The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ, Part 2

A marble. A big, beautiful marble. Green, blue, white, brown, just hanging there, set against the backdrop of the blackness of space. What a beautiful marble of a planet and of an earth. One that when it was initially created, as God told Job, all the angels shouted for joy at the great beauty and all. Beautiful marble. So tragic, though, so sad that now that green, blue, white, brown marble suspended there in space, the earth, has simply become a prison. It was a prison planet. Just one big, giant slave camp. Clay, flesh and blood, had become trapped. No way out. Man had lost his freedom, his freedom for life. He was trapped in the penalties of his own doings. There was no deliverance that could come from himself. Without outside help, he was doomed forever. That good, green earth had become his first experience with life, and it would be his last. Man found himself trapped in the penalty of total extermination. Because as written in Romans 5.12, death had passed upon all. As it says here in Romans 5.12, death passed on all men. And as it bore out in Romans 3.23, for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, Romans 3.23, all had come short of what was legal and moral and right. And as with anything that's earned, called wages, wages had to be paid. And as Romans 6.23 states, for the wages of sin is death. Romans 6.23, specific wages had to be paid. But there was no deliverance among men for mankind. Because there was no deliverer. One could not be found. Such did not exist for a couple of simple reasons. There was no perfection among men. Every human had some measure of corruption. Some more than others. But every human had some measure of corruption. Every human was a trapped being, and the trapped could not free the trapped. Only the untrapped could free the trapped, and such did not exist among humans or mankind. So it's very obvious the reality that it had to be above and beyond mankind. It had to come from outside mankind. It had to come from one who was perfect and without the least bit of corruption. And it had to come from one whose life was worth more than all the lives and sins that mankind put together. It had to come from the Creator. Nothing else could purchase man his freedom and his future. That was the stark reality, undeniable and unavoidable. So God, the Creator, the Word, the Logos, the Spokesman, Jesus Christ, Lord Himself, transported through the power of God, was transported, Lord Himself, into this prison camp to live among the prisoners.

Let's turn again, as we did two weeks ago, to Philippians 2 and verse 8. Philippians 2 and verse 8. Two weeks ago, I spoke on the sacrifice of Jesus Christ from the standpoint of one's personal, personal recognition of and appreciation for it. I'm talking today about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, part 2, from the standpoint of the total completeness of it. The total completeness of it. Philippians 2 and verse 8. Christ lowered Himself into this prison camp to live among the prisoners.

And being found in fashion or habit as a man, He humbled Himself, that whole process of humbling Himself, lowering Himself, and being found in habit as a man. It says in verse 7, He lowered Himself from the most exalted, glorious position in the universe next to the Father. We reflect that only in a small way when we lower ourselves tomorrow night to get down and wash someone's feet. John 1.1. He lowered Himself. John 1.14. And the Word was made flesh. The Word was made flesh and dwelt among us. It had to be an on scene, on the scene, inside job. It was made flesh and dwelt among us, in the midst of us, with us.

And again, I reference Philippians 2.8, not turned there this time, being found in habit, as the margin says in the King James, as a man. Habit as a man. He had to live life as a human, with all of its needs and functions. He was a human being with all that that entails for 33.5 years. And if you want to tack on the 9 months that he was in the womb, you can tack that on and stretch it into a little bit over 34. But it had to be an inside job. Notice Hebrews 2. And verse 14. Again, one that we turned to two weeks ago.

Hebrews 2 and verse 14. It had to be an inside job. For as much then as the children, verse 14, are partakers of flesh and blood. I mean, that's what we are. We're composed of that. He also himself likewise took part of the same, of the same composition. For what purpose? That through death that he could die. Because as God composed the spirit, he could not die. But when he became flesh, then he was subject to death. He could die. That through death, he might destroy him that had the power of death. That is, the devil. And as it says in verse 9, the last sentence in verse 9 of chapter 2 here, the purpose for becoming flesh so that he could die and so that he could experience death, that purpose of that death was so that he, by the grace of God, should taste death for every man. A total, a complete sacrifice. But again, it had to be an inside job. A job inside the realm of sin and death and corruption. But while he lived inside that realm, he had to live without sin, without it rubbing off on him. He had to live in the midst of corruption and yet avoid any of the corruption becoming part of his makeup. He could not take on not even one little iota. He could not absorb into his makeup, into his thinking, into his responses, into his words or deeds. He could not absorb one little iota of sin or corruption into his makeup. And he was totally successful, living in the midst of it, yet without any of it becoming a part of him. Notice chapter 4 of Hebrews in verse 15. Chapter 4 and verse 15, For we have not a high priest, which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities. But was in all points, tempted like as we are, and here's the most crucial, significant, and important part, yet without sin. And because he was able to live in the midst without sin, without taking on one bit of corruption whatsoever, that allowed him to be able to free them, to free us, to free the captives. There's a scripture in Ephesians 4 verse 8.

