The belief that God punished Jesus in our place advocates that there was a behind the scenes exchange between God and Jesus, whereby Jesus suffered rejection from God, and/or experienced God’s wrath. The premise of this view is that the physical death of Jesus at the hands of sinful men was not sufficient for our salvation, and something more was needed, namely divine punishment, or else the cross would not have been efficacious in saving us. Jesus had to suffer spiritually under God’s condemnation in some manner. There had to be an exchange.

When I began to deal with this ideology within my own beliefs, it took quite some time to work through all the verses that seem to support it. If Jesus didn’t suffer condemnation from God, what is the meaning of Paul when he says that Jesus was made a curse for us, and Isaiah when he says, it pleased the Lord to bruise him.

I remember toiling over what Paul said, and how I understood it, as I was embracing what Jesus had taught his disciples. When I began to embrace and teach what Jesus had taught the men he trained as apostles, my understanding of the gospel grew tremendously.

Interestingly, I have found that when I present the cross from the vantage point of what Jesus said, and what his first apostles taught, I have two completely different responses from Christians. When online, Christians can get very defensive towards me, and almost reject me as a heretic or a false teacher. In person, I have had a different experience, especially if it’s in a class setting.

About 3 months ago, a fellow who doesn’t know me, took it upon himself to rebuke me in an online setting, and among other things, he wrote the following:

I perceive that you are earnest in your desire for truth and refutation of error. As you, yourself, know, it is a fearful thing to undertake to teach God’s word to others and those who do will be held to stricter judgment. Given this, I would be remiss if I didn’t entreat you to earnestly reconsider what you are teaching others with regard to the atonement of Christ, lest at the last you find yourself on the wrong side of truth.

If believing the words of Jesus, which now stands as the foundation of all I teach about the cross, can put me on the wrong side of truth, then that’s a chance I will just have to take. I’d rather my understanding of the cross of Christ be developed by what Jesus and his apostles said, rather than what Calvin or Luther said.

His comment to me is not unusual. It’s typical of the replies I have received from people online. I once had another person on social media express their disapproval when I stated that Jesus had been murdered. Yet this is exactly what Stephen said in Acts 7 when he told the Jewish religious authorities that they had been betrayers and murders of the Just One.

He had an issue with me describing the death of Jesus exactly as Stephen in scripture had. Now, think about that. Let that resonate for a moment. His view of the cross made him think that I was off the mark because I described the cross as Stephen had.

How is it that we can all know that Judas betrayed Jesus into the hands of sinful men who had been plotting to kill him and not understand that Jesus’s death was a murder? How is it that we don’t get honest with ourselves and question our theological views and ask the question, If Jesus was murdered, and he was, how does this satisfy the justice of God?

If Jesus’s crucifixion resulted from his being betrayed, and it would have been better for Judas to have never been born than to betray Jesus, how does this involve the justice of God’s against Jesus?

These are the kind of questions I asked myself as I was unlearning some of the erroneous things I had embraced in my theological view. I have for a long time held to the opinion that you have no basis for doctrine until all the scriptures, or at least the majority of the scriptures on the topic, harmonize.

Now, my experience with people in person (in conversations and in class settings) have been quite different from online forums, because in person, I can walk them through the scriptures and show them exactly what Jesus and his original apostles said. I can also show them what Paul actually preached and how Paul’s gospel is the same as that declared by Jesus and the original apostles. Without fail, they jump on board with me because the scriptures convince them.

Once, while teaching a Bible School class in London, I taught this very topic. I am better at communicating as a preacher/teacher in person than I am as a writer. Anyway, during the first hour, I challenged some of the beliefs that many of us have long held, including myself. As we took a break between the first and second hour, there was a buzz among the students.

When we began the second hour, I took them through the scriptures, beginning with Jesus and continuing through the sermons preached in Acts. Somewhere in the process (it didn’t take very long), they were all on board. I don’t remember a single one of them not jumping on board with me. I can say with confidence that it was probably the first time someone had ever taken them through the narrative and showed them exactly what Jesus said about his death and what the apostles preached. As I was teaching, a lady suddenly overcome with the joy of the truth she was seeing from scripture, abruptly blurted out “where (or how) did you learn all this?!”

