The Vindicated and Victorious Jesus (Part 1)

[0:00] May I invite you please to turn to the book of 1 Peter.

[0:13] Our church family, for those of you who are visiting, have been working through this wonderful book in Scripture for a number of months together now, going verse by verse through what Peter wrote to encourage his readers over 2,000 years ago as they were suffering persecution under the emperor Nero.

[0:36] The persecution had not quite gotten to the point where it spread across the Roman Empire in an official way, but it's growing. So Peter writes to encourage his brothers and sisters in Christ who are suffering, not because they're doing wrong or living sinful lives or trying to overthrow the government or anything like that.

[0:56] They're suffering because they're trying to follow Jesus faithfully, and that's putting them at odds with society. So Peter writes, we're going to pick it up then in verse 18.

[1:11] Chapter 3, verse 18. For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the Spirit, in which also he went and made proclamation to the spirits now in prison, who once were disobedient.

[1:41] when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water.

[1:55] Now corresponding to that, baptism now saves you. Not the removal of dirt from the flesh, but an appeal to God for a good conscience through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, who is at the right hand of God, having gone into heaven after angels and authorities and powers had been subjected to him.

[2:23] Now, beloved, if I could, let me put you in a particular scenario, a situation. The title of my message is The Vindicated and Victorious Jesus, and so that will be the main theme that we'll be talking about in the message.

[2:37] To begin with, let's say that you are out about the town, and you happen upon a local news crew, and you see that they're interviewing people, and as you curiously walk by, they look at you, make eye contact, and draw you into the conversation.

[2:55] And here's what they want to know from you with the mic in your mouth and the camera in your face. Here's what they ask. Considering the problems, concerns, and issues plaguing societies around the world, and considering all the speculations and all the different solutions that governments, individuals, and local principalities are offering for these ills, what would you say?

[3:25] What would you say is the most important message people need to hear today? Could you answer in a paragraph?

[3:40] Could you give them an answer in just a few sentences? You track such...

[3:50] She's... I'm telling you. You hush. Don't you spoil this. She's way ahead. Could you do it in a sentence? All right, Alonzo, what was your answer?

[4:04] Two words. Exactly. That's exactly right. I can do it in two words, but it's not me. It's from Scripture.

[4:16] Jesus saves. That's the message human beings have needed to hear since Adam and Eve fell into sin in the garden.

[4:28] Jesus saves. And God announced that in Genesis 3.15 when he said that he would send someone who would be bruised in their heel, but he would deal a death blow to the one who would bruise him.

[4:42] And that was the first glimpse of the gospel. The gospel is what Christians refer to as the good news. And the good news, in two words, is Jesus saves.

[4:57] Jesus saves. That is the message for today. That is Peter's message to us today. Peter uses more than two words in his text this morning, but that's because Peter's trying to help us as Christians to navigate the difficulties and the suffering that we experience in an unjust way as we as Christians live in this time, in this era, trying to please Jesus, trying to be faithful to Jesus.

[5:32] Look, not trying to be obnoxious know-it-alls in the world. We wouldn't want to say to the news crew, Jesus saves all braggadociously and pridefully.

[5:43] We would want to humbly say, the greatest message that the world needs to hear is the message the world's always needed to hear because of sin. Jesus Christ saves.

[5:55] Humbly, we submit that, but confidently and lovingly, we submit that. And because we believe in that definitive message, we will be persecuted.

[6:11] Jesus said, the world hated me, it will hate you also. Paul told us in Timothy that all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.

[6:28] And that persecution will take on all kinds of looks, nuances. It's been the same throughout human history. People hate the truth because the truth bears witness to who they are and what's wrong with them.

[6:42] We all want to think we're okay and the Bible tells us we're not. And that's why we need a Savior. And that's why it's good news. It's wonderful news.

[6:54] So even though Peter uses more than two words, we'll take it apart together and see what we can do with it. All right, let me show you a couple of things here real quickly about where we're headed.

