Your body is not merely as chunk of meat which will be permanently discarded when you die. If you are born again, your body is the temple of God and will be raised again, like Jesus was raised. Those who claim that there is no bodily resurrection are wrong!

Then answered the Jews and said unto him, What sign shewest thou unto us, seeing that thou doest these things? Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy THIS TEMPLE, and in three days I will raise it up. Then said the Jews, Forty and six years was this temple in building, and wilt thou rear it up in three days? But he spake of THE TEMPLE OF HIS BODY. When therefore he was RISEN FROM THE DEAD, his disciples remembered that he had said this unto them; and they believed the scripture, and the word which Jesus had said (John 2:18-22).

NOTATION: Jesus referred to HIS BODY as the temple. Jesus is the FOUNDATION STONE upon which the TEMPLE OF God is built. Believers in Christ are God’s temple and are said to be built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being THE CHIEF CORNER STONE; In whom ALL THE BUILDING fitly framed together groweth unto an HOLY TEMPLE in the Lord: In whom ye also are BUILT TOGETHER for an habitation of God through the Spirit (Ephesians 2:20-22).

Jesus is the stone the builders rejected and those who follow Jesus are the LIVING STONES of a spiritual house, and a holy priesthood offering up acceptable sacrifices to God by Jesus Christ (1 Peter 2:4-5).

Know ye not that ye are THE TEMPLE OF GOD, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you? If any man defile THE TEMPLE OF GOD, him shall God destroy; for THE TEMPLE OF GOD IS HOLY, WHICH TEMPLE YE ARE (1 Corinthians 3:16-17).

Now THE BODY is not for fornication, but FOR THE LORD; and THE LORD FOR THE BODY. And God hath both RAISED UP THE LORD, AND WILL ALSO RAISE UP US BY HIS OWN POWER. Know ye not that YOUR BODIES ARE MEMBERS OF CHRIST? shall I then take THE MEMBERS OF CHRIST, and make them the members of an harlot? God forbid. What? know ye not that he which is joined to an harlot is one body? for two, saith he, shall be one flesh. But he that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit. Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body. What? know ye not that YOUR BODY IS THE TEMPLE OF THE HOLY GHOST which is in you, which ye have of God, and YE ARE NOT YOUR OWN? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God IN YOUR BODY, AND IN YOUR SPIRIT, WHICH ARE GOD’S (1 Corinthians 6:13 b-20).

Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath THE TEMPLE OF GOD with idols? for YE ARE THE TEMPLE OF GOD; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive you. And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (2 Corinthians 6:14-18).

Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you (2 Corinthians 4:14).

But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken (make alive) YOUR MORTAL BODIES by his Spirit that dwelleth in you ( Romans 8:11).

For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven: If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked. For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life. Now he that hath wrought us for the selfsame thing is God, who also hath given unto us the earnest of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 5:1-5).

And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, THE REDEMPTION OF OUR BODY (Romans 8:23).

In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT OF PROMISE, Which is THE EARNEST OF OUR INHERITANCE UNTIL THE REDEMPTION OF THE PURCHASED POSSESSION, unto the praise of his glory.

NOTATION: The purchased possession is a reference to the redemption of our bodies. Remember 2 Corinthians 6:20 says: “For ye are BOUGHT WITH A PRICE: therefore glorify God IN YOUR BODY, and in your spirit, WHICH ARE GOD’S (1 Corinthians 6; 14-20). Our bodies belong to God as much as our spirit does.

For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself (Philippians 3:20-21).

And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul AND BODY be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ 1 Thessalonians 5:23) .

Imagine the godliness person you can think of. You would probably describe them as loving, or kind, or patient. You probably wouldn’t describe them as wrathful or angry. Yet, if you really spent a lot of time with them you’d eventually see them get angry at some point, especially at injustice.

So it is with God. Love, mercy, grace, kindness, patience and all the wonderful expressions of his goodness is his fundamental disposition. Yet he does get angry when there is an unrepentant love for sin in rebellion against the truth, or worship of false gods, etc. Even then, he his patient because he doesn’t want anyone to perish, but desires all come to repentance.

To imply that God is half loving and half wrathful as some do is very misleading.