That is what revelation of the truth does. It causes a rejoicing in the heart at the discovery of truth, and it nurtures a desire for more. This was happening to her in that class.

So how did I learn this? Well, I had been a student of the cross for many years. The emphasis of my teachings for much of my ministry had been the blood of Jesus and the cross. My heart’s desire was to understand the power of the blood of Jesus. As a young man, I had some serious struggles, and there came a point when I knew that my victory over those struggles would come as I developed strong through faith in the blood of Christ. It’s somewhat of a long story, so I won’t  go into it here, but I began a journey of studying, praying, and listening to anyone who had any sort of understanding about the cross and the blood of Christ.

The most influential minister in my journey became the writings of Andrew Murray (I won’t go into how Murray’s writings helped me here), but suffice to say, I flourished in my understanding after being introduced to his writings.

As I continued on my journey I heard a Bible scholar, whom I have come to absolutely love, say something that I have never heard anyone else say. He was commenting about a particular book that had come out, which apologetically defended the theological view of the cross known as Penal Substitutionary Atonement. I had a copy of the book, and still have it.

He made the observation that these authors (it was co-authored), had cited this theologian, and that theologian, and even had cited Paul, but they had given very little attention to Jesus. And he made the comment, “What did Jesus say about his death?”

In roughly 20 years of study, and preaching, and teaching about the cross, I had never seriously considered what Jesus said, other than the verses from the Last Supper, and the references of giving his life as a ransom. I didn’t place much emphasis on Jesus’s description of his death. In fact, I didn’t even think that Jesus had anything of real importance to say because he didn’t address the behind the scenes narrative that so many of us tend to embrace. Like many people, I thought that Paul, and pretty much Paul alone, was the expert who had the spiritual insight into what happened at the cross.

I think my beliefs had been greatly influenced by the theology of E.W. Kenyon who is considered by many as father of the Word of Faith Movement. As a young man, I embraced the teachings of the Word of Faith movement, and Kenyon was held in high esteem as having great spiritual insights among the leading WOF ministers. Kenyon did have some good teachings, but he is also had some bad teachings, mixing metaphysics with the teachings of scripture.

Allow me to share with you a portion of what Kenyon taught about the cross, and as you read it, be honest and ask yourself if you interpret scripture similarly. I am not talking about the conclusion Kenyon came to, but how he got there. Below is a brief excerpt from Kenyon’s teachings taken from his book – The Bible in the Light of Our Redemption. I had a copy of this book (I may still have it), and I copied the following myself. I have added capps for emphasis only.

Kenyon states the following:

The disciples knew THE MEANING of the Crucifixion of Christ, his burial, and his resurrection, ONLY THROUGH THEIR PHYSICAL SENSES. They saw the beating of Christ; they saw the nails driven into his hands and feet. They heard his words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me.” They saw and handled his body in the process of embalming it, as it was laid away for burial. They saw the stone rolled away from the tomb and the empty grave clothes. They saw and handled the resurrected body of Christ. They saw him ascend into heaven.This physical knowledge, however, gave them NO INSIGHT INTO THE MEANING OF THE SPIRITUAL SIGNIFICANCE of Christ’s death, burial, and resurrection. In the crucifixion of Christ, they saw only his physical suffering. THEY KNEW NOTHING of the spiritual suffering of Christ as HIS SPIRIT was made sin. THEY KNEW NOT where Christ’s spirit was or what he was doing during the time his physical body lay in the tomb. THEY KNEW NOTHING of the conquering of Satan by Christ in his resurrection. THEY KNEW NOTHING of the ascension of Christ with his own blood into the Holy of Holies. THEY KNEW NOTHING of the ministry of Christ at the Father’s right hand AFTER HE LEFT THEM.

Now, don’t focus on the conclusions Kenyon reached about what he thought Paul understood. This is not why I shared what Kenyon said. I want you to take note of how he read the scriptures.

Kenyon read the scriptures as if the disciples who walked with Jesus didn’t know what they were talking about on a spiritual level when they testified of the death of Jesus. Kenyon even implies they didn’t understand the resurrection on a spiritual level.

