“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (Isaiah 53:6)
The misery of death cannot fully be understood apart from sin because, as Romans 6:23 plainly states, “the wages of sin is death.” Sin is the transgression of the righteous law of God, which not only identifies evil but also pronounces judgment on the transgressor. Death is therefore armed with this condemning power as long as sin remains.
Moreover, man is incapable of removing this obligation. The debt is too great, the guilt too real, and the law too righteous to be set aside without sufficient satisfaction. Yet Christ completed what fallen man could never accomplish.[1] The iniquities of His people were laid upon Him by imputation. He did not become personally sinful, but our guilt was judicially charged to His account so that He might answer for it as our substitute.
Christ was appointed by God to be our great High Priest for this very purpose. As Priest, He must offer a sacrifice capable of answering the demands of divine justice. Since human nature had sinned and thereby stood under the curse, Christ willingly robed His deity in humanity. The eternal Word was made flesh and entered the world that He might offer Himself up as our perfect and sufficient sacrifice.
In truth, the value of His sacrifice rested in His divinity. The one who suffered in human nature was the eternal Son of God, the perfect Lamb of God. His divine nature gave infinite worth to the sacrifice He offered. Through the eternal Spirit He offered Himself without blemish to God. The sacrifice was therefore both truly human and of immeasurable value, perfectly suited to satisfy the law and expiate the guilt of His people.
So in the eternal wisdom of God, as our High Priest, Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice to God. He humbled Himself and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He was made a curse for His people, bearing the punishment that their sins deserved. This was the only way a sacrifice sufficient to satisfy divine justice could be made.
By this satisfaction Christ expiated our guilt, answered the law, removed the obligation to punishment, and obtained remission of sins. The debt that stood against His people was cancelled. The wrath due for sin was satisfied in the sacrifice of Christ.
Death is therefore disarmed for those whose sins were laid upon Christ. Its sting has been removed because the guilt that armed it has been answered. The believer may still pass through physical death, but death no longer becomes the execution of divine condemnation. Christ has met the law, borne the curse, and satisfied justice for us.
Contemplations:
- You Bore My Iniquity. I adore You, Lord Jesus, because You willingly stood in the place of guilty sinners. You were not personally stained by my sin, but You accepted the judicial burden of my guilt so that You might answer for it before divine justice. You took the punishment that was due me and bore what I could never remove. I adore You because my salvation rests on Your willingness to become my appointed substitute.
- You Are My Great High Priest. I adore You because You came not simply to teach or command, but to offer the sacrifice that justice required. You assumed a human soul and body so that You might stand in the nature that had sinned and bear the curse due it. Yet You remained the eternal Son, giving infinite worth to all that You offered. In You the perfect Priest and the perfect sacrifice united in one glorious person.
- You Satisfied Divine Justice. I adore You because You did not leave one demand of the law unanswered. You humbled Yourself unto death and were made a curse for Your people. The punishment for sin was not dismissed as though righteousness did not matter; rather, You bore it. The law was not weakened to make salvation possible. Instead, You fulfilled its demands and satisfied its justice. You gave Yourself as an offering to God, and Your sacrifice was fully sufficient. I worship You because there is no remaining condemnation that Your satisfaction failed to answer and no debt left unpaid for those whom You represented.
- You Disarmed Death. Death once carried the sting of sin and the strength of the condemning law, but You have stripped it of that power for Your people. Through Your death You removed the guilt that gave death its power over me. You cancelled the obligation to punishment and obtained remission through Your blood. Physical death may still come, but it cannot carry me into condemnation when You have already borne the curse. You transformed an execution of judgment into an entrance into Your presence and conquered the terror of death by answering the guilt that gave death its sting.
Prayer (Adoration):
Lord Jesus, I adore You as the great High Priest and perfect sacrifice of Your people. I praise You because You willingly took upon Yourself the guilt of those who had gone astray and turned each one to his own way. Our iniquity was laid upon You, and You accepted the burden that none of us could bear for ourselves.
I adore You for assuming a human body and soul so that You might suffer in the nature that had sinned, all while remaining the eternal Son of God. Therefore Your sacrifice possesses infinite worth and perfect sufficiency.
I praise You for Your obedience unto death. You gave Yourself as an offering and sacrifice to God. You were made a curse for Your people and answered every demand of God’s righteous law. You did not set justice aside; You satisfied it. You did not lessen guilt; You expiated it.
I adore You because You cancelled the obligation that stood against Your people. You made reconciliation for iniquity, obtained remission of sins, and brought in everlasting righteousness. Nothing remains unfinished in the satisfaction You rendered.
I praise You especially because You have disarmed death. The sting of death was sin, but You answered sin by Your sacrifice. The strength of sin was the law, but You satisfied the law completely. Therefore death cannot condemn those for whom You died.
Receive my worship for this perfect work of redemption. Let every thought of Your cross enlarge my admiration of Your love, justice, obedience, priesthood, and saving power.
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Further Scripture References:
1 Peter 2:25; Psalm 119:76; Jer. 50:6; Lev. 16:21
[1] John Fairfax, The True Dignity of St. Paul’s Elder, (London: H.H. for Tho. Parkhurst .., 1681), 178-179.