It is very important to understand that reconciliation and forgiveness throughout scripture is never the result of God satisfying his wrath. Reconciliation and forgiveness is the result of God’s mercy and when God demonstrates his mercy He turns away from his wrath. Consider the following the book of Psalms:

Lord, thou hast been favourable unto thy land: thou hast brought back the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered all their sin. Selah. THOU HAST TAKEN AWAY ALL THY WRATH: Thou hast turned thyself from the fierceness of thine anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger toward us to cease. ~ Psalms 85:1-4 

One of the many problems with the substitutional-appeasement view of the cross is that it is sets forth a very un-bibilical view of the wrath of God. The wrath of God is a Bible truth and one that we should take very seriously but one we must also understand correctly.

The Bible reveals that there are specific things which cause the wrath of God to come and the Bible reveals that there are specific things which cause the wrath of God to be turned away.

Those things which cause the wrath of God to come can be attributed to the actions of those who opposed Christ and put him to death. Yet those things which turn away the wrath of God can be seen in the person and sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the scriptures, the wrath of God comes because of such things as unbelief, rebellion, loving sin, rejecting the truth, worshipping false gods, and forgetting God. On the other hand, the wrath of God is turned away by things such as obedience, intercession, atonement, zeal for righteousness, the fear of the Lord, and repentance.

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BIBLICAL REASONS THE WRATH OF GOD COMES

• UNBELIEF (John 3:36; Hebrews 3:7-19; Deuteronomy 9-11; Psalm 78:17-33).

• REBELLION (Hebrews 3:7-19; Romans 1:18-32; 2:5,8; Leviticus 10; Numbers 11:32-34; Deuteronomy 9-11; Psalm 78:17-33; Joshua 22:20; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6; 1 Samuel 28:18; Kings 22:13-17).

• LOVING SIN (John 3:17-21; Romans 1:18-32; 2 Peter 2:15; Numbers 11:32-34; Psalm 78:17-33; Ephesians 5:6; Colossians 3:6).

• REJECTING THE TRUTH (Romans 1:18-32; 2:5, 8; Deuteronomy 10; Numbers 11:32-34; Psalm 78:17-33).

• WORSHIPPING FALSE GODS (Romans 1:18-32; Deuteronomy 29; Numbers 11:32-34; Psalm 78:17-33; Kings 22:13-17; Kings 23:1-27).

• FORGETTING GOD (Deuteronomy 6:10-15; 8:10-20; Romans 1:18-32).

BIBLICAL REASONS THE WRATH OF GOD IS TURNED AWAY

• OBEDIENCE (Deuteronomy 10-11).

• INTERCESSION (Isaiah 53, Exodus 32:7-14, Numbers 21:5-9; John 3:14-17; Deuteronomy 9).

• ATONEMENT (Romans 3:25; 5:6-11; Numbers 16:46; Numbers 18:1-5; Numbers 25:11).

• ZEAL FOR GOD (Numbers 25).

• THE FEAR OF THE LORD (Jeremiah 32:40).

• REPENTANCE (Acts 13:39-41; Kings 22:18-20; Kings 23:1-27).

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THE LANGUAGE OF SCRIPTURE

Simply, there is no – out in the open – language in the New Testament that clearly tells us that God poured out His wrath on Jesus.

There is no place in the New Testament where any of the writers explicitly says: “God poured out His wrath on Jesus,” or “God satisfied His anger when Jesus died on the cross.” It simply isn’t there. Yet, there is an abundance of scripture in the New Testament which reveals – out in the open – that God’s disposition in giving His Son was love, mercy, grace, and kindness.

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CONSIDER THE FOLLOWING:

In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another ( 1 John 4:9-11, see also verses 12-21).

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren (1 John 3:16).

For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only so, but we also joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received the atonement (Romans 5:6-11).

But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; Which he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior; That being justified by his grace, we should be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7).

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come he might shew the exceeding riches of his grace in his kindness toward us through Christ Jesus. For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God (Ephesians 2:4-8).

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Listed below are many verses which tell us – out in the open – that Jesus’ death was the result of God’s love, mercy and grace. There is no mention of his anger.

John 4:9-11, 1 John 3:16, John 3:14-17, Romans 5:6-11, Romans 8:32-39, 2 Corinthians 5:14-21, Ephesians 1:3-9, Ephesians 2:1-8, Ephesians 4:32-5:1-2, Ephesians 5:25, 1 Timothy 1:9-16, Titus 3:4-7, Revelation 1:5, Matthew 9:13, Matthew 12:7, Luke 1:50; 54, Luke 1:67-80, Romans 11:25-36, Romans 15:1-12, Hebrews 2:9,17, Hebrews 8:12, 1 Peter 1:2-3, 8-13, 1 Peter 2:3-10, Acts 15:11, Acts 20:24, Acts 20:32, Romans 3:21-26, Romans 4:3-5, Romans 4:16, Romans 5:1-2, Romans 5:15-21, Romans 6:1-23, Galatians 1:6-9.