Now, consider the following statement I recently copied from someone else, and notice how he reads the New Testament, much like Kenyon, even though he likely comes to a different conclusion.

The “preaching of the cross” was the distinctive message of the Apostle Paul. It was the gospel he preached, that Christ died for our sins and rose from the dead for our salvation ( 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Paul’s gospel was faith + 0. Neither the Twelve nor the other writers of the New Testament preached this gospel until they learned about it from Paul. And, as a result, Paul’s gospel, his “preaching of the cross,” precipitated a great crisis among the Jewish leadership in Jerusalem that resulted in the Council of Jerusalem (c. 51 A.D.) The goal of this study is to examine Paul’s message and how it was unique to his ministry as the “apostle to the Gentiles.”

Notice that this author actually says, Neither the Twelve nor the other writers of the New Testament preached this gospel until they learned about it from Paul.

Well, what in the world were they preaching in Acts then?!

If the apostles didn’t preach the gospel, then they would have been false apostles. In fact Peter stood up at the Jerusalem council and said, God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of the gospel, and believe.

Paul wasn’t the first to take the gospel to the Gentiles, Peter was. Peter was sent to Cornelius’s house in Acts 10 (at that time Paul was testifying to the Jews), and Peter preached the very same message about Jesus to Cornelius’s house as he had been preaching since the Day of Pentecost. He preached the gospel message he learned from Jesus, not Paul!

It is absolutely absurd to think that the original apostles did not understand what the gospel was until they heard it from Paul.

This is why it is so important how we read scripture. I tend to think that If a lot of Christians were to be brutally honest, they would have to admit they sort of read the New Testament through the same lens as Kenyon and the other fellow cited above. They would have to admit their thinking about the cross has been shaped along similar lines.

So I ask you, what did Jesus say about his death, and does it matter for us today? Are the words of Jesus, and what he told his disciples about his death, which the disciples preached in Acts, important?

If I were to ask you to stop what you are doing right now and tell me what Jesus had to say about his death both before and after his resurrection, what would you tell me? Could you share the truth of the gospel with another person using only what Jesus said about his death?

Furthermore, would you have a greater appreciation and a greater understanding of the resurrection if you considered more earnestly what Jesus said?  Knowing what I know now, I would say yes! You would. The resurrection takes on a whole new and more glorious meaning when Jesus’s words become the foundation of how you interpret the cross. The gospel preached in Acts by Peter, and Stephen are an extension of what Jesus said.

I can honestly say that I can now stand up anywhere, and teach on the cross from any text that references the cross, and not contradict because the whole counsel of scripture on this topic harmonizes in my understanding. I don’t say this to brag, God forbid, but I have worked through the texts and now every scripture I know of in the gospels, in Acts, in Paul’s writings, and the rest of the New Testament, all harmonize, and I can’t find an angry God who used Judas and the chief priests to do his outward dirty work, anywhere.

At the cross, it was grace that saved us, not wrath being satisfied. Paul even tells us in Titus, that after the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, he saved us.

It truly is a wonderful, and joyous experience to be able to preach the truth of the gospel form Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, anywhere in Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and Acts, along with Romans 3- 6, Galatians 3, 1 Peter 2, the book of Hebrews, Ephesians, Colossians, and anywhere else we read about the cross and have the truth of the scriptures harmonize.

I am not saying I have perfect understanding, or that I have a complete grasp on all that scripture teaches about Christ’s redemption (there is so much to learn and to glean). I will never learn it all in this life. I continue to grow. I have more to learn than I currently know.

What I am saying is I now have an understanding of the cross in which the whole counsel of scripture does harmonize. I don’t have to ignore what Peter preached on the Day of Pentecost, or what Stephen preached in Acts 7, because those texts harmonize with what Paul said to the Ephesians.

Paul’s word’s where he declares that Jesus was made a curse for us, and our old man is crucified with Christ now harmonizes with the narrative that Jesus died an unjust death at the hands of sinful men. I don’t have to ignore what Jesus and the original apostles said because of what I think Paul said.