Interesting way of expressing it expresses a certain wonderful reality. Ephesians 4 in verse 8. It says here, speaking of Christ, wherefore he says, now it's referencing someone in the Old Testament making this statement, and we'll turn there too, but wherefore he says, when he, Christ, ascended up on high, when he was resurrected, when he both ascended very briefly to the Father and came back and then ascended, so to speak, for good, about 40 days or so later, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive. This is the way it's worded in the King James, and gave gifts unto men. He led captivity captive. The captivating forces were themselves taken captive. It's kind of like in English, if you use a double negative, it cancels it. You know, you can't say, no nothing. No nothing means something. So that which had captivated, he took it captive, and by taking the captivating forces captive, he neutralized them and the lives of the captives. He freed the captives, in other words. And in the King James, my margin says it could also be rendered when he ascended up on high. He led a multitude of captives. He led a multitude, just like God leading, you know, using Moses and leading Israel out of Egypt. God freeing them. Christ freeing captives. And gave gifts unto men. Gifts like cleansing, gifts like forgiveness, gifts like the Holy Spirit, gifts like a future, gifts like the supreme sacrifice of Jesus Christ. You could go down the line, but when you talk about gifts, there are some that are very foundational. Now, Paul is quoting this, primarily quoting it, from Psalm 68 verse 18. So let's turn back there. Psalm 68 and verse 18. David here, in writing this, says, and whereas Paul in Ephesians is quoting David, David here, where it was initially said in Psalms, he is addressing God.

And David is speaking a prophecy. I think sometimes, brethren, we don't realize how much prophecy is interwoven in all kinds of messages that aren't called prophecy sermons. It's far more than what most of us stop to consider. But here, David is speaking a prophecy of something that has not happened, but is going to happen.

You have ascended on high. David understood God's plan. He understood that there would come a time when there would be a sacrifice made and that Christ would ascend on high because he lord himself and he would ascend back someday to where he came from. You have ascended on high. You have led captivity captive. You have received gifts for men. Yes, for the rebellious also. What does that mean? That the Lord God might dwell among them. You have taken captivity captive.

You have received gifts for men. Yes, for the rebellious also. The reason it's worded that way is because you and I and every one of us that's been cleansed were rebels to some degree. We were rebellious to some degree. Some people are very in your face up front, rebellious. Some people are just rebellious in what we call passive resistance. They're very low-key. They've backed off.

But there's different degrees of rebellion. While we were yet sinners, he died for us. You and I, we were all, to whatever degree it may have been, rebellious or resistant to God's ways. But we've repented. And because we've repented, we can be freed from the captivity of sin and death gifts have been given us and God dwells among us. Very simple. Isaiah 42 in verse 7. Isaiah 42.

And again, a prophecy this time through one who's recognized very clearly as a prophet who knows anything about the Bible. Isaiah, this prophecy of God, of Christ, says, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison. And you know, although all blind eyes will be open someday, the physically blind, the spiritually blind, there's going to be so much light, spiritual light and physical light, to open the blind eyes, all made possible through the sacrifice of Christ, to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

Again, a prophecy of Christ's sacrifice and what it would accomplish. And if you're going over to Isaiah 61 in verse 1, Isaiah 61 in verse 1. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good tidings to the meek. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted. You know, that's a healing process going on. To proclaim liberty, liberty to the captives. You're no longer a slaver, prisoner to sin and death. You don't have to be. You're freed from that extinction you had to look forward to. That's been removed. Your record's been washed clean. And the opening of the prison to them that are bound. And He did it all, willingly, voluntarily. Let's turn again, as again we did two weeks ago, to John 10. John 10, verses 17 and 18. John 10. And again, when we take a Scripture, and in some cases, depending on the Scripture, if we try to isolate it only to the time frame when it's made, we lose the chronology and the process that it's actually addressing or referencing. For instance, we read here John 10, 17 and 18. Therefore does my Father love me because I lay down my life. He doesn't say the Father made me. He doesn't say circumstances forced me.

