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29 March 2015
Speaker: Keith Harrington
TAUPO BAPTIST CHURCH
A TRANSFORMING COMMUNITY COMMITTED TO JESUS CHRIST
Isaiah 53.
700 years prior to the events of Easter, Isaiah was given these words. Some argue this is the greatest chapter in the bible.
Charles Spurgeon called it the Bible in miniature. This passage is referred to by the early church more than any other passage. If you want proof of Jesus this is one that clearly stares you in the face. How could any one know the future 700 years
in advance? It is as if Isaiah saw into the future, and saw a picture of a Messiah that made no sense. A man who was not
good looking and charismatic. Someone who would be rejected and despised. Someone who was Terribly beaten and disfigured, who would not answer his accusers. Someone who would be pierced.
Someone who would die with criminals, yet
be buried in a rich mans tomb. The cross is a terrible thing. To believe that this was the Messiah would take faith. Just as
it does for us to day. Key verse want to focus on today is verse 6
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
Yet the LORD laid on him the sins of us all.
This is the equivalent OT verse to John 3:16. It is the Bible in a nutshell. Says two things. 1. We are all sinners. 2. God has
shown his love by transferring the guilt of our sin to Jesus, who has paid our debt. The whole Bible is this: the state of humankind and the love of God.
An old shepherd from the highlands of Scotland said about sheep
The basic habit of a sheep is to wander. They always think the grass is greener on the other side of the fence
The tend to wander together as a group
They are very stubborn and always want to get their own way
They do really dumb things and get stuck in silly places because they don't’ think of the future
If we are honest that is very like us. We continually think things will be better on the other side of the fence. We wander
from God, thinking we will find happiness in this project, or that person, or this hobby. We do follow what everyone else
does. We find it very hard to go against the flow of society and our friends. We stubbornly resist God and want to do our
own thing. We are selfish at the very core. We do dumb things for immediate gratification but don’t think of the future.
we are actually very like sheep.
All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own.
God has revealed him self by creation. Even with no other revelation that Bible says that God’s glory is declared in the heavens. Psalm 19:1 Romans. 1:18-20 Everyone who looks around him at the sky, heavens, stars, creation knows in their
hearts there is a God Every person knows this in their heart. But all of us at some point have denied this. The Bible says
we have chosen to reject God. On the day of Judgement when we stand before God, our hearts will be exposed. We will
see that God had revealed himself and that they choose to reject him. Every person also has a conscience. An innate sense
of what is right and wrong. And even if people deny it hey know deep in their hearts that what they are doing is wrong.
We are born with a propensity to sin. Yet we choose to do this. Every one of us. Every person with no exceptions. We
don’t teach our children to do wrong things. They just do it Psalm 58:3. God is not surprised by this.
He knows this
propensity to sin. He empathizes with our weakness. That is why he sent Jesus. Someone who is in touch with our
weakness. And still cares about us.
I wonder if we actually realize that every person we met has chosen to reject God. Every person who is not a Christian is
lost. They might seem happy, successful. In no need of God. But every person is lost.
Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.
This is one of the most profound statements in Scripture This is the Mount Everest. 700 years before Isaiah saw what God
was going to do on Good Friday. At some point between midday and 3 in the afternoon God charged Jesus Christ with all the
sins of the world. This was so terrible that God had to turn away. He had to turn his back on Jesus. This is when Jesus
cried out. My God, my God, why have you forsaken me Imagine every rape, every abuse of children, every murder, every
selfish rebellious though. Every lie, every evil thought. Add them all up over the centuries. Millions of years. The sins of
the whole world, and of all ages were transferred to Jesus. I would be mortified if all my sin were to be made public. But
all the sins of the world. Jesus became the most evil most despicable person you could imagine, multiplied a million times
over. Some have said this is the most offensive verse in the Bible.
That God could do such a thing.
The word used here for sin old versions iniquity is the Word used for the worst kind of sin. In the OT there were classifications of sin. Intentional sin, unintentional sin. Offerings carried out by the priests were for unintentional sin. Numbers
15:22-29 But if you sinned intentionally, this was not covered. Number 15:30. For intentional sin, like murder, adultery
etc, you were to be put to death. So the sins covered by the sacrificial system under the law were for sins of weakness and
ignorance. So when David sinned by committing adultery with Bathsheba, and then murdering her husband, this was not
covered. He had no hope. Ps 51:9 David pleads with God to blot out his inequity. To remove it. He pleaded for mercy
from God because that was his only hope
On Good Friday God transferred our sins from us to Jesus in an incredible transaction. By transferring out debt, our sin, to
Jesus justice was done. Sin cannot be minimized or ignored. It has to be dealt with. Like financial debt. Let’s say we
owe the bank 10,000,0000 dollars. We have no hope of paying that back. We know that no matter how much we work,
we will never in our live time get rid of it. It hangs there. We are too scared to go to the bank. We avoid it at all costs. But lets
say the bank agrees to wipe our debt. Well, the debt still has to go somewhere. The bank has to pay for that debt. It can’t just
get rid of it. The money is still owed. It has to dig into it’s own money to pay it. Only then can the books be balanced.