Thank you for listening, and I hope that what I have written will provoke you in a good way. Blessings.

For He has not subjected to angels the world to come that we are talking about. But one has somewhere testified: What is man that You remember him, or the son of man that You care for him? You made him lower than the angels for a short time; You crowned him with glory and honor and subjected everything under his feet. For in subjecting everything to him, He left nothing that is not subject to him. As it is, we do not yet see everything subjected to him. But we do see Jesus—made lower than the angels for a short time so that by God’s grace He might taste death for everyone—crowned with glory and honor because of His suffering in death. For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source] of their salvation perfect through sufferings. For the One who sanctifies and those who are sanctified all have one Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers, saying: I will proclaim Your name to My brothers; I will sing hymns to You in the congregation. Again, I will trust in Him. And again, Here I am with the children God gave Me. Now since the children have flesh and blood in common, Jesus also shared in these, so that through His death He might destroy the one holding the power of death—that is, the Devil— and free those who were held in slavery all their lives by the fear of death. For it is clear that He does not reach out to help angels, but to help Abraham’s offspring. Therefore, He had to be like His brothers in every way, so that He could become a merciful and faithful high priest in service to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested. ~ Hebrews 2:5-18 (HCSB) 

Note: the word propitiation above can also be translated as atonement.

There is a lot in this set of verses. First, consider that Jesus is the one that we see crowned with glory and honor. But why? According to the writer of Hebrews, it is because of the things he suffered for us.

I won’t you to consider with me that the writer of Hebrews makes no mention of any condemnation, judgment, or punishment from God when he references the things that Jesus suffered. On the contrary, he tells us that by God’s grace, Jesus tasted death for everyone,  and he did so for the purpose of being perfected as the Captain of our Salvation, and to become our merciful and faithful High Priest.

It was the will of God for Jesus to experience the depths, sorrows, pain, despair, and trauma of human suffering – to be made like his brethren in all things – so that he might become the perfect representative for humanity in the presence of God.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that Jesus did this so that he could declare God’s name to his brothers (and of course his sisters). Have you ever considered why there is unfailing faithfulness to God within the heart of so many believers who have suffered much? Where does such faithfulness come from? It comes for the Spirit of Jesus, who declares to the heart the faithfulness of God, even in the midst of human suffering.

The writer of Hebrews also tells us that Jesus shared in our human experience so that he could destroy the one holding the power of death – that is the devil, and in doing so he frees us who were all our lifetime held in slavery by the fear of death.

Consider for a moment Jesus’s human experience. Jesus was betrayed by one of his own disciples that he appointed as an apostle. Have you ever been betrayed? It’s very painful isn’t it? Jesus knows the feeling.

Jesus’s crucifixion would have never happened if he had not been betrayed by Judas. The scriptures of the prophets had foretold that it would happen this way. The Jewish authorities had wanted to kill him for some time, and Jesus knew this. Imagine what it’s like living among those who hate you and want to kill you. Jesus experienced this.

After this, Jesus traveled in Galilee, since He did not want to travel in Judea because the Jews were trying to kill Him. ~ John 7: 1

Didn’t Moses give you the law? Yet none of you keeps the law! Why do you want to kill Me?” ~ John 7:19

I know you are descendants of Abraham, but you are trying to kill Me because My word is not welcome among you. ~ John 8:37

But now you are trying to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. Abraham did not do this! ~ John 8:40

Notice the indictment that Jesus gives them. They wanted to kill him because his word was not in them, because they did not want the truth in him, and because they were not Abraham’s true children. Nevertheless they could not touch his life because his hour in which he would lay it down, had not yet come.

Then they tried to seize Him. Yet no one laid a hand on Him because His hour had not yet come. ~ John 7:30

He spoke these words by the treasury, while teaching in the temple complex. But no one seized Him, because His hour had not come. ~ John  8:20

It wasn’t until Satan entered into the heart of Judas that the crucifixion was set in motion.

