RANSOM
TEXT: I Tim. 2:4-6
INTRODUCTION:
1. Paul introduces his first epistle to Timothy by stating his election as an apostle of Jesus Christ “which is our hope” (I Tim. 1:1).
A. Paul uses this word (elpis) at least 37 times in his writings.
B. Perschbacher, in his THE NEW ANALYTICAL GREEK LEXICON, defines the word translated “hope” here as a “trust, or confidence.”
C. Why was Paul able to put all his “trust” and “confidence” in the “Lord Jesus Christ”?
2. Jesus truly offers something to put our trust and hope in.
A. There is salvation in no other name (Acts 4:12).
B. The great name that distinguishes Jesus is the title of Son (Heb. 1:5).
C. Jesus is unique in that he is at once both the “Son of God,” and the “Son of man.”
3. Job, centuries before Jesus, looked for a “days-man” who could act as an arbitrary intermediate between man and God, and act as an umpire who could understand both the perspective of Jehovah, and man.
A. For so many years the world laid in darkness until the “Sun of righteousness” would “arise with healing in his wings” (Mal. 4:2).
B. Long did the world wait for the “child” to be given whose name would be; “Wonderful, Counselor, and mighty God; Everlasting Father and Prince of Peace” (Isa. 9:6).
C. Long did the world cry out for “Peace, peace; when there is no peace” (Jer. 6:14).
4. Consider the New Testament concept of peace.
A. “The New Testament writers took their idea of peace from the Greek translation of the Old Testament. There the Greek word eirene was the regular translation of the Hebrew shalom and it picked up something of the meaning of that Hebrew term. Now shalom is not a negative term at all. It has a positive meaning. It denotes not the absence of war or strife or anything, but the presence of something. It means the presence of God’s rich and full blessing. We may see this in the way the word was used as the normal greeting, shalom lekha, ‘Peace to you’. When one Hebrew was walking down the street and said to another Hebrew shalom lekha, ‘Peace to you’, he did not mean, ‘I hope you don’t get into a fight.’ He meant, ‘I trust that God’s rich blessing will rest on you in all its fullness’; ‘I wish you prosperity in the fullest sense’ (Morris. P. 141-142).
B. Man did not seek peace because he was willing, but in his rebellion, and disregard for his own soul, man pushed God aside.
C. God reached out and fixed the problem of sin!
BODY:
I. UNIVERSAL CALLING (I TIM. 2:4).
A. The scope of the call (“all men”).
1. (The scope of the call is) Implied in creation (Sovereignty of God over his best creation).
a. After God created man, we see for the first time in Genesis 2:4 God being referred to as Jehovah.
b. God in the vastness of eternity felt compelled to create man (his resplendent achievement) and in creating man designed within him the capacity to love and serve Him as sovereign Lord.
c. God, made man with the ability to reason, have free will, and make a choice to serve, or not serve.
2. (The scope of the call is) Implicated in consecration (Inadequacy of man contrasted with the insurmountable problem of sin).
a. The devil, who it seems was afraid to tempt the righteous Adam, attacked him in a way that only the slyest deceiver could conjure; i.e. tempting his heart through the one he loved.
b. In this one act, the dye was cast, which would begin the great tragedy; the miasma that would plague all for centuries.
c. Pain was found that day, but knowledge of the source thereof also; i.e. pain for Adam would be seen in the cursing of the ground, and the toil and sweat of which would be produced through his working it for his bread; and pain also for Eve in that she, “in sorrow… [would] bring forth children; and [her]…desire [would] be to [her]...husband… [who would] rule over… [her] (Gen. 13:16-20). [A curious point to consider is the indication that Adam and Eve co-equally served “Jehovah” as their Lord (king, master) but after Eve’s sin she is consigned to serve Adam along with their service to Jehovah Gen. 3:21.]
3. (The scope of the call is) Initiated in cooperation (Sacrifice is given a limited definition).
a. God, after seeing man’s feeble attempt to cover their own sin, killed, and made clothing to cover them from the skin of a living creature (Gen. 3:23).
b. Shortly after Cain and Abel are found sacrificing (the first picture of patriarchal sacrifice as the head of a family unit [at the least Cain had a wife of which he was responsible, for Gen. 4:17 says “Cain knew his wife”]).
c. Some have speculated that Job is the oldest book (Jackson, The Book of Job. P. 11) in the Old Testament, and would seem to place Job after Adam, and before Moses, giving us an ancient glimpse of a priest who through his righteous prayer intercedes in some sense over the sacrifice of his friends (Job 42:7-10).