[7:06] In 1 Peter 3, 18-22, Peter tries to focus the hearts of his readers, our hearts, on what Jesus conquered on the cross.

[7:19] This is a wonderful privilege for me, folks. Every Sunday is a great privilege to preach the truth of the Lord. But sometimes we come to a passage that just hammers the heart and soul of what it means to be a Christian and to live for Christ.

[7:34] And this is one of those verses. He focuses our hearts on what Jesus conquered for us on the cross. and what Jesus secured for us as we face unjust suffering.

[7:50] We're going to see what Jesus' suffering on the cross has to do with our suffering here and now as we live for him. So I'm going to offer you three ways Jesus' victory in suffering helps you and I overcome sin and remain faithful to him especially in times of unjust suffering.

[8:17] I'm trying to do the right thing. I'm trying to live to please Christ. I'm trying to live gently and peaceably among men as much as it depends on me. And I get all this flack.

[8:29] I get all of this hurt and anguish coming at me. What is that all about? Well, we're not going to be able and I apologize up front for those of you who are visiting and likely won't be back next Sunday.

[8:43] I wish you would come back because this is riveting stuff. It really is. We're just going to deal with verse 18 today. And the first point that we're going to make from this passage of scripture is Jesus' physical death.

[9:00] We want to look hard at what Peter wants us to understand about Jesus' physical death as it connects with and relates to our ability to overcome sin and to move faithfully along in our Christian life as people persecute us because we love Jesus and we hold Jesus out as the definitive answer for the ills of human society.

[9:24] You know, people will tolerate all kinds of answers and all kinds of ideas about religion, politics, or whatever.

[9:35] But as soon as a Christian gets really definitive and pointed and wants to talk about how Jesus makes the difference and is the difference, that Jesus Christ is the one worthy of worship, as soon as we narrow that down to Jesus Christ, people start really getting freaked out.

[9:54] They can tolerate a lot of things you can talk about with religion, but you get definitive like that and they start really getting upset because they want to believe that there's truth out there in all kinds of places and ways and we tell everybody, Jesus himself said, I am the way, the truth, and the life.

[10:15] No one comes to the Father except through me. Now that's definitive. That's exclusionary, isn't it? We tell them that because we love them, not because we're trying to be uppity.

[10:30] Jesus himself makes the difference and his death is everything to us. Now what I want to give you in this first point, which is all we'll deal with today, then I'll have two more points, God willing, for next week where we'll delve into this enigmatic kind of material where he goes into talking about Jesus going somewhere and making proclamation to spirits who are in prison.

[10:55] What's that all about? Then he goes a little further and starts talking about God's patience in the time of Noah during the flood. What do those people have to do with any of this?

[11:07] Then he goes on and he tells us that baptism saves us. What? I thought only Jesus saves. We got to deal with that. He qualifies it and explains it.

[11:18] We're going to do four baptisms today. And I'll tell you right now that going under that water and coming up does not wash away the sin of their hearts. We want to make that really clear.

[11:31] And yet here's Peter saying baptism saves you. Gee, I wonder if it could be a different kind of baptism. Stay tuned. Then we go a little bit further and he talks about a good conscience.

[11:44] Jesus being at the right hand of God. Angels, authorities, and powers being subjected to him. And I go right back up to verse 18 and ask what does that have to do with any of this? That's next week, God willing.

[11:58] You pray for your pastor as I work through all that. I'll just go ahead and tell you that in every commentary I read, I've got a fellow pastor in the room right here, Dale.

[12:12] He understands this. As Greg and I prepare this one, this particular, I read, Dale, I read more this past week and the week before on this passage than I probably have ever read trying to get some type of grip.

[12:29] The one I started with was the reformer Martin Luther. And I read some of Luther's comments and this is where Luther came out about this passage.

[12:40] Now, this is one of the most brilliant theologians to ever walk the planet. And here's basically summing up, paraphrasing, what Luther said about this passage. Yeah, I don't know.