Before the Passover Festival, Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart from this world to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Now by the time of supper, the Devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son, to betray Him. Jesus knew that the Father had given everything into His hands, that He had come from God, and that He was going back to God. So He got up from supper, laid aside His robe, took a towel, and tied it around Himself. Next, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet and to dry them with the towel tied around Him. ~ John 13:1-5

I want you to notice from the text above that Satan put it into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus. I also want you to notice that Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands. It was at this point that Jesus took off his robe and tied a towel around himself,as a servant (though he was Lord) and began washing his disciples’ feet.

This is what the cross is all about. The King of glory, who has authority over all things, took the place of the lowliest servant so that he might have compassion on all. This is the work of grace that God was perfecting in the humanity of his Son, Jesus. Now, consider the following from the same chapter in John’s gospel.

“I assure you: A slave is not greater than his master,  and a messenger is not greater than the one who sent him. If you know these things, you are blessed if you do them. I’m not speaking about all of you; I know those I have chosen. But the Scripture must be fulfilled: The one who eats My bread has raised his heel against Me. “I am telling you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe that I am He. I assure you: Whoever receives anyone I send receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.” When Jesus had said this, He was troubled in His spirit and testified, “I assure you: One of you will betray Me!” The disciples started looking at one another—uncertain which one He was speaking about. One of His disciples, the one Jesus loved, was reclining close beside Jesus. Simon Peter motioned to him to find out who it was He was talking about. So he leaned back against Jesus and asked Him, “Lord, who is it?” Jesus replied, “He’s the one I give the piece of bread to after I have dipped it.” When He had dipped the bread, He gave it to Judas, Simon Iscariot’s son. After Judas ate the piece of bread, Satan entered him. Therefore Jesus told him, “What you’re doing, do quickly.” None of those reclining at the table knew why He told him this. Since Judas kept the money-bag, some thought that Jesus was telling him, “Buy what we need for the festival,” or that he should give something to the poor. After receiving the piece of bread, he went out immediately. And it was night. ~ John 13:16-30 

I want you to see that even though Satan had entered the heart of Judas, it wasn’t until Jesus told him, “What you are doing, do quickly” that Judas went out and betrayed him to the chief priests.

Jesus had said in John 10, “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me, as the Father knows Me, and I know the Father. I lay down My life for the sheep. But I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. This is why the Father loves Me, because I am laying down My life so I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from My Father.” ~ John 10:14-18

Jesus was fully God, and fully human. Satan had no power to touch his life until he laid it down. Though Jesus had all spiritual authority, he experienced human pain and suffering. He experienced rejection, hate, and betrayal. He entered the dark experience of human suffering when he laid down his life.

When Judas led a mob to arrest Jesus, Jesus said the following to them.

Have you come out with swords and clubs as if I were a criminal? Every day while I was with you in the temple complex, you never laid a hand on Me. But this is your hour—and the dominion of darkness.” ~ Luke 22: 52-53

The KJV says the power of darkness. We know this is a reference to Satan’s Kingdom because it was Satan who entered Judas’s heart to betray Jesus. The four gospels give us the vivid details of the dark powers working through the people as Jesus was betrayed, condemned by the Jewish leaders, falsely accused, placed on trial, rejected by the people, beaten, publicly humiliated, and crucified.

The writer of Hebrews describes the sufferings of Christ as testing by which he was perfected through suffering.

For in bringing many sons to glory, it was entirely appropriate that God—all things exist for Him and through Him—should make the source of their salvation perfect through sufferings. ~ Hebrews 2:10

For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested. ~ Hebrews 2:18

For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tested in every way as we are, yet without sin. ~ Hebrews 4:15

During His earthly life, He offered prayers and appeals with loud cries and tears to the One who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. Though He was God’s Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. After He was perfected, He became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him… ~ Hebrews 5;7-9

What God accomplished in Christ as our intercessor and High Priest, and through Christ as our sacrifice and offering, is referred to by Paul as a mystery which was hidden and kept secret from previous generations. Paul says, None of the rulers of this age knew this wisdom, for if they had known it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. ~ 1 Corinthians 2:8

Paul’s words are consistent with the narrative we see in the gospels and Jesus’s declaration to those who arrested him,  “this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”

It wasn’t God who betrayed Jesus by turning his back on him and condemning him. It was Judas, and those who were under the influence of the power of darkness who did that. This is why the apostles spoke so strongly in the Acts showing how even though the people had unjustly condemned the Just one, and murdered him, as Stepehen described it, the grave could not hold him because God raised him from the dead!