Throughout the Old Testament the word atonement was used to convey the idea of reconciliation, sanctification, consecration, and forgiveness.

On the Day of Atonement, not only was atonement made for the sins of the people but atonement was also made for the Priesthood and for the golden altar of incense and for the Holy of Holies and for the entire tabernacle.

• Atonement for the people (Leviticus 16:5, 7, 15, 33
• Atonement for the Priesthood (Leviticus 16:3,6,11-14, 33)
• Atonement for the Golden Altar (Exodus 30:10; Leviticus 16:18, 19, 20, 33)
• Atonement for the Holy of Holies (Leviticus 16:16, 17, 20, 33)
• Atonement for the entire Tabernacle (Leviticus 16: 16, 20, 33)

Atonement was made for these to sanctify them and to consecrate them to God and to make reconciliation so God’s presence could dwell in the midst of His people in the Tabernacle.

Much of Hebrews 9 and10 is written with the Day of Atonement in view. By drawing attention to the contrast between the temporary and eternal, these chapters show how Jesus fulfilled the things foreshadowed in the Day of Atonement.

• The eternal value of the work of Christ is compared to temporary service which was only a foreshadowing of Christ (Hebrews 9:7-12).

• Cleansing for the conscience by the blood of Christ is compared with outward ritual cleansing in the flesh (Hebrews 9:12-12; 10:1-22).

• Jesus our Great High priest is compared with the fading ministry of the high priest and priests under the law (Hebrews 9:7-12; 21-24; 19-22).

Whereas the Passover was symbolic of Christ as the Lamb of God and His death on the cross, the Day Atonement was symbolic of the entrance by Christ as our High Priest into the presence of God. The entrance of the High Priest into the Holy of Holies was representative of what Christ would do to bring us near to God (Hebrews 9:8-14; 23-28; 10:19 -22).

The Mercy seat was “the place of atonement” and specifically speaking, the Mercy Seat is where the shed blood was sprinkled in the presence of God for atonement. This made reconciliation for the sins of the people and sanctified all the dedicated things, purifying them from the sins of the people.

• By virtue of His own blood, Jesus entered into the very presence of God for us to consecrate the new and living way to God.

• The new and living way is through a pure conscience that has been purified by the Blood of Jesus through the Spirit of God. (Hebrews 9:12-14; 10:19-22)

• The blood of animals could not please God because the blood of animals had no power to cleanse our conscience from sin (Hebrews 9:9; 10:1-4).

• The Blood of Jesus pleases God because His blood cleanses our conscience from sin (Hebrews 7:11,12,19; Hebrews 9:7, 12-14, 22; Hebrews 10:1,2,10,14,17-19,22; Hebrews 12:24).

Throughout the Old Testament, atonement never foreshadowed appeasement or any act whereby God would demonstrate His wrath towards Christ as a substitute. Christ died as a sacrifice who gave himself as a sweet savor offering to God for us.

• Throughout the Old Testament scriptures, the offerings which were offered to God were to be a sweet fragrance to be accepted by Him. Never were the offerings “rejected by God” to make atonement.

• They were to be offered as a sweet smelling fragrance to be accepted by Him. When the offerings were rejected by God there was no atonement.

• There is no precedence in scripture that suggest that God turned His back on Jesus and rejected Him in our place. On the contrary, God accepted the sacrifice of Jesus as a sweet aroma on our behalf when He gave Himself as the offering and sacrifice for our sins, and for His sake (alone) God has forgiven us (see Ephesians 4:32-5:2).

• God specifically said through Moses that when His anger was against His people, He would not accept the sweet fragrance from their sacrifices and offerings.

• God’s wrath and His acceptance of the sweet savor offerings never mix throughout the scriptures.

• The atonement sacrifices throughout the Old Testament, which foreshadowed Christ, were never condemned or rejected by God. There is not one example of God “rejecting” or “condemning” any atonement sacrifice so that the people could receive forgiveness. The sacrifices made atonement (forgiveness and reconciliation) because they were accepted by God.

The O.T. sacrifices had to be perfect, unblemished and without spot, and they were accepted by God rather than condemned by Him. They were accepted as a sweet savor and this is how atonement was made. There are many examples throughout the Old Testament of God accepting the sacrifices as a sweet fragrance.

• Jesus was accepted by God for us, not condemned by Him in our place. He is our atoning sacrifice, not our guilty substitute.