He says I lay down my life, then I might take it again. And then He says, no man takes it from me. And yet, the biblical record shows, without equivocation, that it was then Jewish authorities that authorized His death, wanted Him dead, and that it was Roman soldiers that carried it out, and it was Roman soldiers that scourged Him, that beat Him up, that nailed Him to the wood, and that it was a Roman soldier's hand on the spear that was rammed into His side, and so His death came at the hands of men. Yet He says, no man takes it from me. And like He told Pilate, when Pilate said, don't you know that I have the power to do such and such? And Christ said, you can't do anything but what you're allowed to do. So it's kind of enigmatic and doesn't make full sense. And if you don't understand what He's referencing, you could even see it. People do see it. People sometimes will use this as, well, see the Bible contradicts itself. Being ignorant of the Scripture, being ignorant of what it's referencing. No man takes it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down. I have power to take it again. This commandment, have I received to my Father. He is referencing a time. He is referencing a conversation. He is referencing maybe a series of conversations. He is referencing a plan, a series of conversations and planning and decisions that were made between Him and the Father long before this point in time. Thousands of years, at least, before this. Before He's referring back to a time to a decision that was considered and made before there was the first human being. Before there was even such a thing as a trapped human or human prisoner. He is referencing that. At this point in time, He is simply carrying out the decision that He made long ago that the Father okayed and said, okay, you're willing to do it. I'm willing to allow you. The Father could have said, you're willing to do it. I'm not willing to allow it. We'll do something different. Christ said, I'll do it. The Father said, you're willing to do it. I'm willing to allow you.

With that thought in mind, 2 Timothy 1.9. 2 Timothy 1.9. Again, referencing God in Christ, He says, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, because you think about it. What can a human being who originated on this planet, whose life began on this planet as living dust, wondrous dust, living dust, as flesh and blood, as clay, with all of our tremendous limitations, what is it that a human being or any group of human beings could do in terms of works that would force God or obligate God to have to come to this earth and become one of us and die?

Nothing. There's nothing we can do that forced God or obligated God or would make God have to do what He did through Christ. But according to His own purpose, not according to our works, but notice there's two things mentioned here, but according to His own purpose, where's His most basic purpose stated? It's Genesis 1.26. His most basic purpose is Genesis 1.26, tells you why He made human beings.

The end product is to be in His image after His likeness, and the rest of the scriptures fill in to be eternal as sons and daughters in His family. But He made us for the purpose of being a being that He could form into His image and likeness, and what would it require in order to be able to carry that out? It would require grace. It would require pardon. It would require mercy. It would require time. It would require Him working with us.

It would require forgiveness. It would require cleansing. It would require grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus. Why does it say which was given us in Christ Jesus? Because before Christ ever created Adam and Eve, He knew and the Father knew that it was going to require Christ to take special action in order for that purpose to be fulfilled in any human. And that, again, is where the grace comes in through Christ before the world began.

When did this world, this cosmos, this society, the UNI, what was the beginning or foundation of this world? This world began when Adam and Eve sinned. That's when this world that we've existed in began. Now, there's something that predates it, but I'll get to that in just a minute. 1 Peter. Now, the words of Paul to Timothy. Look at Peter's words in 1 Peter 1, 20. 1 Peter 1, in verse 20.

1 Peter 1, in verse 20. Actually, I'll back up to verse 19. 1 Peter 1, verse 19. But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb, without blemish, without spot, no corruption, no sin, notice, who truly was foreordained before. He had been appointed. He volunteered. He was appointed. It was set before the foundation of the world, but was manifest or made obvious or revealed in these last times for you. From the time this age that we've lived in began, it was about rounded off about 4,000 years before he actually came and carried it out.

But in the planning, plan for it. See, before God created man, Adam and Eve, there was sin. Sin existed. A devil existed. When God created this earth initially, all the angels shouted for joy. It was a beautiful, colorful marble hanging there. Then the time came because of an archangel's rebellion and his working on the angels and getting a third to follow him. The time came when you could look at the earth against the backdrop of blackness and basically couldn't see it.