[12:53] That's a lot of help. I knew I was in trouble right there. Yeah, I don't know. He said, I don't have a clue what Peter's talking about here. Then I picked up John Calvin and I read Calvin.

[13:08] And when I finished with Calvin, I needed a break. I just went out in the backyard and wept. Calvin's argument was so complex, I thought I can't even decipher this. That's two down.

[13:20] And on and on and on it went. Well, I did get some help and the Holy Spirit was good to me. But you pray for me as we pull this together and try to make sense of it for next week.

[13:32] But I want to give you five aspects of Jesus' physical death, phrase by phrase, that will help you understand the relationship of the cross of Jesus Christ to our suffering today.

[13:45] And what Jesus' cross does for us. It's magnificent. So the first thing that we'll deal with is suffering. Some translations actually have for Christ also suffered instead of died.

[13:59] My translation says died. It's the New American Standard. It doesn't change the translation's meaning at all to use either suffered or died because the idea or the concept behind the text in verse 18, beginning with for Christ also died.

[14:16] If we put for Christ also suffered is this. He suffered unto death. He suffered unto death. That's the key concept. Now, I want to point out to you, beloved, that the words in verse 18, for Christ also died, the words for and also connect verse 18 with verse 17.

[14:40] So we go back up into verse 17. For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

[14:53] For Christ also suffered unto death. That's the connection. So verse 17 rolls us then into verse 18, where he's continuing in his flow of thought about suffering here and now as it connects with our walk with Jesus Christ.

[15:14] Peter taught that when you suffer in this life from what people do to you, it is better if you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.

[15:27] Obviously, you expect to suffer when you sin. When you treat people sinfully, it's no surprise that you get back sin. The shock is when you sin against someone and you don't get sin back.

[15:42] And that's exactly what he's been arguing for us as Christians. When we are sinned against, we are not to sin back. We are to respond in righteousness because people don't expect that.

[15:54] It's a shock. It arrests them. It unbalances them. And then we're in a position to be able to give a defense of that hope that is in us. And that hope is specifically the hope of Jesus transforming us, making us more like himself.

[16:09] And so that's a Jesus response, not a world response. It gives us an opportunity to speak to the goodness of Christ and the difference he is in our life.

[16:21] That's what Peter's trying to deal with. He's already taught us that we're going to suffer unjustly in this world as we live to please Christ. It's going to happen.

[16:33] When we do what is right and we suffer for it and then patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

[16:44] And that's what we're after. Even Jesus himself said, I didn't come to do my will, but the will of the one who sent me. That's what we want. We want to follow Jesus in that example.

[16:55] Now, the question is this, how does our suffering connect to Jesus? How does your suffering, as a mom or a dad or an employee or whatever your context or situation in that moment, how does our suffering connect to Jesus?

[17:14] Now, you might be tempted to say, boy, when I think about the cross, Jeff, because I know a little bit about that. I'm a Christian. I've walked with the Lord. Really? I can't even compare my suffering to what he went through.

[17:27] That's good. That's absolutely true. And yet, in all of that, God never makes light of our suffering, even when it's compared to how Jesus suffered for us on the cross.

[17:40] He just makes sure that we understand the difference, but he never makes light of our suffering. Isn't that wonderful? That's the kind of God you serve. You serve a loving Father who understands.

[17:54] You serve a Savior who completely understands how it is to be tempted and ways that you are tempted. And yet, Jesus was without sin. A big difference between Jesus and us.

[18:10] So how does our suffering connect to Jesus? If you look in chapter 2, verse 21, we just get a little synopsis of an answer for this.

[18:22] Peter says, For you have been called for this purpose. Called is the idea of you have been saved. You have been brought into salvation for this purpose, since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps.

[18:39] What's he talking about? Verse 20. For what credit is there if when you sin and are harshly treated, you endure it with patience? But if when you do what is right and suffer for it, you patiently endure it, this finds favor with God.

[18:55] For this you have been saved, born again, forgiven for your sins. Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example. So we look to Jesus in that way.