God did not send Jesus to the cross because he was angry with sinners. God sent Jesus to the cross because God loved sinners, and to perfect Jesus for us as a High Priest who knows the real pain of human suffering, who can intercede as one who is compassionate and merciful, and touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

It is not God who betrays, hates, and kills. It is the power of darkness, and in his death, Jesus overcame the power of darkness when he by the grace of God tasted death for every man. Now we are overcomers through him who loved us and gave himself for us. God was not substitutionally punishing his dying son, God was in him reconciling the world and perfecting his Son as our great High Priest, through whom God’s everlasting love, compassion, mercy, and grace could give us hope, strength, eternal life!

What then are we to say about these things? If God is for us, who is against us?

He did not even spare His own Son but offered Him up for us all; how will He not also with Him grant us everything? Who can bring an accusation against God’s elect?

God is the One who justifies. Who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is the One who died, but even more, has been raised; He also is at the right hand of God and intercedes for us. Who can separate us from the love of Christ? Can affliction or anguish or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written: Because of You we are being put to death all day long; we are counted as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than victorious through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that not even death or life, angels or rulers, things present or things to come, hostile powers, height or depth, or any other created thing will have the power to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord! ~ Romans 8:31-39

And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. ~ 1 Timothy 3:16

The gospel is unique in that it is not based on mythology. One concern that I personally have is the mythological ideologies that many Christians have surrounding their understanding of the gospel, especially the cross of Christ.

For example, when Jesus cried out “My God, My God, Why have you forsaken me?”, he did so in the most vulnerable time. Rather than understanding these words from the real human experience of Christ, we often come up with all sorts of mystical ideas as to what God was doing to punish him behind the scenes.

Here is the truth, Jesus truly felt abandoned in that hour. He felt the weight of what was happening. He was dying, and the hand of God was not going to save him from this hour. He must go through it. He was sent into the world for this purpose, and he was now in the painful throes of it.

The fact that Jesus felt abandoned in that hour, in no way indicates that God was unfaithful to him or had turned on him. Suffering is part of the human experience, and tragedy often leads most of us to question God’s concern for us. Jesus experienced the full weight of human suffering coupled with the feeling of “where is God?”

When Christ suffered for us, not only was he making atonement for our sins, but he was also being perfected to be our High Priest forever. Consider the words of the writer of Hebrews.

For every high priest taken from among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God, that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins: Who can have compassion on the ignorant, and on them that are out of the way; for that he himself also is compassed with infirmity. And by reason hereof he ought, as for the people, so also for himself, to offer for sins. And no man taketh this honor unto himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. So also Christ glorified not himself to be made an high priest; but he that said unto him, Thou art my Son, today have I begotten thee. As he saith also in another place, Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec. 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 5:1-5

The sufferings of the cross were part of the process in which Jesus was being made perfect in his humanity to be our High Priest. Consider the following texts from Hebrews:

Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 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. For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour (come to the aid of) them that are tempted. ~ Hebrews 2: 14-18

Seeing then that we have a great high priest, that is passed into the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession. For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. ~ Hebrews 4:14-16 

The desperate cry of Jesus, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me” came at the most intense hour of Jesus’s human experience, in which he was being perfected as our High Priest. Jesus had known this hour was coming and literally dreaded it.

Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him will my Father honour. Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. ~ John 12:24-27

And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray. And he taketh with him Peter and James and John, and began to be sore amazed, and to be very heavy; And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death: tarry ye here, and watch. And he went forward a little, and fell on the ground, and prayed that, if it were possible, the hour might pass from him. And he said, Abba, Father, all things are possible unto thee; take away this cup from me: nevertheless not what I will, but what thou wilt. And he cometh, and findeth them sleeping, and saith unto Peter, Simon, sleepest thou? couldest not thou watch one hour? Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into temptation. The spirit truly is ready, but the flesh is weak. And again he went away, and prayed, and spake the same words. And when he returned, he found them asleep again, (for their eyes were heavy,) neither wist they what to answer him. And he cometh the third time, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: it is enough, the hour is come; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Rise up, let us go; lo, he that betrayeth me is at hand. ~ Mark 14:32-42 