• When God’s wrath was revealed, He would not accept the Sweet Savor of the offerings (Leviticus 26:31, Jeremiah 14:11-12). Yet, when God’s people returned to him in repentance, God accepted both them and the Sweet Savor of their sacrifice and offerings (Ezekiel 20:40-41).

• The sacrifices were not substitutions which were rejected by God in place of the people. The sacrifices were holy offerings which were “accepted” on behalf of the people (Lev 22:20, 21, 25, 27). By virtue of these offerings, the people were sanctified and made holy in the sight of the Lord.

• Ephesians 1:6 tells us “we have been accepted in the beloved” and Colossians 1:20-22 teaches tells us Jesus reconciled us through the Blood of His cross to present us holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his (God’s) sight.

• Again, the sacrifices were never condemned substitutes. They were accepted offerings which sanctified the people and made them holy.

The Mercy seat bears its name because of the display of God’s mercy that was demonstrated by the annual sprinkling of the sacrificial blood. It was the only seat within the tabernacle and represented the throne of God in the midst of His people. It was to be approached only on the Day of Atonement by the High Priest but not without the atoning blood. The Day of Atonement was the one day of the year that Israel’s’ faith was actively focused on the Most Holy place. It was the one day of the year that what had happened at the altar of sacrifice had to be trusted by faith as being complete and secured within the Holy of Holies. By faith they trusted the High Priest to carry out His intercessory ministry in the presence of God and that atonement had been made upon the Mercy Seat. So it is with us. We look to Jesus the one who died on the cross and rose again and we trust, by faith, that in the presence of God He lives for us to make intercession whereby He is able to save us completely and by His own Blood keeping us in right standing with God.

When Jesus was alone with his disciples just prior to his trial and crucifixion, he addressed the hatred of the religious Jews and their leaders who were against Him.

If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because THEY KNOW NOT HIM THAT SENT ME.  If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin. He that hateth me HATETH MY FATHER ALSO.  If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: BUT NOW HAVE THEY BOTH SEEN AND HATED BOTH ME AND MY FATHER. But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, THEY HATED ME WITHOUT A CAUSE (John 15:18-25).

Jesus tells his disciples that they too would be rejected by the world because the world had first rejected Him.

In John 8:23 Jesus had referred to the religious Jews – those who opposed Him – as “worldly.” “Ye are from beneath; I am from above: ye are of THIS WORLD; I am not of this world.”

The rejection that Jesus endured from men, which ultimately resulted in His death, was the people’s rejection of God who had sent him. Jesus interprets the scripture, “they hated me without a cause” as hatred aimed at both he and his Father, God.

This is consistent with the words prayed by the church in Acts 4:

Who by the mouth of thy servant David hast said, Why did the heathen rage, and the people imagine vain things? The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were GATHERED TOGETHER AGAINST THE LORD, AND HIS CHRIST. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were GATHERED TOGETHER, For TO DO whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done (Acts 4:25-28).

These words in Acts 4 are taken from Psalm 2.

The prophet Isaiah said, “He is despised and REJECTED OF MEN; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: YET WE ESTEEMED HIM STRICKEN, SMITTTEN OF GOD, AND AFFLICTED (Isaiah 53:3-4).

The phrase “we esteemed Him smitten of God and afflicted” is contextually a reference to the perception and not the reality for it was sinful men and not God who unjustly condemned Jesus and who wounded Him.

The wounds which scared His back were caused by men. The nails which pierced His hands and feet came from the condemnation of men. The crown of thorns was placed there by men. It was men who hanged Him on the tree.

For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every Sabbath day, THEY HAVE FULFILLED THEM IN CONDEMNING HIM. And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. And WHEN THEY HAD FULFILLED ALL THAT WAS WRITTEN OF HIM, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. BUT GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD… (Acts 13:27-30).

The predetermined counsel of God was that Jesus die for our sins and this was fulfilled by what actually happened at the cross when Jesus died at the hands of sinful men.

Romans 15:3 says, “Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, the reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me.”

Jesus was God in the flesh dying for His people. The reproaches of the people towards God; their hatred and rebellion against God were levied against Jesus and in that place he responded with forgiveness.

Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34).

The author of Hebrews tells us to keep “looking to Jesus who ENDURED SUCH OPPOSITION FROM MEN, DESPISING THE SHAME, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God” (see Hebrews 12:2).

The shame Jesus endured was humiliation which came from men who hated and opposed God. The son of God was placed on public display in the most humiliating fashion wherein He was mocked and ridiculed by those who despised both He and His and Father; God.