[19:06] You've been called for the purpose of suffering, Christian. And since Jesus also suffered for you, he left you an example of what that suffering should point to and the purpose that it serves.

[19:20] So that helps put our feet on a firm foundation as we suffer. You and I as Christians can know that everything we suffer in in this life has a purpose and a meaning that God ascribes to it.

[19:34] that God has a plan in your suffering. We will never ever be, look back as Christians and say, boy, I went through all of that and it was pointless. I remember the first time I ever said that to a mature Christian.

[19:48] I was a Christian, but I wasn't as mature as this other person. And I was recounting a time in my life, a good period of time as a Christian where I was, boy, I was really involved in some things, studying and they would, but they were, it was worldly perspective.

[20:06] So I was taking in all this and I looked back and I thought in that moment, man, what a waste. And my brother looked right into my eyes and he said, oh, Jeff, don't say that.

[20:19] You serve a sovereign God and he never wastes anything. It was as if I was saying, yeah, God got that one wrong. No, God will never wait.

[20:32] Look, even your sin isn't greater than God's grace and plan for your life. Even the thing that most conquers you cannot conquer God or his grace in your life.

[20:45] That's how firm your foundation is. I praise God for it. In Jesus' case, in Jesus' case, he did the right thing.

[21:02] He went to the cross where he suffered unjustly by being tortured to death. And so now, now Peter is wanting us to almost ask the questions at this point like this.

[21:15] Well, did that death make his life useless? What an ignominious kind of thing to go through. What a humiliation to be put up on a cross as a criminal and die in such humiliation.

[21:32] What was all, was all of his unjust suffering then for nothing? Those are good questions. They're relevant to the text.

[21:43] We ask ourselves, why would Jesus do that? Why would he go to the cross like that? Why would he suffer through his life like that and then it culminate in that kind of suffering?

[21:54] And why would God the Father send his only son to suffer unjustly and die? You see, Jesus was crucified as a criminal, but it wasn't any of his criminal acts that killed him.

[22:09] He wasn't guilty. He was innocent. And yet he died as a criminal. Why? And why would, why would God the Father have that as his plan? Well, the answer comes in one word in our text.

[22:23] Christ and it's powerful. For Christ also died. The answer is in the word Christ.

[22:36] Christ also died. Not just anybody. Not you. Not me. Not any other human being. Christ. Well, what's unique about that? Well, let me give you a little insight into that from another place in scripture that might help fill this out a little bit for you.

[22:51] Matthew chapter 16. Would you turn with me there? We're just going to move through this quickly and answer a couple of questions. The ones that I was, I was just asking you.

[23:05] What about all this suffering? Matthew 16. Beginning in verse 13. Now, some of you will recognize this text. It's a rather popular text.

[23:18] Now, when Jesus came into the district of Caesarea Philippi, he was asking his disciples, who do people say that the Son of Man is himself?

[23:29] Who do people say that I am? And they responded. They said, well, we've heard some people saying that you're John the Baptist reincarnate. See, John the Baptist had been beheaded by this time.

[23:41] So, John the Baptist come back to life by the power of God. All right. Who else? Well, some say Elijah, one of the greatest prophets of Israel. Still others, Jeremiah, another wonderful prophet or one of the other prophets.

[23:57] And Jesus said to them, but who do you say that I am? Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ. You notice that's what he chose to say.

[24:10] You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. Now, Peter uses the same word for Christ in this passage in Matthew that he uses in our passage in 1 Peter 3, 18.

[24:26] Christ is the Greek word that is the Hebrew equivalent, Messiah. It means anointed one. It's a royal title referring to Israel's long-awaited King of Kings and Lord of Lords.

[24:44] It's referring to the One, capital O, the person God promised would be Israel's future deliverer and Savior.

[24:55] So, the long-awaited Messiah. Peter's confession in Matthew 16, then, is correct that Jesus is the long-awaited Messiah, God's holy son.

[25:11] Israel's salvation. It's true. But, in contrast to what people have come to believe about Messiah, by that time, people largely believed that he would be a deliverer in the way of rescuing them from Roman domination, Roman rule.

