Audio - Considering the Suffering of Christ
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The Second Sunday Before Lent
Considering the Suffering of Christ
January 27, 2008
As we approach the Lenten season of our church year—we continue to consider
the suffering of Christ—and today we will learn that for us to properly
understand the love of God we must examine the Scriptures which reveal the works
of God—and through these works we will see His love for His people and for us
today—God’s greatest work is the humanity of Christ—Jesus came down from heaven
to offer Himself—the Lamb of God—as a sacrifice to pay the price God demands for
cleansing of sin—blood must be offered—Jesus suffered, died, and was
resurrected—and through that resurrection, we obtained our victory over death
and the devil—let’s begin by establishing that Jesus did come down from heaven
for us—we begin with these words of Jesus—telling us He came from heaven
NKJ John 6:38 "For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the
will of Him who sent Me. 39 "This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of
all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last
day. 40 "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son
and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the
last day."
To fully appreciate the love of God we must understand that the Old Testament
and New Testament are one continuous tapestry—everything is weaved together to
show us Christ and the love of God—consider these examples—in Genesis chapter 31
we find the account of Jacob’s son, Joseph, being sold into slavery by his 10
older brothers—and we learn that God used this seemingly tragic event to show
His love for His people and the very brothers that sold Joseph—after all they
were part of the nation Israel—as a famine crossed the land, we find the
enslaved brother rise to power in Egypt—Joseph controlled all the food in the
world—God blessed Joseph in everything he did—and through events under God’s
control, Jacob and the nation of Israel were saved from certain starvation—and
the 10 sinful brothers were forgiven
In the New Testament we find that Jesus was sold into bondage by Judas Iscariot
for 30 pieces of silver—Judas was a man who walked with Jesus for the three
years of His ministry—Jesus treated Judas with the love of a brother—yet God
used Judas to cause Jesus to be arrested, accused, tortured, and crucified to
death—because Judas committed this awful sin, we—and every believer—are saved—it
is by the love of God that we are saved—saved by the blood of Christ—the blood
demanded by God for our sins
In the Old Testament we have the example of Cain killing his own brother
Abel—and in the New Testament Jesus is murdered by His own people
In the Old Testament we have Jonah buried in the belly of the whale for three
days—in the New Testament Jesus spends three days in the belly of the earth—in
the tomb
In the Old Testament God gave strict instructions on how to gain forgiveness for
sin—God demanded life for life—and life is defined as the blood of a sacrificed
animal—no matter what your position in society, God gave directions for making
atonement for sin—and in every case, the sinner had to offer and kill an animal,
offer the blood of the sacrificed animal to God through the priest—consider
these examples of the Law in Scripture
Priest
NKJ Leviticus 4:3 'if the anointed priest sins, bringing guilt on the people,
then let him offer to the LORD for his sin which he has sinned a young bull
without blemish as a sin offering. 4 'He shall bring the bull to the door of the
tabernacle of meeting before the LORD, lay his hand on the bull's head, and kill
the bull before the LORD.
The Congregation of God’s People
NKJ Leviticus 4:13 ' Now if the whole congregation of Israel sins
unintentionally, and the thing is hidden from the eyes of the assembly, and they
have done something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything
which should not be done, and are guilty; 14 'when the sin which they have
committed becomes known, then the assembly shall offer a young bull for the sin,
and bring it before the tabernacle of meeting. 15 'And the elders of the
congregation shall lay their hands on the head of the bull before the LORD. Then
the bull shall be killed before the LORD.
The Ruler of the People
NKJ Leviticus 4:22 ' When a ruler has sinned, and done something unintentionally
against any of the commandments of the LORD his God in anything which should not
be done, and is guilty, 23 'or if his sin which he has committed comes to his
knowledge, he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats, a male without
blemish. 24 'And he shall lay his hand on the head of the goat, and kill it at
the place where they kill the burnt offering before the LORD. It is a sin
offering.
Common People
NKJ Leviticus 4:27 ' If anyone of the common people sins unintentionally by
doing something against any of the commandments of the LORD in anything which
ought not to be done, and is guilty, 28 'or if his sin which he has committed
comes to his knowledge, then he shall bring as his offering a kid of the goats,
a female without blemish, for his sin which he has committed. 29 'And he shall
lay his hand on the head of the sin offering, and kill the sin offering at the
place of the burnt offering.
In the New Testament we find Jesus, the Christ, the Ultimate Sacrifice
The New Testament Sacrifice of the Lamb of God by God’s People
John the Baptist announced the Lord Jesus to be the Lamb of God who came to take
away the sins of the world
NKJ John 1:29 The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold!
The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!
Samson Offers Himself to Destroy God’s Enemies
When we consider Jesus’ trip to the cross, we are reminded of events of
suffering and obedience in the Old Testament—Jesus was beaten and tortured
during His trial—He was bound and led to His public execution—where He
obediently subjected Himself to the cross—Jesus offered Himself for God’s
service—His offering was to defeat the enemy of God’s people, Satan—in the Old
Testament we have the example of Samson—the enemy of God’s people, the
Philistines, tortured and beat Samson—they blinded him by gouging out his
eyes—then he was bound and led to the temple of the pagan god Dagon—Samson
destroyed many of God’s enemies that day
NKJ Judges 16:27 Now the temple was full of men and women. All the lords of the
Philistines were there -- about three thousand men and women on the roof
watching while Samson performed. 28 Then Samson called to the LORD, saying, "O
Lord GOD, remember me, I pray! Strengthen me, I pray, just this once, O God,
that I may with one blow take vengeance on the Philistines for my two eyes!" 29
And Samson took hold of the two middle pillars which supported the temple, and
he braced himself against them, one on his right and the other on his left. 30
Then Samson said, "Let me die with the Philistines!" And he pushed with all his
might, and the temple fell on the lords and all the people who were in it. So
the dead that he killed at his death were more than he had killed in his life.
Samson freely gave his life to destroy God’s enemy
Christ on the Cross
As Jesus hung on the cross—some looked up at Him with hope—some looked
mockingly, or simply walked away—these did not know the power of God—so it was
in the Old Testament account of the brass serpent raised up by Moses in the
wilderness—God’s people were being attacked by poisonous snakes—some looked upon
the brass serpent with faith—and they lived—others did not believe in the power
of God—and they died
As we consider Jesus hanging upon the cross—we should remember God’s creation of
man—first God created Adam—then He placed him into a deep sleep—opened his side
and removed a rib—and God created Eve, a help mate for Adam—Adams bride—upon the
creation of Eve, Paradise was complete—Adam and Eve walked with God in the
garden—until they fell into sin
Jesus hung on the cross until He fell into the deep sleep of death—the Roman
soldier opened His side with a spear—blood and water flowed from His side—Christ
the Bridegroom gave His blood, body, and the water in His sacrifice for the
bride—the Church—we remember His sacrifice every time we baptize in His name—or
whenever we partake of the Lord’s Supper
We think of these sufferings throughout the year—we study the suffering of
Christ for our sins throughout the year—but as we approach the Lenten season, we
should intensify our thoughts of Jesus’ suffering—and offer continuous thanks
for His sacrifice
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!