BEHOLDING THE CRUCIFIED CHRIST (Part 3)
MEMORY VERSE: - “For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him” (2Corinthians 5:21).
INTRODUCTION: - The ninth stage of Christ’s sufferings was perhaps the worst and most fearful. It’s not only involved physical torture, but also the Spiritual anguish of an unimaginable sense of separation from God, which is the ultimate consequence of our sin. The cry of the Lord in Aramaic “My God …… why hast Thou forsaken me” (Matt.27:46) marks the climax of Christ’s suffering for a spiritually lost world. The cry indicates Christ experienced the separation from God that was in store for all mankind as a result of sin. This sense of separation was intensified because Christ; as our substitute, actually took upon Himself the full weight of guilt and punishment for every sin that has ever been or ever will be committed (2Corint.5:21).
LESSON OUTLINES
What I See As I Behold Him Crucified
1) I see here, an unveiling of sin. Sin! that “abominable thing” which the Lord hates (Jer. 44:4) but which is regarded so lightly by those who commit it. Sin! which caused our first parents to be banished from Eden and which is responsible for all the wants and woes that are in the world today. Sin! which produces strife and bloodshed and has turned this “land of the living” into a mammoth cemetery! Sin! that hideous monster we so much dislike hearing about, and which we are so ready to gloss over and excuse. Sin! over which Satan employs all his subtle arts to render attractive, setting it forth in the most appealing colours and winsome garbs. One of the great designs of the Incarnation was to bring to light the hidden things of darkness. The personal presence here of the Holy One acted like a brilliant light being turned on in a long-neglected room, revealing its squalor and filth (Jh.15:22).
As evil as man has shown himself all through his history, the coming of Immanuel to this earth brought sin to such a head that all that which had gone before was relatively but a fulfilling thing when compared with the monstrous wickedness which was done against love incarnate. In the treatment which the Son of God received at the hands of men, we see sin in its hideous reality, revealed in its true nature as contempt of God, rebellion against Him. Here at Calvary we behold the climax of sin and the fearful and horrible lengths to which it is capable of going! That which germinated in Eden culminated in the crucifixion at Calvary. We see also the fearful wages which sin pays – death, departure from God. Since Christ hung there as the sin-bearer of all who believe in Him, He received the punishment which was due unto them.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
We cannot even begin to comprehend the sense of abandonment and isolation that Jesus from God felt as He hung on the cross. He, we see God the Son, the Creator of the universe (Jh.1:1-3), not only rejected by His creation, but also isolated from the One who is everywhere. Even though He had never sinned, God made Him “to be sin for us” (2Corint.5:21, Isa.53:4-5). He died, forsaken so that we would never have to be forsaken.
QUESTIONS
What is the significance of Christ’s death on the Cross in relation to our sin? Why was Christ forsaken on the cross?