It wasn't green. It wasn't blue. It wasn't white. It wasn't brown. It was dark because it was covered so thick in darkness that light did not penetrate to the surface of the planet. Then when God was ready to begin his purpose with humans, there was a point where he began to spread the darkness, remove it, and let the light get in. You can go back. The very first act of re-creation, remodeling, renewing of the planet, was letting light get to the surface, arranging for light to get back upon the earth. That's very clear in Genesis 1. God once again restored it sufficiently to be a beautiful planet.

A devil existed at that time, and this planet had become a confinement for fallen angels. It was their place of confinement. God knew the dangers. He knew the possibilities. He had to be prepared for whichever way man went. He obviously had a very strong idea of what man would choose to do, but he would leave man the room for him to do the choosing. But there were planings and decisions that had to be made ahead of time. Certain things had to be considered. God looked at all odds and all possibilities, and before the word ever knelt in the dust and created Adam, and then put Adam to sleep shortly a little bit later on, took a rib and made Eve. Certain decisions had already been made. Certain eventualities had been prepared for. All eventualities had been prepared for. And when human flesh touched the forbidden fruit, and actually it was before it touched the forbidden fruit, when it conceived in the mind to the point that the decision in the mind was made to reach out and take it. That's when sin occurred in the human being. But the physical manifestation was reaching out and taking of the forbidden fruit. But when human flesh, as far as the physical manifestation, touched the forbidden fruit, the foundation of this world, of this age, of this society was set, and so was the death of God at that point. It was set. At that point, His death was set. This is why when you go to Revelation 13 and you read what it says in verse 8, Revelation 13, and breaking into the context, you know, you've got a world at the point in time of the fulfilling of this prophecy that is ahead of us of a beast and false prophet that's being referenced. But as you read through verse 8, and all that dwell upon the earth shall worship Him in reference to that beast and false prophet system, whose names are not written in the book of life of... Now notice how this is worded, the Lamb.

And what does it say about the Lamb? Slain from the foundation of the world. As I said, He did not come, He did not die, He was not killed until about four thousand years into mankind's time. Yet here it says, He slain from the foundation of the world. All it meant was, and all it means is, that when Adam and Eve sinned, Christ and Christ knew it, and the Father knew it. He was as good as dead. His fate was sealed. The fate of having to come, die.

That's why it says, slain from the foundation of the world. It just simply would be a time before it would actually be carried out. You know, Christ at some point had said something to the effect, you know, if man sins, I'll die. If man traps himself, I'll go and make a way out for him. I will be his way out. I'll be his way to freedom. I'll be his freedom.

And it wouldn't be a halfway measure. It wouldn't be a halfway sacrifice, but it would be a full and total and complete comprehensive one. Titus 2.4, Titus 2. I said 4, verse 14, actually. Titus 2 2, verse 14. It says, Who gave himself for us, now notice the comprehensiveness of this, who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, all iniquity.

There's iniquity of thought. There's iniquity of word, and there's iniquity of deed. And he says, there is no iniquity of thought. There's no iniquity of word. There's no iniquity of deed that one cannot be forgiven of and cleansed from through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. When that person is willing to repent and to surrender to God in a true spirit of obedience. 1 John 1.7 In 1 John 1, verse 7, bear in mind, towards the end of that first century, John's the last living of the original apostles. All the others have been martyred.

He's seen a tremendous lifetime with truth and God and the church.

And he says, But if we walk in the light, if we walk in the light, if we live and operate in the light, if we think and say and do in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another and notice. Living that way, walking that way, doing that way, notice part of the benefit or the result. And the blood of Jesus Christ, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. 2 John 1.7 Tomorrow night is a very sobering time, and rightly so because we're commemorating the death of Christ and what that picture means for us, the suffering he went through. But it's also an extremely deep and properly comfortable, peaceful feeling. To know is we take that little piece of bread, unleavened bread and that tiny little bit of wine. Not that that's actual flesh of Christ or actual blood of Christ. We don't believe in substantiation in that way. But we ask God's blessing on it to represent, to be a symbol of and represent and picture the broken body of Christ and his shed blood for us. But to know is we take it that no matter what sin we've had of thought or word or action, that it's washed completely and totally off our record because we continue to live in that spiritual condition that God has laid out for us and to know that we're clean in God's sight and he dwells among us. It's a very comforting thing to know that no matter what we know we've said or done in the past, that it's washed away and that we have a glorious future ahead of us. But that sacrifice, redeemed from all iniquity, cleansed from all sin, that can be stated that way because that sacrifice was a total, complete, comprehensive sacrifice to make a complete, total, comprehensive freedom for us. He didn't spare his body. He didn't spare his health. He didn't spare his life. You know, back there in Philippians, remember the statement, even the death of the cross? Nothing was held back.