B. The significance of the call (“to be saved”).
1. (The significance of the call is seen as an) Inclusive collection (Jews chosen to be his people).
a. After the death of Abel, we see God consecrating a line that would culminate in the man named Abraham.
b. In the early portions of Genesis God makes an everlasting covenant with Abraham and his descendants and it is also in this book that we encounter the first High Priest of God (Melchizedek).
c. It is through Abraham that we see a further mystery concerning Gods plan for the redemption of man, in the Biblical account of the sacrifice of Isaac (Gen. 22) we see a beautiful picture of the sacrifice of Jesus through Abrahams obedience to the call of God to sacrifice the child of promise [curiously Isaac is called Abrahams only son, is taken to the mountains of Moriah, has wood placed upon his back, and freely is willing to comply with the will of his father, just as our Lord so many years later would do in those mountains of Moriah).
2. (The significance of the call is seen as) Imperative commands (Giving of the law).
a. God chose his prophet (the prophet that would be the standard for all the prophets) Moses to be the one to bring his deliverance to his enslaved people, by liberating them from the evil pharaoh of Egypt.
b. Before they came out of Egypt we have the vivid account of the Passover of which all the laws of the Torah were rooted; e.g. “But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God” (Lev. 19:34); “And if thy brother be waxen poor, and fallen in decay with thee; then thou shalt relieve him: yea, though he be a stranger, or a sojourner; that he may live with thee…I am the Lord you God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, to give you the land of Canaan, and to be your God” (Lev. 25:35, 38); “And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:15).
c. Spangler, in her book, SITTING AT THE FEET OF THE RABBI JESUS, says; “On the first Passover, God freed his people by taking the life of the firstborn sons of Egypt. Many centuries later, God made salvation possible for all who would accept it by giving the life of his firstborn Son” (p. 105).
3. (The significance of the call is seen as an) Intermediary conference (High Priest).
a. The most important central event in the history of the Jews is no doubt the Passover (It is the one event that practically every book of the Old Testament mentions, and the one event Jews continued to mention in nearly every worship service).
b. The Passover sets the stage for the Free Jews to except the yoke of the law.
c. It is also through this law that they were baptized into Moses through the intercessions of the high priest and his instruction concerning the law of God, starting with Aaron and continuing until Jesus (see, 1 Cor. 10:1-5). [It is interesting to note the use of blood, water, and the giving of the law in connection with their deliverance. It is no different in the Christian age, and just as a high priest was needed to consecrate the people, Christ has become our High Priest that he may “make reconciliation for the sins of the people” (Heb. 2:17). It is also curious to note that on the day of Atonement, the High Priest would dip one hyssop plant in the blood of the sacrifice upon the alter of God, and another hyssop plant dipped in the Laver which stood at the entrance of the Holy Tabernacle of God, of which both were taken into the Most Holy Place and sprinkled upon the mercy-seat to atone for the sins of the congregation of Israel. How much more did the precious blood and water which flowed from our Lords side, once pierced, “blot out the sins” of those under the bondage of sin!
C. The success of the call (“come unto the knowledge of the truth”).
1. (The success of the call was only an) Insufficient comprehension (Only shadows).
a. All of these examples pointed the Jew to a fuller knowledge of a true expiation of sin, and in turn offer true hope (Rom. 15:4).
b. All of these accounts were only “shadows of things to come” (Col. 2:17)
c. Oh, how the world, that lay so long in darkness, must have anticipated the light [of the world], but when the Lord searched “Jerusalem with candles” they were found “settled on their lees” (Zeph. 1:12) the Light of Jesus was impossible for them to comprehend (John. 1:5).
2. (The success of the call was only an) Incapable correction (Man can’t fix sin).
a. Since Adam, man has tried to cover, or fix, his sin by his own measures.
b. Man cannot fix sin for it is impossible for him in any way to make a sacrifice sufficient to turn away the wrath incurred upon them by God because of transgression.
c. Sin was so powerful, and had such a tight strangle hold on the necks of man that nothing short of the very death of God could remove its power. [Yet man continues to wait until he comes up with some personal scheme to satisfy his conscious, but never truly attaining the grace of God that can only be found through the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus the Christ on the cross].