Christ did not die under the judgment of God, nor did He suffer under the wrath of God. Jesus suffered under the unjust condemnation and wrath from men who hated Him without a cause.

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ADDITIONAL NOTES

Immediately following His words in John 15:18-25 Jesus says the following:

“But I will send you the Advocate —the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry (John 15:18-27).

The world hates Jesus and the world hates God who sent Him. The world will therefore hate us who belong to Him because their opposition to God. When Jesus departed and returned to the Father He did not abandon His followers as orphans. He sent the Holy Spirit to empower them in a world opposed to God.

The promised Holy Spirit gives us the power to bear witness of the truth in Jesus Christ in the midst of a very dark world. We are called to be salt and light so that the Holy Spirit may bring conviction upon sinners and draw men unto repentance.

In the Gospels Jesus described the things He would soon suffer at the hands of sinful men as “the Lord’s doing which is marvelous in our eyes.”

Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons. Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: THIS IS THE LORD’S DOING, and it is marvellous in our eyes? (Matthew 21:33-42).

The Lord’s doing was “carried out” in how Jesus was unjustly treated by sinful men.

Those who opposed Jesus and were eventually responsible for His death were the children of those who had killed the prophets before Christ.

When Stephen was put on trial before those who accused Him of “blasphemous words against this holy place, and the law,” he recounted the history of Israel and their perpetual rejection of God along with those whom God sent to them. This all culminated in their rejection of Jesus. Stephen spoke boldly and sternly to these men, despite their fierce, murderous anger toward him and the one who inspired him to say these words:

“Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which shewed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers” (Acts 7:51-52)

Stephen said to those who were about to stone him that they were betrayers and murderers of Jesus, the Holy One. He asserted their fathers had persecuted the prophets who had prophesied of the Lord’s coming, and they had followed in their ancestors’ footsteps by their violent rejection of Christ. Stephen fervently asked them how long they would continue to resist the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had said to the leaders of the Jewish people that by their rejection of Him they would be accounted as guilty of the blood of all the prophets, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah (Luke 11:46). By their resistance to Stephen’s preaching about Jesus, those who killed Stephen continued to resist the Holy Spirit.

Throughout the book of Acts much of the persecution against Christians came from the religious Jews who rejected Jesus as Messiah. Stephen was stoned because of such persecution.

Jesus is the chosen stone, the cornerstone, which God has chosen but the people refused.

Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, WHOM YE CRUCIFIED, whom God raised from the dead, even by him doth this (formerly lame) man stand here before you whole. This is the stone which was SET AT NOUGHT OF YOU BUILDERS, which is become the head of the corner (the cornerstone). Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:10-12).

Jesus came to bear witness to the truth of God and those who rejected him rejected God. Rejected and unjustly condemned by men, Jesus was vindicated and exalted by God in His resurrection. God overturned their counsel by raising Jesus from the dead (see 1 Corinthians 1:18-24) and “this is the Lord’s doing which is marvelous in our eyes.”

The stone which the builders rejected is the Cornerstone whom God has chosen

“You are coming to Christ, who is the living cornerstone of God’s temple. He was rejected by people, but he was chosen by God for great honor. And you are living stones that God is building into his spiritual temple. What’s more, you are his holy priests. Through the mediation of Jesus Christ, you offer spiritual sacrifices that please God. As the Scriptures say,  “I am placing a cornerstone in Jerusalem, chosen for great honor, and anyone who trusts in him will never be disgraced.” Yes, you who trust him recognize the honor God has given him. But for those who reject him, the stone that the builders rejected has now become the cornerstone.” And, He is the stone that makes people stumble, the rock that makes them fall.” They stumble because they do not obey God’s word, and so they meet the fate that was planned for them. But you are not like that, for you are a chosen people. You are royal priests, a holy nation, God’s very own possession. As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light. “Once you had no identity as a people; now you are God’s people. Once you received no mercy; now you have received God’s mercy” (1 PETER 2:4-10).

Faith in the crucified Christ is a stumbling block for those who trust in their own righteousness and it is foolishness to those who pride themselves in their earthly wisdom, but to all who believe it is the power of God unto salvation. Jesus who was crucified for our sins is the foundation stone which God has laid in Zion and whoever believes in Him will never be put to shame. (Isaiah 28:16; Romans 9:30-31).