Crucifixion and the road leading up to it was designed on purpose to take it all. They didn't put everyone that crucified through the same measure. They didn't put everybody that was crucified through the full measure. Oh, they all wound up dying as a result of the crucifixion. Yes, some were not exercised upon with what was involved like others, but it was designed to be able to take it all, and with Christ it did. It took his body. It took his health. It took his life. Nailing Christ to the stake was simply the final part or final stage of all that was being done to him. And of course, one reason that Christ died quicker than the others, and it came along. The High Holy Day was coming on the first day of Unleavened Bread, and they couldn't be up there at sundown. So they were coming along, and they broke the other two's legs so they could not push themselves up to breathe, and they would suffocate. Christ was already dead, and so they didn't break his legs. Of course, the prophecy said no bone would be broken. And they seemed to be a bit surprised. But why should they have been? Because so much had already been taken out of him by the time they even nailed him up. And then there was the spear that was rammed into his side.

But it was a total sacrifice, a body, health, life, so that there could be a freedom for body, for health, for life. You know, man is a trapped being, and you think about this, has trapped himself physically and spiritually. He's held prisoner by the consequences of his own doings. Some of those consequences are spiritual, obviously. Some of those consequences are physical. Christ paid the price of freedom for both. There is a sacrifice for sin and death. There is a sacrifice for sickness and disease. And there is a sacrifice for broken spirits and broken bodies. If you're still here, just flip back a couple of pages or so to 1 Peter 2, 24.

1 Peter 2 and verse 24.

We might bear something in mind.

Is God concerned about our flesh and blood? Absolutely. Is he concerned about our physical health? Absolutely. Is he concerned about that to the same degree he is our spiritual condition? No. Why not? Because our spiritual condition is going to determine whether he can place us in a resurrection or not.

Therefore, sometimes he may have to forgo something of the physical because it's good for us spiritually. And it serves a greater purpose for our eternity. And like I believe in a sermon that was given on healing one time here, not too awfully long ago, I believe the issues of faith and obedience and patience were related to it. Faith is an issue in the matter. Obedience certainly is. And sometimes patience because God's working a long-time purpose with us. But all that said, notice this here because, again, it's a total complete sacrifice. And there is no sin or consequence of sin of yours or others physically or spiritually that is off-limits to God because Christ's sacrifice was limited. His sacrifice was unlimited. So God has the right of prerogative to step in any way, anywhere, any time with you when you call upon Him. It's not that anything's off-limits in that sense, but it will always be according to what He knows is best. Who His own self bore our sins in His own body on the tree. That we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness by whose stripes you were healed. Keep your finger in this area of the Bible, if you will. I will come back, but I'm going to flip back to Psalm 103 verse 3 and read it. Psalm 103 and verse 3.

Psalm 103 verse 3. Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases. There is not a disease, an illness, an affliction that God would look at and say, oh, I would love to remove that. I would love to heal that. I need to remove it, but I can't. I'm limited. There's no sacrifice for that.

That's never the issue. That's never the issue.

It was a complete sacrifice. It can cover and does cover all.

And, of course, we all know that in the ultimate, we're going to be so full of life and vitality and health through a resurrection, we can't even begin to imagine it now. James 5 verse 14. James 5 and verse 14. Is any sick among you?

Is any sick among you? Let him call for the elders of the church and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil, with olive oil in the name of the Lord, as representative of healing and of God's Spirit. As I said in the announcements, there is time and place and proper balance in utilizing the medical profession. And I'm all for that. And if I had something that required surgery, and it's my choice to have the surgery, and I choose to have the surgery, which is fine, I am going to call upon an elder and be anointed before I go in for the surgery.