Illustration:
S. D. Gordon, a preacher in Boston, aroused the curiosity of his congregation when he walked into the pulpit carrying an old bird cage. He began his sermon by telling the story of a little, dirty lad about ten years old in an alley. He was hovering over the bird cage which was full of several small, tiny, scared birds. Gordon asked the boy how he got the birds. "I trapped them," he said. Gordon then asked what the boy planned on doing with them. "Play with them; have fun with them." "But what are you going to do when you get tired of them," he questioned. The boy thought a moment and concluded, "I have some cats at home. Cats like birds. I'll feed them to my cats."
The preacher then asked the boy if he would sell him the birds. "Mister," he said, "You don't want to buy these birds. They're just plain old field birds. They're ugly." Again he asked if he would sell them and how much he wanted for them. The boy hesitated, calculated, squinted one eye, and then settled on $2.00. Gordon quickly paid him the money, and the boy ran away down the alley. Further down that alley, in a sheltered corner, Gordon opened the cage door and stepped back. He watched as the frightened little birds all found their freedom.
Then Gordon told this story to his congregation. Jesus and the devil were talking. The devil had laid a trap in the Garden of Eden and had caught a whole world through sin. Jesus asked the devil what he was going to do with mankind. He said he would tease them, play with them, and cause them to throw bombs at one another. "What will you do when you get tired of them," the Lord continued. "I will kill them. They're no good anyway." Jesus then asked the devil how much he wanted for them. The devil asked Jesus if he was truly serious: "If I sell them to you they will just spit on you and hate you. They're no good." The Lord again asked for a price. "All your tears and your blood," the devil answered. Jesus paid the price, opened the door, and let man go free.
3. (The success of the call was only an) Inescapable condemnation (Propitiation necessary).
a. The verb form ‘to propitiate’ and the nominative use ‘propitiation’ is very rare in the New Testament, and only occurs 2 times according to J. B. Smith in his GREEK-ENGLISH CONCORDANCE TO THE NEW TESTAMENT. (p. 180. Greek. Hilaskomai).
Definitions:
Thayer Definition: P. 301
1) relating to an appeasing or expiating, having placating or expiating force, expiatory; a means of appeasing or expiating, a propitiation
1a) used of the cover of the ark of the covenant in the Holy of Holies, which was sprinkled with the blood of the expiatory victim on the annual day of atonement (this rite signifying that the life of the people, the loss of which they had merited by their sins, was offered to God in the blood as the life of the victim, and that God by this ceremony was appeased and their sins expiated); hence the lid of expiation, the propitiatory
1b) an expiatory sacrifice
1c) a expiatory victim
Part of Speech: noun neuter
Vines: P. 223
“HILASKOMAI…was used amongst the Greeks with the significance to make the gods propitious, to appease, propitiate, inasmuch as their good will was not conceived as their natural attitude, but something to be earned first. This use of the word is foreign to the Greek Bible, with respect to God, whether in the Sept. or in the N.T. It is never used of any act whereby man brings God into a favorable attitude or gracious disposition. It is God who I propitiated by the vindication of His holy and righteous character, whereby, through the provision He has made in the vicarious and expiatory sacrifice of Christ, He has so dealt with sin that He can shew mercy to the believing sinner in the removal of his guilt and the remission of his sins”
Vines continues on page 224;
“In the Sept. it is used adjectivally in connection with epithema, a cover, in Ex. 25:17 and 37:6, of the lid of the ark, but it is used as a noun (without epithema), of locality…and this is its use in Heb. 9:5.
Elsewhere in the N.T. it occurs in Rom. 3:25, where it is used of Christ Himself; the R.V. text and punctuation in this verse are important: “whom God set forth to be a propitiation, through faith, by His blood.” The Phrase “by His blood” is to be taken in immediate connection with “propitiation.” Christ, through His expiatory death, is the Personal means by whom God shows the mercy of His justifying grace to the sinner who believes. His “blood” stands for the voluntary giving up of His life, by the shedding of His blood in expiatory sacrifice, under Divine judgment righteously due to us as sinners…”
b. Man is guilty, and the righteous blood of Abel “cries out” for retribution!
c. Jobs dream of a living redeemer looks toward the cross for realization!