But if we don’t accept the transfer of debt and keep thinking we can work it off, then the debt remains. Many years ago in America a man in Pennsylvania was sentenced to die in the electric chair. But at the last moment he was given a pardon by the governor.
But the man did not want a pardon, he wanted to die. The case went to the Supreme Court. The ruling came back. A pardon is
not a pardon unless it is received. So the man died.
When the high priest in the OT was carrying out his duties, he would place his hands on the bleeding animal and transfer the sins of
the people onto it. On Good Friday God Almighty transferred the sins of us all to Jesus of Nazareth who died . This is why Jesus is
called the Lamb because he was taking the place of the OT animal, that was just a forerunner for what was to come. When this transference took place it meant
We could be forgiven
We would be right in the sight of God God does not see us as sinners. He is aware of our sin, but he does not see
as in that light. We are seen as children of God, pure and holy.
We would be able to have intimate relationship with God
We would be part of God’s kingdom purposes
We would be with him when we die.
Because the work of Jesus on the cross is complete, totally and utterly complete, God is not looking for anything from us to satisfy
his justice. He is not looking for our works, good deeds, effort. Nothing. Except faith. It is this transaction that results in transformation. We cannot be the same when we realize what God has done for us. The weight of our sin is lifted from us. We no
longer have to fear God and live in guilt. We no longer have to fear death. We want to respond to a God who did this for us.
We want to out of gratitude please him.
Romans 12:1 I urge you in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices holy and pleasing to God. We do
have a responsibility to lead holy lives, obedient lives. If we are not obedient, then God will discipline us. Not to get even. The
cross has dealt with sin. But he will correct us as a parent corrects his children The evidence we have grasped this transaction that
has taken place, and accepted it by faith is that we will live lives of gratitude to God. If we are not grateful to God and want to
please him we have not actually taken on board what has happened.
Have we grasped how lost we are without God? Or are we trying to add God into our lives along with lots of other things.
Are we using God as a back stop when all the other things fail in our lives? Have we grasped the depth of our sinfulness. That we
have no excuse but we continually stubbornly choose to ignore God and do our own thing. Just like sheep. We think the grass is
greener on the other side and try to fix that void in our live with everything but God.
Have we grasped that every person we meet who does not know God is lost. Has deliberately rejected God.
William Booth tells of the vision he had. He saw a huge stormy sea, with humanity drowning on it. Then he saw a great
rock, that represented the church. Many had climbed on the rock and had escaped the terrible surging sea. Some were on the edge
of the rock, helping others climb up. Some were even diving into the sea to drag others to safety. But many on the rock, had
moved further up, away from the edge, and were totally ignoring those in the sea. They were partying and having a great time.
Booth commented that he could not understand the lack of compassion for those who were drowning before their very eyes. He
also saw that some on the rock, kept looking to the mainland for a saviour to come and rescue them from the rock. What they failed
to see was that the saviour was in the sea, pleading with those on the rock to come and help him rescue those who were drowning.
At the day of judgement there will be only two types of people. Race and gender will be irrelevant. Rich or poor will
be irrelevant. There will be only one division. Some people have recognized they have turned from God, and have cried out
in faith for their sins to be transferred to Jesus. Others will deny that they rejected God, or suggest that they have been good
enough to cancel out their sin. The greatest transaction the world has ever seen took place on Good Friday. The cross is not
one answer among man for the human race. The cross is the only answer that will bring us home to where we were created
to be—the heart of God.
Questions for Reflection and Discussion
What things do you use at times to satisfy your hunger for God, instead of turning to God? Ie where are you tempted to think
the grass is greener?
Do you believe that everyone is without excuse - that they are choosing to reject God deep down?
Why do we sometimes struggle to grasp the magnitude of what God has done on the cross for us? How can we truly grasp
what we have in Christ?
How would you answer someone who says the cross is “cosmic child abuse”?
Where do you see yourself in William Booth’s vision? What are the implications of where you are?
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