[25:32] people. But, Jesus did not come to be a military or political deliverer. So, the people are very confused about all of this.

[25:43] Even the religious leaders themselves, who should have known better, are confused about this. What kind of Messiah, what kind of Christ, what kind of deliverer, rescuer, did Jesus come to be?

[26:00] Well, he had to deal with that as he answered them in Matthew 16, verse 21. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he, notice, must go to Jerusalem and must suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes.

[26:23] Those are the religious leaders of Israel. And be killed and be raised up on the third day. He'll take a number of opportunities between this time and his crucifixion to teach them that and reinforce it in their minds.

[26:38] I am on a mission. I am marching steadfastly toward Jerusalem where the religious leaders of Israel will capture me. They will put me on a cross and kill me.

[26:52] And three days later, I'll be raised again. That's the kind of deliverer I am. That's what you can look for in this king. And the world doesn't get it.

[27:05] Because it's not the world's plan. It's certainly not how you and I would save other people. Let me give you my only son as a sacrifice in your place. I don't think any of us would have come up with that.

[27:18] In fact, I'd have been scrambling to look for any other way. Take me instead, right? How many of you parents would want to give up one of your kids that way? Wouldn't you stand in their place? That's exactly what God did do.

[27:34] Because Jesus was the God-man. This is where Peter's trying to take us. Peter's confession in Matthew 16 then is correct.

[27:44] Notice in our text from verse 21, Matthew 16, 21, notice that Jesus says he must go. Your translation should say that. must go to Jerusalem where he must suffer many things and be killed.

[27:58] Folks, God's Messiah, his only son, must suffer and die. This was a baby born to die.

[28:11] Remember, we have Christmas, but we also have Easter. They go together. This was a baby born to die. And that's what Peter is explaining in this verse.

[28:25] Why? Why? And what does that have to do with me and my suffering? Why Jesus died? What blessed effect his death has for all who believe in him for the forgiveness of their sins.

[28:43] That's what we're dealing with. The main idea behind this first aspect is that Jesus suffered unto death. death. He suffered unto death.

[28:53] The second one I want to point out to you is sacrifice. That's the second quality or aspect of his death. He died as a sacrifice for sins once for all.

[29:05] Let me take you back to 1 Peter. Draw your attention to verse 18 where you can see it written in your Bibles. For Christ also died for sins once for all.

[29:16] for sins. Christ died for sins. Alright? That refers to the old covenant.

[29:28] The Old Testament sacrificial rituals where the Jews made animal sacrifices to symbolize their need to atone for their sins against God.

[29:40] Most of you are probably familiar with reading through the Old Testament and what in the world is all of this animal sacrifice all about and that kind of thing. That's what Peter is referring to here as he refers to Jesus.

[29:55] Now this is a very important and critical point that we need to understand as Christians about animal sacrifice during this time. Listen carefully if you would. The animal sacrifices did not remove their sins but they offered a covering for their sins so that their sins were hidden from God.

[30:17] You say, what's the difference? It's a big difference. I want to make that even clearer to you so I've chosen this particular quote. Even with all the ceremonies and rituals perfect cleansing from sin could not be accomplished.

[30:34] The old sacrifices were never meant to cleanse from sin but only to symbolize such cleansing. Symbolize. The conscience of the person sacrificing was never freed from the feeling of guilt because the guilt itself was never removed.

[30:51] Can you imagine? The cleansing was entirely external. Consequently he could never have a clear conscience that is a deep abiding sense of forgiveness.

[31:04] So the animal was the innocent sacrifice that took the place of the sinner in their guilt before God. So the person would lay their hands on the animal to identify with the animal and then this animal they would say in their head this animal is dying in my place for the guilt of my sins.

[31:31] Only we've just seen that it never really removed that guilt because it never really dealt with the sin. There's a good reason for that and it's very straightforward.

[31:43] An animal can't take away the sin of a human being. It can't do it. Why? It's not a human being.