II. UNIVERSAL CONCILIATOR (1 TIM. 2:5).
A. God’s compromise (“one God”).
1. (God’s compromise) Indicated chance (Foreshadows of liberation from sin).
a. It should be noted that Atonement was a central theme in the Old Testament.
b. The word for atonement comes from the Hebrew word kippur which comes from kaphar which according to STONGS means “a village (as protected by walls): -- village; and also is connected to the word kopher meaning “a cover” (Hebrew P. 66).
c. Peters home was Capernaum, which is a combination of the Hebrew Kaphar and Nahum, and one is able to picture a village surrounded (covered) by a wall, protecting them from harm.
2. (Because of God’s compromise they) Imagined confidence (Anticipated hope of Israel).
a. The hope of Israel is most vividly seen in the work of the priest of the Old Testament.
b. Only he could come near to God and then he was only permitted to experience Gods glory in a dark and smoky room once a year on the Day of Atonement. [Only he could draw near to God, and be in the presence of his glory. The Hebrew writer shows splendidly the contrast between the limited ability of the Levitical Priesthood, and the all-sufficiency of Christ Priesthood. When explaining the superiority of Christ Priesthood, that writer says in 7:18-19; “For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and profitableness thereof. For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.”]
c. God never had a need for a priest; this is a need that belongs solely to man. [Consequently, the verb form propitiate is used only once in the New Testament, and that is by the Hebrew writer in Heb. 2:17 where it is said; “Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.” The NIV translates this verb as ‘atonement’ with a marginal note ‘that he might turn aside God’s wrath.’]
3. (God’s compromise) Initiation conferred (God steps in).
a. “Man is so immersed in sin that he does not even make the motion of wanting to leave it, let alone do away with it. And even if he wanted to it is so big a task that it is more than he can accomplish. It is beyond him. But it is not beyond Christ. It is the measure of his greatness that he was able to accomplish this great task and he did. ‘He is our peace’” (Morris. P. 149).
b. Christ is the redeemer.
c. Sin is no longer the master of the sinner (Rom. 6:14)!
B. God’s Conciliation (“one mediator between God and men”).
1. (God’s Conciliation made the)Incentive complete (God makes his move).
a. God said to the slaves in Egypt: “I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians, and I will rid you out of their bondage, and I will redeem you with a stretched out arm, and with great judgments” (Ex. 6:6).
b. God has stretched out his arm, which implies an effort from God.
c. Redemption cost God something!
2. (God’s Conciliation made the) Inequitable compensation (What part did man Play?)
a. It is an arresting thought that the liberated slaves were instructed to redeem “all the firstborn of man among thy children shalt thou redeem. And it shall be when thy son asketh thee in time to come saying, what is this? That thou shalt say unto him, By strength of hand the Lord brought us out from Egypt, from the house of bondage” (Ex. 13:13b-14).
b. The question posed in Isaiah 53:1 is certainly rhetorical “to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?”
c. God has stretched his arm and with his finger wrote the Law and his “arm is not slack” but reached all the way to Calvary to write REDEEMED!
3. (God’s Conciliation made) Indescribable compassion (Man with all of his lack of compassion is showed the perfect compassion).
a. While we were “yet sinners, Christ died” for us (1 Tim. 1:9).
b. He came into the world “to save sinners” (1 Tim. 1:15).
c. “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8).
C. God’s Cure (“the man Christ Jesus”).
1. (God’s Cure) Impeccable choice (The perfect choice).
a. Christ walked the path to Calvary alone crying even from the Cross “My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me” (Mt. 27:46)?
b. In the garden he “offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared” (Heb. 5:7).
c. The Hebrew writer is quick to point out that Jesus learned “obedience by the things which he suffered” (Heb 5:8), qualifiying him as “the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him” (7:9).
2. (God’s Cure) Impeccable charge (Nothing less would pay the cost).
a. “It is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins” (Heb. 10:4), but “How much more shall the blood of Christ, who throught the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the ling God? (Heb. 9:14).
b. He was made for the purpose of suffering!
c. “But we see Jesus, who was made…for the suffering of death…that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man.! (Heb. 2:9 [“He was made perfect through suffering” (Heb. 2:10b).]
3. (God’s Cure) Impeccable courage (The most courageous act).
a. He was always obedient to the will of his Father, but it was through his death that he was made perfect. WHAT COURAGE!
b. In the garden his “soul was exceeding sorrowful unto death” (Mk. 14:34) and he prayed “take this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt” (14:36).
c. He tread the wine press alone (Isa. 63:3).