The apostle Peter tells us that Jesus is our example to follow when we suffer wrongfully because he also suffered wrongfully when he died for our sins (see 1 Peter 2:19-24). The gospels and the book of Acts reveal that Jesus was unjustly condemned by the hands of sinful men.

Consider Acts 8:33: In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth.

Other translations say:

• He was humiliated and received no justice…(NLT)
• In His humiliation He was taken away by distressing and oppressive judgment and justice was denied Him …(Amplified Bible)
• In His humiliation justice was denied Him …(Holman Christian Standard Bible)

Acts 8:33 is a quote from Isaiah 53:8 which says, “ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

Some other translations of Isaiah 53:8 say the following:

• Unjustly condemned, he was led away…(New Living Translation)
• By oppression and judgment He was taken away…(Amplified Bible)
• He was condemned to death without a fair trial… (Contemporary English Version).

Those who killed Jesus hated him without a cause because they hated both He and the Father (John 15:24-25). Jesus died an unjust death at their hands because they were gathered against God and against His Christ. ~ Acts 4:26-27

Christ was vindicated in his resurrection when God raised him from the dead and exalted Him at His own right hand. This is why the apostles (throughout the book of Acts) lay blame for the death of Jesus on the people, and the resurrection they attribute to God in opposition to what they had done in crucifying him.

In 1 Peter 2, the apostle Peter (who learned firsthand from Jesus what had happened at the cross) says that Jesus suffering wrongfully. The apostle Peter goes on to tell us that Jesus committed Himself to the ONE who judges righteously (a reference to God the righteous Judge). Peter makes these statements in view of the cross saying “Jesus bore our sins in His body.”

For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully. For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? But if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God. For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow in his steps: Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. ~ 1 Peter 2:19-24

Notice that the apostle Peter actually says that Jesus is our example of how we are to endure when we suffer wrongfully. According to Peter, Jesus bore our sins as one who suffered wrongly and Jesus committed himself to the One who judges righteously.

 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46)

The words ‘‘My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me,” come from the first verse of Psalm 22. The Jews who were acquainted with the Torah would have recognized these words and would have immediately thought of Psalm 22 in its entirety.

These words have often been used to support position that Jesus was abandoned by the Father at the cross. However, if God had abandoned Jesus, this would have only justified the condemnation of the religious Jewish leaders who led the charge in condemning Jesus to death. It would have proven he was not the Messiah.

This is an important point because Jesus made the claim that his death on the cross would prove he was the Son of God (John 8:28-29). If his death on the cross did indeed prove that he is the Son of God, then the words he recited from Psalm 22 must have been a part of this undeniable evidence.

Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34 are the two places in the New Testament where Psalm 22:1 is recorded. In both instances the scriptures record the response of the Centurion Soldier who heard Jesus cry out these words. His conclusion, according to Mark’s gospel was “truly this man was the Son of God.” (see Mark 15:34-39)

We need to ask ourselves: what persuaded the Centurion Soldier that Jesus was the Son of God?

Consider the following which give evidence that God was indeed present with Jesus as he was dying on the cross:

GOD DID NOT HIDE HIS FACE FROM HIM

For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; NEITHER HATH HE HID HIS FACE FROM HIM; but when he cried unto him, he heard (Psalm 22:24).

HE WAS HEARD

Who in the days of his flesh, when he had 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; Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered; And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him (Hebrews 5:7-9).

I AM NOT ALONE BECAUSE THE FATHER IS WITH ME

I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave the world, and go to the Father. His disciples said unto him, Lo, now speakest thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that thou knowest all things, and needest not that any man should ask thee: by this we believe that thou camest forth from God. Jesus answered them, Do ye now believe? Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I AM NOT ALONE, BECAUSE THE FATHER IS WITH ME. (John 16:28-32)

THE FATHER HAS NOT LEFT ME ALONE

Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: THE FATHER HATH NOT LEFT ME ALONE; for I do always those things that please him. (John 8:28-29)

HE IS NEAR WHO JUSTIFIES ME

The Lord GOD hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. For THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed. HE IS NEAR THAT JUSTIFIETH ME; who will contend with me? let us stand together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me. BEHOLD THE LORD GOD WILL HELP ME; who is he that shall condemn me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up. (Isaiah 50:5-9)

BY THE GRACE OF GOD HE TASTED DEATH FOR EVERY MAN

But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he BY THE GRACE OF GOD should taste death for every man. (Hebrews 2:9).