[31:58] The penalty for sin is death. So as the people repeatedly sinned they had to repeat these animal sacrifices as a way of answering to God for their sins.

[32:12] All of this was in preparation for what Jesus would do on the cross. Every single bit of it pointing to Jesus. So constantly repeating those sacrifices kept the people reminded that they were sinners in continual need of God's forgiveness.

[32:32] Now just to give you a little perspective more than 250,000 sheep were slaughtered during the week of Passover during this time in Jesus life.

[32:45] A quarter of a million just in a week's time. That's just that. They have many festivals where they offer sacrifices throughout the year. folks that comes to multiplied millions upon millions of animals over the centuries.

[33:03] That's poignant isn't it? When you think about that. However Peter said that Jesus died for sins once for all.

[33:15] Once for all. Now notice this if you would. The Greek word that translates in English to once for all is one word. It's hapax.

[33:27] It means on a single occasion. It has the sense of not requiring repetition. Well you would think that that's what once for all means.

[33:38] It doesn't have to be repeated exactly. So the nuance comes forward to us quite easily. We don't have to work hard on that one. Now it's an amazing and wonderful contrast.

[33:51] Peter is saying that the sacrifice of Jesus dying for sins was a one time offering so that it isn't necessary for any offering of any kind by anyone to be made for your sins or my sins beyond what Jesus offered in himself on the cross.

[34:16] Once for all one man to cover all that sin. It's amazing.

[34:29] This is what the book of Hebrews in concise form says about that. By God's will we have been sanctified, that means made holy, through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

[34:47] Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices which can never take away sins. But he having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, look, sat down at the right hand of God by one offering he has perfected for all time those who are sanctified, set apart to God in Christ.

[35:15] Look folks, look at this again, he sat down at the right hand of God, that's Jesus' victory. But now notice what he says, he has perfected those who are sanctified for all time, that's our victory.

[35:29] That's our victory in him. You and I have been perfected, animals can't do that, but Jesus did. Why?

[35:40] Because Jesus is human. He's like you, and yet he's not. After six hours on the cross, in the moment before he died, Jesus uttered his final words.

[36:02] You're familiar with this. It is finished. And he bowed his head and gave up his spirit. John 19 30. It is finished translates.

[36:17] It is finished translates the perfect tense of one Greek verb, tetelestai. It could be translated as it stands completed.

[36:29] He could have said that. It now stands complete. Meaning, Jesus' work on the cross stands forever finalized and the finished results remain.

[36:45] They can never be taken away. This is what we read in Romans 8 for our call to worship earlier. Not depth, depth, nor height, nor depths. Nothing in the universe can change what remains of what Jesus did on the cross for us.

[37:02] So, Jesus is sacrificing himself to God as a once-for-all offering for sins so that no other sacrifices for sins are needed.

[37:15] None. And those results remain. And I'm so glad that we're not going to come to a place in our service in just a few minutes where I've got to bring a goat up here and go through all that.

[37:31] No. No. Look at this quote. The wonder of the New Testament revelation is that at last, at last, after all these hundreds and hundreds of years through the Old Testament, at last we see the glory of God's eternal plan.

[37:49] He has himself, in Christ his Son, chosen to become the sacrifice through which humanity can be released from the grip of sin and death.

[38:05] Who? Who is Jesus sacrificing himself for? That's what comes next. Jesus' substitution.

[38:17] What does the text say? For Christ, in verse 18, for Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust. The just for the unjust.

[38:29] Now, Peter has told us that Jesus was sinless. There was no sin in him at all. We saw that in 221.

[38:39] For you have been called for this purpose since Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example for you to follow in his steps. Verse 22, who committed no sin. In a previous message, we went through all of that.

[38:54] He committed no sin. so he was faultless. He's told us that Jesus was sinless and that our freedom and forgiveness from our sins were one for us with precious blood as of a lamb unblemished and spotless the blood of Christ.

[39:12] That's chapter 1 verse 19. I'll read it again. We were redeemed or bought from sin and death with the precious blood as of a lamb.