There all the weight of sin, Pressed on His fevered brow
Oh, depth of love from realms afar, To rescue me from Hell.
Blackness in midst of storm, The angels hushed their song
The Son of God did drink the cup, He tread the press alone.
Alton Howard DID E’RE SUCH LOVE
III. UNIVERSAL COMPENSATION (1 TIM. 2:6).
A. Christ Choice (“gave himself”).
1. (Christ Choice) Individual compliance (He was not forced).
a. Ransom is a technical term that is used to speak of the price paid to release a prisoner of war or a slave.
b. The entire world was slave to sin but Christ paid the price.
c. The entire world was the devils captives but he “led captivity captive” (Eph.4:8).
2. (Christ Choice) Impending consequence (No turning back).
a. He said to his disciples in Mt.16:21 that “he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day.”
b. He did not waver from his duty.
c. He would be that “firstborn price” of redemption.
3. (Christ Choice) Inescapable condemnation (Price had to be paid).
a. Our Lord said “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mk.10:45).
b. He came to serve and pay the price.
c. Paul spoke of this act by saying in Gal.3:13: “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree.” [He bore the curse that belonged to us.]
B. Christ Cure (“ransom”).
1. (Christ Cure) Irrevocable choice (Only Jesus could complete the transaction).
a. A Messianic Jew by the name of David H. Stern has made a translation of the New Testament, and also writer of a commentary entitled THE JEWISH NEW TESTAMENT COMMENTARY, in which he says concerning Christ as a mediator and the ransom price he paid: “In at least five ways is Yeshua a middleman for mankind, Jews and Gentiles alike. Besides being (1) prophet, (2) priest, (3) king and (4) mediator of the new covenant with Israel, he is (5) the ransom on behalf of all, as he himself said (Mk 10:45), bridging the gap we human beings have created between ourselves and God by our sins…” (p. 6:38)
b. J.B. Smith shows the word translated ‘ransom’ is only used here in the Bible.
c. The Greek word Lutron (ransom) is used twice, Lutroo (redeem) is used 3 times, Lutrosis (redemption, redeem) once, Lutrotes (deliverer) once, and our word antilutron (ransom) once. Ibid.
2. (Christ Cure) Intention completed (He followed all the way).
a. “In the N.T. [the word ransom] occurs in Matt. 20:28 and Mark 10:45, where it is used of Christ’s gift of Himself as “a ransom for many.”…That Christ gave up His life in expiatory sacrifice under God’s judgment upon sin and thus provided a ransom whereby those who receive Him on this ground obtain deliverance from the penalty due to sin, is what Scripture teaches. What the Lord states in the two passages mentioned involves this essential character of His death. In these passages the preposition is anti, which has a vicarious significance, indicating that the ransom holds good for those who, accepting it as such, no longer remain in death since Christ suffered death in their stead. The change o preposition in I Tim. 2:6, where the word antilutron, a substitutionary ransom, is used, is significant. There the preposition is huper, on behalf of , and the statement is made that He “gave Himself a ransom for all,” indicating that the ransom was provisionally universal, while being of a vicarious character. Thus the three passages consistently show that while the provision was universal, for Christ died for all men, yet it is actual for those only who accept God’s conditions, and who are described in the Gospel statements as “the many.” The giving of His life was the giving of His entire Person, and while His death under Divine judgment was alone expiatory, it cannot be dissociated from the character of His life which, being sinless, gave virtue to His death and was a testimony to the fact that His death must be of a vicarious nature” (Thayer. P. 247-48).
b. Jesus did not stop short but was obedient unto death.
c. The price of the firstborn was paid, blood was shed, atonement was fulfilled, the slaves set free, and prisoners of war brought home, and Jesus took our place and bore the curse for all!
Illustration:
During World War II an enemy submarine approaches a fleet of ships in the North Atlantic. The captain of one vessel spots the white mark of a torpedo coming directly at his ship. His transport is loaded with literally hundreds and hundreds of young soldiers on the way to the European front. He realizes they will not have time to maneuver to avoid the torpedo. He grabs the loudspeaker and cries out, "Boys, this is it!"