GOD WAS IN CHRIST RECONCILING THE WORLD

Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that GOD WAS IN CHRIST,  reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. (2 Corinthians 5:17-19)

THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT JESUS OFFERED HIMSELF TO GOD

How much more shall the blood of Christ, WHO THROUGH THE ETERNAL SPIRIT OFFERED HIMSELF WITHOUT SPOT TO GOD, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)

JESUS SHED HIS BLOOD AS AN UNBLEMISHED LAMB

Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you. (1 Peter 1:18-20),

THE DEATH OF JESUS WAS A SWEET FRAGRANCE TO GOD

Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savor (Ephesians 5:2).

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THE WORDS “MY GOD, MY GOD, WHY HAST THOU FORSAKEN ME?” IS ONLY ONE OF SEVERAL STATEMENTS MADE BY JESUS FROM THE CROSS.

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF FORGIVENESS

Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Luke 23:34)

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF PROVISION

Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. (John 19:27)

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF ETERNAL LIFE

And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise. (Luke 23:39-43)

JESUS SPOKE WORDS FROM THE SCRIPTURES

After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst. Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth. When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost (John 19:28-30). And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 15:46).

JESUS SPOKE WORDS OF TRUST IN GOD

And when Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit: and having said thus, he gave up the ghost. (Luke 23:46)

Consider the following:

1. Jesus was delivered to the cross, not from the cross.

2. It was the will of God for Jesus to lay down His life and to take it up again.

3. God did not intervene to rescue Jesus from the agony of the Cross.

4. Jesus was protected from those who wanted to destroy Him until the time came that He should lay down His life (John 7:30).

5. Jesus endured the grief of human suffering for He is a High Priest touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

6. The sense of abandonment experienced by Christ was provisional not relational. God withdraw his protective hand when the time came for Jesus to lay down his life; in this sense he was delivered over to death by God as our sacrifice. Jesus was not relationally separated from God.

Had God rejected Jesus on the cross, we would still be in our sins!

Throughout the Old Testament the offerings which foreshadowed Jesus were ACCEPTED to make atonement. Those offerings which were rejected did not make atonement.

And he shall put his hand upon the head of the burnt offering; and it shall be ACCEPTED for him to make atonement for him (Leviticus 1:4).

And if any of the flesh of the sacrifice of his peace offerings be eaten at all on the third day, IT SHALL NOT BE ACCEPTED, neither shall it be imputed unto him that offereth it: it shall be an abomination, and the soul that eateth of it shall bear his iniquity (Leviticus 7:18).

Rejected sacrifices and offerings DID NOT make atonement. Those which were accepted as a sweet savor did!

And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savour (Ephesians 5:2).

ISAIAH 53:12

Isaiah 53:12 tells us, “He BARE  the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

The Hebrew word for bare in Isaiah 53:12 is “naw-saw” and is translated as forgiveness in it’s various forms multiple times in the Old Testament. For instance, it is translated as “forgiving” in Exodus 34:6-7:

And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, FORGIVING iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.

It is also translated as forgive, forgiven, and forgavest in Psalm 25:16-18 and Psalm 32:1 &5.

Psalm 25:16-18 says:

Turn thee unto me, and have mercy upon me; for I am desolate and afflicted. The troubles of my heart are enlarged: O bring thou me out of my distresses. Look upon mine affliction and my pain; and FORGIVE all my sins.

Psalm 32:1, 2, & 5 says:

Blessed is he whose transgression is FORGIVEN, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile…I acknowledge my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou FORGAVEST the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

In Romans 4 Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 in view of the righteousness which comes through faith in Jesus Christ.

The Hebrews word “naw-saw” translated “bare” in Isaiah 53:12 appears in 610 passages of scripture in the Old Testament and is referenced a total of 653 times.

Here are some examples of how it is used elsewhere in the Old Testament:

And the flood was forty days upon the earth; and the waters increased, and BARE UP the ark, and it was lift up above the earth (Genesis 7:17).

And the Lord turned a mighty strong west wind, WHICH TOOK AWAY the locusts, and cast them into the Red sea; there remained not one locust in all the coasts of Egypt (Exodus 10:19).

Ye have seen what I did unto the Egyptians, and how I BARE you on eagles’ wings, and brought you unto myself (Exodus 19:4).

And thou shalt put the staves into the rings by the sides of the ark, that the ark MAY BE BORNE with them (Exodus 25:14).

Behold, I have set the land before you: go in and possess the land which the Lord sware unto your fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give unto them and to their seed after them. And I spake unto you at that time, saying, I am not able to BEAR you myself alone: The Lord your God hath multiplied you, and, behold, ye are this day as the stars of heaven for multitude. (The Lord God of your fathers make you a thousand times so many more as ye are, and bless you, as he hath promised you!) How can I myself alone BEAR your cumbrance, and your burden, and your strife? Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you (Deuteronomy 1:8-13).

