The Son Bore our Sins I

When talking about the cross, some highlight the insults and mockery of Christ. Others give emphasis on the physical pain and tortures that the Savior went through. Others also went on to say that since the Father saw the suffering of the Son under the hands of men, it led him to forgive them due to the punishment that He received.

The cross is indeed a humiliation and a scandal. We do not want to remove the reality of the Son’s physical pain but if that is all that you think the Christ suffered, it displays a very poor view of the Son’s work on the cross.

According to Paul Washer, We are saved not merely because men beat him with whips and nailed Him to a cross. We are saved because He bore our sin and was crushed under God’s judgment.

THE SON STOOD IN OUR PLACE

The purpose of the Son’s incarnation and His perfect life is found in the biblical truth that He came to be the substitution for His people. He came to bear their guilt, to stand in their place of judgment, and to suffer their penalty of death. This is one of the greatest themes of the Scriptures and a foundation stone of the Christian faith. For this reason, the work of Christ is often called vicarious. It is from the Latin word vicarius [ vicis = change, alternation, or stead] and denotes the act of changing places or standing in the stead of another as a substitution.

Let us look at some prepositions used by the biblical writers that show the substitutionary nature of the atonement.

Christ died “in place of” His people. Greek preposition antí. …just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28

Christ died “for” His people. Greek preposition perí. for this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. Matthew 26:28

Christ died “on behalf of” his people. Greek preposition hypér. I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. John 10:11

Christ died “for the sake of” his people. Greek preposition  día. For through your knowledge the one who is weak is ruined, the brother or sister for whose sake Christ died. I Corinthians 8:11 

THE IMPUTATION

In the Scriptures, we learn about the imputation of Adam’s sin to the entire human race. In God’s perfect righteousness and inscrutable wisdom, He considered the sin of Adam to be the sin of all; therefore, all men sinned in Adam and are considered guilty of Adam’s sin. In the following pages, we will consider another aspect of imputation—the imputation of our sin to Christ. As Adam’s sin was imputed to all mankind, so the sins of God’s people were imputed to Christ.

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, “Adam’s sin was imputed to all humanity from the very beginning, causing all to be guilty of sin.”

THE IMPUTATION: OLD TESTAMENT TYPES

The Two Offerings – Leviticus 16

The first goat was slain as a sin offering. In the Old Testament, on the day of the atonement, the priest was to present a bull as a sin offering for himself and for the people of Israel because of their uncleanness and transgressions (v.16). Once the offering is killed, he is to take it inside the veil, in the Most Holy Place and he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger on the front of the mercy seat on the east side, and in front of the mercy seat, he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times (v. 14). He is to the same first for himself and for the people of Israel. By virtue of this ritual, the LORD is appeased. This is what in the New Testament called propitiation. But the Old Testament sacrifices can never remove the wrath of God.

The second goat was the scapegoat. By casting lots, the other goat will be for Azazel or scapegoat. The priest will lay both his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the people of Israel, and all their transgressions, all their sins. And he shall put them on the head of the goat and send it away into the wilderness by the hand of a man who is in readiness. The goat shall bear all their iniquities on itself to a remote area, and he shall let the goat go free in the wilderness (v.21-22). This symbolizes the fact that in Christ, God has removed our transgression from as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).

All of the other ritual and purification hinge on the sin offerings at the day of the atonement and it particularly points to the once-for-all sacrifice of the coming Messiah.

THE IMPUTATION: THE NEW TESTAMENT ANTITYPE

When we read Leviticus, we should not be at rest to think that the sacrifices there are enough to be the substitute for God’s people. They can never take away sins (Heb 10:4). But thanks be to God because Christ is sufficient to fulfill all the Old Testament sacrifice. He is the Slain One who “bore our sins in His body on the cross” (I Peter 2:24). He is the Scapegoat > and suffered and died alone “outside the camp” (Heb. 13:11-12). It is a wonderful illustration of Christ’s death as a propitiation—He shed His blood to satisfy the justice of God, appease His wrath, and bring peace, and expiation—He carried our sins away from us (Psalm 103:12).

THE NEED FOR THE SUBSTITUTE

All being said, it should dawn upon us that we cannot go to the LORD ourselves. We are sinners and God won’t accept our sacrifice.

The sacrifices in the Old Testament were only shadows or types that pointed to and found their ultimate fulfillment in Christ. In The Word Made Flesh: The Ligonier Statement on Christology, it states the substitutionary work of Christ succinctly, “For us, He kept the Law, atoned for sin, and satisfied God’s wrath. He took our filthy rags and gave us His righteous robe.”

He is the great Sin-Bearer who offered His life for our sins.

Have you trusted in Christ as your sin-bearer? None other than the Sinless and Spotless Savior can pay for your sin. Run to Him and be cleansed!

If you are a Christian, may you constantly remind yourself of this good news that displays God’s amazing love for an unworthy sinner like you. Praise Him and honor your Redeemer!

And can it be that I should gain
An int’rest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain?
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! how can it be
That Thou, my God, should die for me?

SOLI DEO GLORIA!

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