Nearby, though, a little escorting destroyer also observes the torpedo. The captain orders, "Full speed ahead." His ship steams into the path of the torpedo. The destroyer is blown up; it sinks very quickly. Every man on it is lost. The captain of the troop transport ship sadly comments, "The skipper of that destroyer was my best friend." Now one verse in the Bible has an even deeper meaning for that captain: "Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friends" (Jn. 15:13).
3. (Christ Cure) Indignation contented (God was satisfied).
a. Jesus is sovereign Lord.
b. Given all power in heaven and on earth.
c. Set at the right hand of God!
C. Christ Compassion (“to be testified in due time”).
1. (Christ Compassion) Incomparable charity (No greater love).
a. Cyril of Jerusalem in CATECHETICAL LECTURES 13.2 (c. 315-386) in THE TREE OF JESUS, said: “Do not wonder that the whole world was redeemed, for it was no mere man but the Only-begotten Son of God who died for it. The sin of one man, Adam, availed to bring death to the world; if by one man’s offense death reigned for the world, why should not life reign all the more “from the justice of the one?” If Adam and Eve were cast out of paradise because of the tree from which they ate, should not believers more easily enter into paradise because of the Tree of Jesus? If the first man, fashioned out of the earth, brought universal death, shall not he who fashioned him, being the Life, bring everlasting life? If Phinees by his zeal in slaying the evildoer appeased the wrath of God, shall not Jesus, who slew no other, but “gave himself a ransom for all,” take away God’s wrath against man?” (Gorday, p.160).
b. “The sin of every evildoer is greater than he can bear. If your sin were left on your head, and heart, and conscience, it would sink you to the deepest hell. You would have to bear the load through all the years of your mortal experience, and then, when you toppled from the verge of life into the great chasm of the hereafter, you would go down, down, for ever, falling under the weight of that sin into the greater distance and alienation from God” (Smith, p.198 – Sermon – THE VICARIOUS SUFFERER; OR, HOPE IN THE CROSS by Arthur T. Pierson).
c. Oh, what love, matchless love!
2. (Christ Compassion) Inclusive cost (No more needed).
a. There is no work that man can do concerning the means by which he can be saved.
b. The price was paid.
Illustration;
In Scotland a man was taken before a judge, and he cautiously looked up at the judge to see if there was any mercy in his eyes. To his surprise he recognized the judge. The judge was an old friend of his, a classmate from Edinburgh University. He relaxed and figured he would get off free. He was sorely disappointed, though. The judge gave him the maximum fine for his misdemeanor--five pounds of sterling. As soon as judgement was declared, the judge left his bench and paid the fine. He took charge of the accused man saying the demands of the law had been satisfied. He said, "I paid your fine and you are free." Who could say this was unjust. An innocent person was not forced to be a substitute for the guilty man. Rather the judge who declared judgement was himself the one who paid the fine. Rather than injustice, it was an expression of love and grace.
Illustration:
In Russia during a revolution there was a problem among one band engaging in what we would now call guerilla warfare. One of their number was a thief. The leader of the band declared that the thief would receive forty lashes if he was caught. The thief was caught, and it was his own mother. He did not want her to be punished, for he loved her. Nevertheless, she was tied down and they began to administer the penalty for her wrongdoing. After one or two lashes, the leader of the band stopped the beating. He ordered his mother released, and he took her place and received the rest of the lashes. Now if he had ordered some innocent soldier to take his mother's place, that would be unjust. But who could accuse him of acting unjustly by voluntarily taking his mother's place himself! Is not this similar to the love of God that was expressed in Jesus' voluntary sacrifice of himself. Because of Jesus' deity any accusation of injustice in a substitutionary theory can be dismissed.
c. It was the love of Jesus that sent him to the cross, and yet the master said “if you love me, keep my commandments.”
3. (Christ Compassion) Irrevocable consequence (Must be accepted).
a. The condition of salvation is set.
b. The price has been paid, and nothing left undone in bringing salvation to man.
c. Man must realize his sinful state and respond.
CONCLUSION:
1. Job looked for one that could sympathize with man, and yet have the perspective of God.
2. Long was man captive to sin, but by the blood of Christ he is set free.
Under an Eastern sky,
Amid a rabble's cry,
A man went forth to die
For me.
Thorn-crowned His blessed head,
Blood-stained His every tread;
Cross-laden, on He sped
For me.
Pierced through His hands and feet,
Three hours there o'er Him beat
Fierce rays of noontide heat
For me.
