disdained the suffering of the afflicted one; He has not hidden His face from Him, but has listened to His cry for help.'
     My Father had heard me and His voice was getting louder. 'All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations will bow down before him, for dominion belongs to the Lord and He rules over the nations. . .posterity will serve him; future generations will be told about the Lord. They will proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn--for He has done it.'
     "He was telling me that I had done it. When I got to that place I began to feel an ecstasy. Good was greater than evil. I had done it! I had accomplished my task! I had given every last ounce of strength I had and the fight was over. I was the winner, the champion: Son of God, reign forever!
     "I looked at the crowd. I knew I'd taken their evil away from them and not given it back. Justice had been done. I had conquered fear. I had conquered hatred. I had overcome all evil.
     The fight was over. I was still very thirsty. . .In fulfillment of prophecy, someone offered to quench my thirst. Typical of the world, all they could ever offer me was bitterness. I drank sour wine vinegar. They passed the vinegar up to me on a sponge and I drank it. It was one final way of saying, 'I take into me your bitterness.'
     Appropriately, that prophecy was from the 69th Psalm. That bitter Psalm which had haunted me all my life, the Psalm which had told me that I was so suffer unmercifully as a child and even more unmercifully as an adult on a Roman cross, that Psalm whose every painful word I knew completely and had carried with me for years, now I could finally lay to rest. By drinking that cup, I was also saying on more time for everyone to hear, 'Thy will be done. In the face of all the world's bitterness, to God be the glory.'
     "Then I looked at the crowd and said, 'It is finished."
     "I suffered not one second longer. With the power of the Son of God, I showed them that I gave my life, and nobody took it from me. I chose the moment of my death. For a few seconds, I intentionally paused and held my head particularly high as I looked out over the crowd to let them know I had conquered their shame. Finally, I looked up towards my Father in heaven, took as deep a breath as I could, and shouted that glorious verse from the 31st Psalm that I had waited for all my life, 'Into Thy hand I commit my spirit.' . . .It was over."
     Friend, God used His word to help Jesus conquer by faith, and He can help us in the same way. In your daily life and in your challenging moments He will lead you to just the promises and help you need. But take time to store His word in your heart now, so you will have it when you need it.

Michael Brownfield
    
         

Mt. 27:46 - "Why have you forsaken me?"

   
     Jesus was not calling for Elijah as some thought. This was a cry of dereliction, feeling abandoned. He felt utterly forsaken and rejected by God in His sufferings.
     At the Passover meal Jesus introduced the "cup" to His disciples and established the Lord's Supper. He said, “Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt. 26:27-28).
     This was also the cup Jesus prayed for deliverance from in his Garden prayer: "Father if it be possible for this cup to pass from me. . ." (Mt. 26:39)
     Jesus began to drink that bitter cup in the Garden when He said "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death" (Mt. 26:38). As we saw earlier, it was not just fear of suffering that forced bloody sweat from His pores (Lk 2:44). He was in fact becoming the divine Substitute for every person.
     He was beginning to die the death that was ours. "God made him who had no sin to be a sin offering for us. . ." (2 Cor. 5:21).  "It was the Lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring. . ." (Isa. 53:10). "All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified (declared innocent, exonerated) freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished—he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:23-26).
     In the Garden He began to drink that cup of Divine Judgment (the sacrifice He had offered in heaven far back eternity), and now on the cross he was drinking it down to the last dregs for us (Ps. 75:8-9).
     "Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father's mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father's reconciling face. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Savior in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt" The Desire of Ages, p. 753).
     We can never understand this side of eternity what Jesus endured for us, but if we let Him, He will win our hearts.

I’m forgiven because You were forsaken,
I’m accepted, You were condemned.
I am alive and well, Your spirit is within me,
Because You died and rose again.

Amazing love,
How can it be
That You, my King, should die for me?
Amazing love,
I know it’s true.
It’s my joy to honor You,
In all I do, I honor You.

"Amazing Love" by Chris Tomlin

Michael Brownfield