Consider the weight of this moment for Jesus. His friends (the disciples) had failed him, unable to pray with him. Judas had betrayed him to the Jewish authorities who despised him and were plotting to kill him. He was about to be beaten, publicly humiliated, sentenced to death, and nailed to a cross. He willingly did this for us, knowing that God had withdrawn his protective hand because this was the only way to save humanity. He also had to be made perfect through suffering to be our great High Priest who is merciful and compassionate and touched with the feeling of our infirmities.

Do not fail to grasp the human experience of what Jesus must have felt as he was experiencing all of this. Yet, he never stopped trusting God. He never sinned. He endured it all for us.

Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin. ~ Hebrews 12:2-4 

Notice that the writer of Hebrews tells us to consider what Jesus endured so that we will not be weary and faint in our minds. Christ did not feel abandoned because of God turning his back on him. He felt abandoned because of the things he suffered like we all could feel if we are in the throes of death or tragedy.

In the book of Acts, the real human experience of Jesus was preached by the apostles and the Holy Spirit confirmed that testimony with power. Do not allow mysticism to creep into your beliefs about the sufferings of Christ. Allow the testimony of scripture about the real human experience of Jesus to fill your heart. The mystery of godliness is based on the truth that God was manifested in the flesh. Jesus redeemed us not by some mystical “behind the scenes” event. He redeemed us by suffering in his flesh and enduring the pain of human agony, and his human body and blood were sacrificed for us. He did this for two reasons: He loved God and he loved us!

May God grant us all understanding.

He is the Rock, His work is perfect; all His ways are just. A God of faithfulness without injustice, righteous and upright is He. ~ Deuteronomy 32:4

And now, may the fear of the LORD be upon you. Be careful what you do, for with the LORD our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery. ~ 2 Chronicles 19:7

The belief that God poured out his wrath on Jesus is sometimes referred to as a divine exchange, and portrays God as condemning the innocent in order to justify the guilty. This theological view puts God at odds with his holy and innocent Son, and has God turning his back on Jesus when he was the most vulnerable. Jesus trusted the Father and was innocent in his sight, yet God turned on him and condemned him according to this view.

It is fair to point out that this theology creates a view of God that is contrary to everything the scriptures teach about God’s justice, equity, and compassion. If anyone were to portray God in this fashion apart from this theological view of the cross, they would likely be labeled a heretic and a false teacher. Yet the very same people who would label others as such for portraying God as such an unjust Judge, do the same when they portray God as doing that which was unjust to his own Son at the cross.

God’s throne is established on righteousness and truth (Psalm 89:14), and justifying the wicked and condemning the just are an abomination to the Lord (Psalm 89:14). Thus, it is fair to ask the question, why would God abandon the truth on which his throne is established and do that which is an abomination in his sight, then hold the world accountable to this very injustice on the day of judgment?

On the contrary, Jesus is the one by whom God is going to judge the world in righteousness, because Jesus is God’s righteous servant whom God vindicated by raising him from the dead.

It is fair to ask why anyone would think that God would need to abandon his own law, authority, and justice to show mercy to sinners. If God is all wise, could he not find a way to justify the ungodly without perverting his own justice? Certainly! And he did.

God justifies the ungodly through the blood of the innocent Christ who loved us and gave himself for us. God justifies the sinner who has faith in his Son who he gave his life as an innocent lamb without spot or blemish. That Jesus’s blood provides justification for all who believe speaks to the virtue of Christ’s innocence and holiness in the sight of God.

At the cross an innocent man died at the hands of sinful men. Jesus was condemned unjustly. The scriptures actually teach this over and over again. According to Peter’s first epistle, Jesus suffered wrongfully when he was condemned to death by sinful men, but Jesus committed himself to God who judges righteously. If we know that Jesus placed his hope in God as the righteous judge when he suffered wrongfully at the hands of men, why do we insist that it was God’s justice condemning him?

