Lesson 3 for January 21, 2012

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans, 5: 8 NIV) “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Romano, 1: 18 NIV) What was the reason for Jesus’ death, God’s love or God’s wrath? The reason for the sacrifice of Jesus was God’s love for us. God’s wrath is because of sin and not because of sinners. Love, justice and compassion are the source for redemption. When we understand how horrible is sin before God’s eyes, we understand better His love which He showed by becoming sin for us.

“And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel” (Genesis, 3: 15) “And the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly” (Romans, 16: 20)

“The offering of Isaac was designed by God to prefigure the sacrifice of His Son. Isaac was a figure of the Son of God, who was offered a sacrifice for the sins of the world. God desired to impress upon Abraham the gospel of salvation of men.... He was made to understand in his own experience how great was the self-denial of the infinite God in giving His Son to rescue man from ruin” E.G.W. (That I may know Him, January 14) In this act, we can see how the Father gives His Son and how the Son willingly gives His life.

Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed.

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.

He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

And they made His grave with the wicked; but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.

Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

The ministry of Jesus was centered on the cross. During His ministry, He tried to make His disciples aware of His death many times (Matthew, 17: ; Mark, 9: 31; 10: 33-34; Luke, 9: 44; 18: 32-33; John, 3: 14; 12: 32-33) “Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again” (Matthew, 20: 18-19) “For as often as you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death till He comes” (1 Corinthians, 11: 26) The last reminder of His ministry He left was the Lord’s Supper, where we commemorate His death.

“And now the Lord of Glory was dying, a ransom for the race… Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law… The Saviour could not see through the portals of the tomb… He feared that sin was so offensive to God that Their separation was to be eternal… It was the sense of sin, bringing the Father’s wrath upon Him as man’s substitute, that made the cup He drank so bitter, and broke the heart of the Son of God” (EGW, The Desire of Ages, pp. 752, 753) Have you ever thought about what Jesus risked by loading our sins?

“The value of a soul, who can estimate? Would you know its worth, go to Gethsemane, and there watch with Christ through those hours of anguish, when He sweat as it were great drops of blood. Look upon the Saviour uplifted on the cross. Hear that despairing cry, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” Mark 15:34. Look upon the wounded head, the pierced side, the marred feet. Remember that Christ risked all. For our redemption, heaven itself was imperiled. At the foot of the cross, remembering that for one sinner Christ would have laid down His life, you may estimate the value of a soul” E.G.W. (Christ’s Object Lessons, cp. 15, pg. 196)