Good Friday

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely he was taking up our weaknesses, and he was carrying our sufferings. We thought it was because of God that he was stricken, smitten, and afflicted, 5 but it was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.”

Galatians 3:10-13 “In fact, those who rely on the works of the law are under a curse. For it is written, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue to do everything written in the book of the law.” 11 Clearly no one is declared righteous before God by the law, because “The righteous will live by faith.” 12 The law does not say “by faith.” Instead it says, “The one who does these things will live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. As it is written, “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree.””

John 19:30 “When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished!” Then, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.”

One reason why people will always object to the Bible’s message is that it begins by telling them the truth about their sin.

It is the antithesis of “How to Win Friends and Influence People” (Dale Carnegie).

It’s bound to make more enemies than friends because it always humbles before it helps.

It shames before it saves.

Listen to some of the words Isaiah used to explain the nature of the sin for which Christ suffered punishment.

The Curse Rested on the Sin-bearer

This curse belongs to you and me, and we ought to tremble

Is 53:6 “We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.”

Like the people of old, we regularly do what seems right in our own eyes (Judges 21:25; Proverbs 21:2).

Scripture tells us one thing, we do the opposite.

We want to stand over God and his created order—in a sense telling God that we are in charge of our lives. How?

We worship creation rather than the creator

We condone practices that God calls evil.

Sex outside of marriage

No longer between one man/one woman

We now take the liberty to “self-identify” as something that is against what God created us to be.

Society now demands that we treat this a normal, even now under the penalty of being charged with a crime if we can anything contrary to what they want.

This evening’s text says, “We have all gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way...” — People, this out to cause us to tremble with fear. Why

Romans 1:18 “Indeed, God’s wrath is being revealed from heaven against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who try to suppress the truth by unrighteousness.” Romans 1:21 “even though they knew God, they did not honor him or give him thanks as God. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless heart was darkened.” Romans 1:25 “Such people have traded the truth about God for the lie...”

We go astray and fall short in our life of faith.

When God created us He designed us to be a little lower than the angels.

God designed our first parts to belong to Him, to live under him.

Isaiah 43:21 “This people that I formed for myself will declare my praise.” and Isaiah 60:21 “As for your people, all of them will be righteous. They will inherit the earth forever. They are shoots I have planted, the work of my hands, to display my beauty.”

Our first parents, like us, preferred to be independent instead of finding their place in life surrendering to a loving Father.

You’ve been greedy. You’ve been selfish. You’ve lied. You’ve hurt others with your words and hated them in your thoughts. You’ve been guilty of lust and discontentment. You’ve shown you don’t trust God or love him more than anything else. If that isn’t bad enough, you’ve trust what the world says on matters more than what God says. You can say, “Well, nobody’s perfect,” but that’s no defense. The law—God’s law—demands perfect, loving obedience in everything we think, say, and do.

Our text this evening tells us: Isaiah 53:5 “It was because of our rebellion that he was pierced. He was crushed for the guilt our sins deserved. The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.”

Sin is not only the action of breaking faith with God; rebelling against God gives us a burden; it makes us guilty before him.

And God considers our guilt as rebellion.

It’s God’s nature to hate evil and to destroy it, not because he has a violent and uncontrollable temper but because evil is the very opposite of what God is.

In the same way, it’s the nature of light to drive out darkness and of fire to destroy cold and of antiseptics to destroy germs.

A holy God, who is without a trace of wrong, punishes every sin. He is, therefore, a God who must punish me. This is the harsh message God’s law announces.

Is 53:6 “We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has charged all our guilt to him.”

This curse rested on the sin-bearer, Jesus Christ.

The Blessing the Sin-bearer Brings

Picture this setting — a Courtroom. The Prosecution on side and the Defense on the other, with you and me sitting on the defense side of the room

The Judge has heard all the fact of the case.

We’ve made our puny, pathetic defense for our guilt.

“The facts in the case are clear,” says Judge.

He goes on to say, “No crime can go unpunished.

I, therefore, sentence my Son to be cursed and crushed and killed on a cross.

Though He committed no crime, every single solitary sin of thought, your words, and actions, is being charge to Him.

He will endure every punishment and torment that rightfully belongs to you.

No less than the torment of hell.

The Judge continues: “Justice demands that the One bearing sin suffer mortal wounds for the crimes that have been committed.

And you—defendant—are free to go.”

What does this mean?

Someone pushed you out of the way to stand in your shoes and takes the punishment you had coming.

Let me give you a fancy phrase this evening — Vicarious Atonement

It means “serving in place of someone else”

Or, “performed or suffered by one person as a substitute for another.”

Jesus Christ suffered 100% of God’s wrath in your place for all your sins of thought, word, and deed.

From the moment when God said, “Let there be light” when He created everything, you and your sins were on His mind. That’s why He said what He said in Genesis 3:15.

Wrap your arms around this fact—When God created all things and their internal properties, He created the tree in such a way that He knew it would be strong enough to hold a human body.

Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and to allow him to suffer . . . and the Lord’s gracious plan will succeed in his hand.”

Can you close your eyes and imagine the suffering that Jesus endured that rightfully belongs to you and me?

Can you imagine it

Can you feel the pain as tortureers ripped His back open 39 times with a “cat of nine tails”? A whip designed for torture and mutilation—the ends of the whip tied with bone, metal, and glass. With each of the 39 contacts, the whip violently rips His flesh away.

Can you feel the spikes as they drive them through His feet and hands into the wood of the tree?

Can you imagine the pain as they lifted up this cross and He hangs there struggling for every breath?

All of this happened because you sinned — because I sinned.

God promises to all who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord, God’s declaration of peace is made.

Romans 5:1 “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Isaiah 53:6 “We all have gone astray like sheep. Each of us has turned to his own way, but the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

John 3:14-15 “Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, so that everyone who believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

John 12:32 “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

A contemporary Christian musician penned these truthful words:

How deep the Father's love for us How vast beyond all measure That He should give His only Son To make a wretch His treasure How great the pain of searing loss The Father turns His face away As wounds which mar the Chosen One Bring many sons to glory

Behold the man upon a cross My sin upon His shoulders Ashamed, I hear my mocking voice Call out among the scoffers It was my sin that held Him there Until it was accomplished His dying breath has brought me life I know that it is finished

I will not boast in anything No gifts, no power, no wisdom But I will boast in Jesus Christ His death and resurrection Why should I gain from His reward? I cannot give an answer But this I know with all my heart His wounds have paid my ransom

by Stuart Townend

Mark 15:34 “At the ninth hour Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””

John 19:28-30 “After this, knowing that everything had now been finished, and to fulfill the Scripture, Jesus said, “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine was sitting there. So they put a sponge soaked in sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished!” Then, bowing his head, he gave up his spirit.”

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