[39:22] You hear the sacrificial tones there? Unblemished and spotless the blood of Christ. So there is a world of difference between an animal standing in your place and a human being standing in your place.

[39:41] The human is like you and can more accurately represent you. But Peter makes a critical distinction between us and when Jesus was crucified saying the just substituted himself for the unjust.

[40:02] So the sinless took the place of the sinful. There was no sin in Jesus. He died as a criminal but it wasn't his sins he was paying for.

[40:15] It wasn't his sins he was guilty of. There weren't any his sins. thank God if Jesus had ever sinned just once he couldn't have offered himself as a sacrifice satisfying to God.

[40:29] But he was perfect and sinless. God's justice demands that sin's wrong be made right. It has to be paid for.

[40:41] God can't just arbitrarily stand back and just let sin be done and not do anything about it. How fickle does that make God? How does he apply that to different people?

[40:55] Well I'll let you go but I won't let you go. Well yeah you're okay but no we don't want that. That's not what the Bible teaches. God's very specific about this.

[41:09] Debt of sin against God has to be paid in full. So we've already seen that the payment for sin as I said earlier is always death. Sin demands the payment of death.

[41:23] That's the death penalty. Sinless Jesus God's spotless lamb stood in the place of sinners by going to the cross to die on their behalf.

[41:38] So Jesus died to pay our sin debt to God so that we could be freed from the penalty and power of sin forever. Jesus didn't go to the cross to pay that debt to Satan.

[41:53] He owed Satan nothing. He conquered Satan on the cross not appeased him. And so God's Jesus satisfied God's wrath God's holy anger against sin by taking our sins on himself and then being punished to death taking on the punishment we deserve for sin and paying that penalty in full so that we could be free forever and we never have to turn to any other sacrifices or person and here here's where we turn most often and get in trouble about Jesus sacrifice we turn to each other we turn to self so every time in life we think I got this it's like we're spitting on the cross we don't have this apart from

[42:58] Jesus but in Christ we have all things we've been given all things because Jesus is the treasure he died on the cross to give us himself not simply to give us freedom from sin to give us himself without Jesus there is no freedom from sin there is no hope there is no life somebody had to die to pay for your sins if Jesus hadn't died for you you'd have to die on your own and be hopeless this is what Jesus did sinless Jesus stood in our place to pay our debt the innocent Jesus stood in the place of criminals the guiltless took the place of the guilty the righteous died for the unrighteous there are a hundred ways we could say this there are many ways the scripture says it but that's what happened here is one verse that we turn to often that kind of kind of just captures encapsulates what we're saying here it is he made him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf why for what purpose so that we might become the righteousness of God in him an animal can't do that for you no animal ever did that in the history of all the sacrifices that were made no animal ever accomplished that for a human being or as

[44:43] Peter says so that he might bring us to God that's why he did it so that he might bring us to God sufficient his death was sufficient to accomplish to accomplish that and only his death was sufficient to accomplish that friends sin separates you and I from a holy God and so we need atonement Jesus is atonement it brings together an English word a couple of them at and one-ment atonement at one-ment with God the idea of bringing together or reconciling so to bring us to God means that Jesus reconciles us with God you understand this concept when you're at odds with another person and you reconcile you come back together with that person you make it right with that person and so you're brought together this is what

[45:45] Jesus is doing for us he brings us to God it's not like this folks it's not like Jesus says alright there became a moment in your life when I just wanted you to be introduced to God so we walk up and Jesus becomes the mediator that says God Jeff Jeff God how you doing God good to meet you no what what's between Jeff without this you you can't meet my father and live if you meet my father without this you'll be eternally separated from my father and you'll live in hell for all eternity this bridges the gulf between you and my father because of your sin because I took your sin and I paid for it for you but it doesn't stop there that's just half the good news there's a lot more good news when a sinner puts his faith and trust in