Because with whatever knowledge the doctors have, with whatever expertise and skill they have, and we know so much more now about how the human body works and how that if you'll get this lined up with that, and if you'll supply this here, how that we can make so many things work or work better through understanding what God has built into the human body and how this works and that works. But my trust is first and foremost and centered around God, and I want his hand involved. I want his hand involved in helping those doctors deal with me. Like I said, there is a proper blending and there is a proper balance. But what I'm pointing out here is this issue of anointing, and that aspect of healing is one of the benefits of the sacrifice of Christ. Let's look just briefly at the price of our freedom. We're not going to go through a lot. I'll just want to reference and turn to two or three scriptures. Let's take just a very brief nutshell at the full measure of it. Luke 22. You know, Luke was a physician. He was a doctor. And of course, they didn't understand in those days by any means what is understood now about the human body, the systems of it, the organs, how this works with that. They understood some things, but know we're near what we do now with the advance of technology. But Luke was a physician, and if I'm not mistaken, he's the only one that drew attention to a certain aspect of Christ's anguish here. Luke 22.44. Luke 22.44. Christ is in the Garden of Gethsemane. And Luke later writes this, and speaking of Christ, he says, "...and being in an agony." You ever have mental anguish? You ever have anxiety? You ever have a level of anxiety, mental anguish, that you can't even function? It's just overwhelming? Well, Christ kept functioning. But he says, "...being in an agony, he prayed more earnestly. His sweat was, as it were, great drops of blood falling down to the ground." I've heard a phrase all my life, what I tell you, he's sweat blood. I've heard that phrase, he's sweat blood. I have never, ever personally known anybody that's sweat blood. But it is medically possible, and there are some rare cases where it's occurred. And it only occurs when the mental anguish is so severe and so intense that the little capillaries in the sweat glands rupture. They hemorrhage, and they leak blood into the sweat gland and with the sweat, and as the sweat and the blood mix and come forth, it's about half sweat, half blood. And of course, it colors it red, and it is blood mixed with sweat. Christ was in such an anguish knowing what was coming, but he literally sweat blood. That tells you one depth of the level of suffering that he was doing. Isaiah 50 in verse 6. Isaiah 50.

It says of him here, Isaiah 50 in verse 6.

And again, a prophecy. It hadn't occurred yet, but it was as good as done, and he knew it was, and it also shows by these prophecies that are written that he knew what was going to be done to him. He says, "...I gave my back to the smiders when they laid what we might call something like a cat of nine tails upon him, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." You can't pluck the hair off the cheek of a clean-shaven man. They literally pulled some of his beard out by the roots.

I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

And in Isaiah 52, a scripture that there's an aspect of it that for years I tried to figure out exactly what it meant.

And then one day, I realized what it meant.

I mean, I understood the scripture, but there's an aspect. Verses 14 and 15, Isaiah 52, verses 14 and 15, "...as many were astonished at you," talking about when he was brutalized and crucified. "...as many were astonished at you, his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men, so shall he sprinkle many nations." I read his visage, his face, his countenance, his body, his view, the view of him. His visage was so marred, it says, more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men. And I thought, now, what's he saying there? Because there are people who've literally had their faces torn off.

The brother, Custer at Custer's last stand, had two brothers with him that were killed.

And his brother, Tom, the only way they could identify his body was by the tattoos he had. Because his head had been crushed to the thickness of a man's hand.

So it's like, they're these situations, so what does it mean? And then it hit me what it was saying.

They had seen other men crucified.

Crucifixion was something that those 33 and a half years that Christ lived, and those years they went in and out of Jerusalem, they had seen other people hanging up on the stakes or the crosses, the tees. They had seen others crucified, but they had never seen a man hanging up there that was beat up as badly, torn up as badly, battered into the mass of flesh that Christ was. That's what it means. He was the most marred one they had ever seen hanging up there, crucified.

You know, you could, and I'm not going to go through it, I would say if you haven't done it yet before Passover Tomorrow Night, read chapter 53 of Isaiah and specifically read Psalm 22.

Psalm 22 is kind of like an inside look of what Christ would be going through. Read Psalm 22. Christ allowed Himself to be poured out as a total sin offering, to cover all the entrapments that man has brought upon Himself. There is nothing, not of thought, not of word, not of deed, there is nothing that if and when repented of that is outside His scope and coverage, nothing physical, nothing spiritual. And tomorrow night, when we partake of the bread and the wine, reflecting upon, picturing, symbolizing that sacrifice, we can sit there with that realization.

And even though it's a very sobering time, have a very deep peace of mind, a calmness of spirit, a clarity and clearness of conscience, and a certain type of deep joy, knowing what it means for us and our future, and that it was done by and because of the love of God for us as so greatly typified by the greatest sacrifice and the only sacrifice they will ever have to be made for sin, now or ever.