The Lord your God which goeth before you, he shall fight for you, according to all that he did for you in Egypt before your eyes; And in the wilderness, where thou hast seen how that the Lord thy God BARE thee, as a man doth BEAR his son, in all the way that ye went, until ye came into this place.Yet in this thing ye did not believe the Lord your God, Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day (Deuteronomy 1:30-33).

Bring no more vain oblations; incense is an abomination unto me; the new moons and sabbaths, the calling of assemblies, I cannot away with; it is iniquity, even the solemn meeting. Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to BEAR them (Isaiah 1:13-14). 

O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord God will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and CARRY them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young (Isaiah 40:9-11).

Hearken unto me, O house of Jacob, and all the remnant of the house of Israel, which are borne by me from the belly, WHICH ARE CARRIED from the womb: And even to your old age I am he; and even to hoar hairs will I carry you: I have made, and I WILL BEAR; even I will carry, and will deliver you (Isaiah 46:3-4).

I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses. For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Savior. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and CARRIED them all the days of old (Isaiah 63:7-9).

Contrary to the often misplaced interpretation of this word, it doesn’t mean “to transfer” or “to substitute” or “to exchange.” Rather, it has to do with lifting the burden, removing, taking away, carrying, etc.

Jesus “bare” our sins by giving Himself as an “offering for our sins” and by His precious blood, He Has taken them away. Jesus also to “bear” us in our weaknesses. He is our High priest who is able to save us to the uttermost for He ever lives to make intercession for us.

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ISAIAH 53:4

In Isaiah 53:4, the Hebrew word “naw-saw” is rendered as “borne.”

Surely he hath BORNE our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

In Matthew 8:16-17 Matthew interprets Isaiah 53:4 in view of healing and deliverance.

When the evening was come, they brought unto Him many that were possessed with devils: and He cast out the spirits with His word, and healed all that were sick: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying, Himself TOOK our infirmities, and BARE our sicknesses.

According to Matthew’s interpretation of Isaiah 53:4, Jesus did not take the peoples infirmities and bare their sicknesses by becoming afflicted and sick (by becoming a substitute with the sicknesses and infirmities of the people transferred to Him). Instead, Jesus “took” and “bare” the infirmities and sicknesses of the people by delivering them from demons and healing them.

From Matthew’s interpretation of Isaiah 53:4 we can see Matthew understood the words of Isaiah in view the antidote which was healing and deliverance.

In the same way, Jesus bore our sins by giving Himself as an unblemished sacrifice so that we could be cleansed from our sins by His precious blood and made alive with Him through his resurrection from the dead.

It is in view of the salvation which Jesus obtained for us through the laying down of His life that we should understand what it means that He bore our sins.

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1 PETER 2:24

1 Peter 2:24 says “Who his own self  BARE  our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”

The Greek word for bare is “anaphero” and it means to take up, bear, bring, (carry, lead) up, offer (up).

It is used 9 other times in the New Testament in 8 different verses.

The scriptures tell us that Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness. Specifically, Abraham believed God’s promise to make Him the father of many nations.

In Galatians 3:8 the apostle Paul says, “…the scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the heathen through faith, preached before the gospel unto Abraham, saying, in thee shall all nations be blessed.”

God’s promise to Abraham, which Abraham believed and was justified, was the gospel, and it was a promise that would bless all nations!

In Romans 4, Paul refers to this promise as Abraham becoming the heir of the world.

For the promise, that he should be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. ~ Romans 4;13

Notice that Paul makes a distinction between the Law and the righteousness of faith with regards to this promise. God’s promise wasn’t to Abraham alone. It was to Abraham and his seed, Christ, and those who are in Christ.

In Galatians 3:16 Paul says, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ.

Jesus Christ is the seed through whom the promises God made to Abraham have been brought to fruition.

The Law was added some 430 years after God made His promise to Abraham, and it was added because of sin until the seed should come. Through His death for us, Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law and now the the promise of the Spirit (the promise made through the Spirit to Abraham) has come on the Gentiles.

God’s promise to Abraham was the covenant God made “in Christ.” In Christ, Abraham has become the father of many nations! ~ Galatians 3:17

For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus. For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus. And if ye be Christ’s, then are ye Abraham’s seed, and heirs according to the promise. ~ Galatians 3:26-29