[46:55] Jesus as God's only offering for the forgiveness of sins the separation that sin made between the sinner and God is taken away okay great that separation is taken away but doesn't that just kind of leave me standing in neutral ground aha well what now well the reason Jesus can bring us to God beloved to put us before a holy God and into a right relationship with that God is because Jesus credits our life with his perfect life his righteousness becomes ours he credits that to us as a gift that's the interchange that faith brings so that now Jesus has paid my debt of sin before God thank you Lord but now I still stand in this neutral territory I'm in need of holiness I need to be made perfectly righteous because I'm not I can't go stand before a perfect God in this state neutral even

[48:00] I've got to be made righteous and Jesus says that's what I did I credited my sinless life to your spiritual bank account so God looks at you and what he sees Christian it's as if you live that life perfect sinless guiltless spotless blameless that's what Peter and Paul and the other apostles tell us throughout scripture that in that day when Jesus comes back and we go to meet him in the air we will be presented to him as a bride unblemished spotless without fault thanks to the righteousness of Jesus that's how powerful Jesus's righteousness right standing with God is can you think of all the multiplied millions and millions and millions and millions of people who have lived in sin and come to faith in Jesus and Jesus one sacrifice on the cross was enough to cover every bit of that and wipe it out past present and future ain't no animal could have ever did that we have a living savior a resurrected king

[49:18] I am so glad he was raised for so many reasons but one of the greatest reasons is because now I get to run up to him and I get to say thank you I get I get to bow before him and say thank you for doing something so beautiful for something so ugly you are worth living for because you thought I was worth dying for so folks we are spiritually united to Jesus we are put into Jesus spiritually you've asked me how in the world I don't know that's just what the Bible says I'm in him and he's in me and that's enough for me I don't have to understand it all and it's not just a feeling it's a fact it's a biblical fact so that Jesus is ours and we are his his death to sin and his life to God are our death and our life that's the scripture says that throughout the

[50:34] New Testament and so we come to this last little point having been put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit alright folks that phrase is our hope that is also our reality if we are believing in Jesus alone for the forgiveness of our sins and that's the final one spiritual that's the fifth aspect Jesus physical death and the spiritual reality connected to it here it is just real quickly Jesus died physically but the inner person of his eternal spirit remained alive it was like a spiritual death for Jesus to take our sins on himself which temporarily separated him from the father because the father cannot be with sin so when Jesus took upon took our sins upon himself it separated him from his father for the first time ever that's why he asked why have you forsaken me he felt keenly that separation and in fact many scholars

[51:40] I tend to believe this as well that was probably the aspect that troubled his spirit more than any other of course he didn't want to endure the physical pain of the cross but I think even more that separation from God was too much it killed him but nothing folks nothing not even the total of all the sins of all who believe in him could kill the eternal spirit of Jesus so Jesus Christ triumphed over sin and death now think of it beloved if you would as I close think of it the brutal injustice of the mocking being spit on being lied about being beaten being humiliated and then being tortured to death on the cross at the hands of hateful people all that suffering and death combined was not only not Jesus' defeat it was also our victory in him the cross didn't defeat

[52:48] Jesus Jesus on the cross won our victory into heaven that's the first part there's all this to go God willing next week will you bow your heads with me father we have seen in this one verse just some of the magnificent and wonderful riches of your grace in Christ Jesus we understand now that Christ is not Jesus last name it's his title he is Jesus the Christ he is Messiah he is our deliverer and our hope and our redeemer and so God we can't help but want to stand and sing to his glory we can't help but want to leave this place and honor him as our our savior and our God and will you deserve any praise that we give you so far be it from us dear father that this week we would deny you the worship that we owe you because you you thought well enough of us and you were so faithful to the father that you went to die for us and then you were raised again and that was the vindication that all that you paid for on the cross was worthy of the father he raised you to new life and we look forward to that new life with you when you come to get us again in the meantime please help us to live to please you please help us to live in a way God that honors you and brings great glory to your name bear with us in our weakness

[54:35] Lord and walk with us that we might draw near to you and know you as our treasure in Jesus name we pray amen you you you you you you you