Still, there are those who will argue that it wasn’t that which men did to Jesus that mattered. It was that which God did behind the scenes, when God poured out his wrath on Jesus’s soul.  This argument doesn’t hold water when we consider what the scriptures have to say. According to the New Testament, Jesus’s body is the offering for our sins, and it was Jesus’s blood that redeemed us, reconciled us, justified us, and cleansed us from all sin. The body and blood of Jesus are given to the church in holy communion as that by which we call to remembrance what Jesus has done for us. The body of Jesus was slain by men, the blood of Jesus was shed by men who killed him. God saves us through the broken body and shed blood of Jesus.

God did not condemn the spotless lamb of God, by whose blood he saves the sinner. God justified his Son, and vindicated him by raising him from the dead. A careful examination of the scriptures shows that the death of Christ was an injustice by men, and the resurrection was God’s justice turning the injustice up on its head. Consider the following from the New Testament.

Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. ~ Acts 2:22-24

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. ~ Acts 3: 13-15

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 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. 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

The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins. And we are his witnesses of these things; and so is also the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given to them that obey him. ~ Acts 5:30-32

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: Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. But he, being full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, And said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. ~ Acts 7:51-56

The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. ~ Acts 10:36-43

Men and brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and whosoever among you feareth God, to you is the word of this salvation sent. 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: And he was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are his witnesses unto the people. And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. And as concerning that he raised him up from the dead, now no more to return to corruption, he said on this wise, I will give you the sure mercies of David. Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption: But he, whom God raised again, saw no corruption. Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: And by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses. ~ Acts 13:26-39 

The sure mercies of David (mentioned above) was the messianic promise God made to his Son that he would raise him from the dead. Consider Isaiah 55:

Give heed with your ears, and follow my ways: hearken to me, and your soul shall live in prosperity; and I will make with you an everlasting covenant, the sure mercies of David.  Behold, I have made him a testimony among the Gentiles, a prince and commander to the Gentiles. Nations which know thee not, shall call upon thee, and peoples which are not acquainted with thee, shall flee to thee for refuge, for the sake of the Lord thy God, the Holy One of Israel; for he has glorified thee. ~ Isaiah 55:3-5 (Brenton Septuagint translation)

Over and over again, the resurrection is spoken of in scripture as God’s response to what the people did to Jesus. It was God’s holy and righteous response fulfilling his promise to his holy Son who trusted in him. It may surprise some, but the words from Acts 13 above are the words of the apostle Paul. It wasn’t the disciples of Jesus only who believed that Jesus had suffered unjustly, it was also Paul. Consider the following from Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.

For ye, brethren, became followers of the churches of God which in Judaea are in Christ Jesus: for ye also have suffered like things of your own countrymen, even as they have of the Jews: Who both killed the Lord Jesus, and their own prophets, and have persecuted us; and they please not God, and are contrary to all men: Forbidding us to speak to the Gentiles that they might be saved, to fill up their sins alway: for the wrath is come upon them to the uttermost. ~ 1 Thessalonians 2:140-16

Paul never preached that God condemned Jesus at the cross. Those who think so are reading  Paul wrong. God did not pervert his justice by condemning a righteous and innocent man at the cross. The one who died for us was murdered as Stephen declared in Acts 7, and suffered wrongfully as Peter says in his first epistle. He died as an innocent lamb who laid down his life because he loved us and for his sake God has forgiven our sins (Ephesians 4:32; 1 John 2:12).

Jesus is, was, and always will be holy and unblemished, and for this reason, the grave could not hold him. God was not his adversary at the cross. God did not condemn him. God was in Christ reconciling the world, and by the grace of God Jesus tasted death for every man.

In his old age, the apostle Peter never relented in his belief that Jesus had suffered unjustly, and that Jesus’s faith in God when suffering wrongfully is our example to follow, because just as God vindicated Jesus, even so God is the righteous judge for us. 

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 also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow 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.

May God grant us all an understanding heart.

I write unto you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. ~ 1 John 2:12

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. ~ Ephesians 4:32

If you will let these verses sink down into your heart you will find the true beauty in the cross of Christ. Christ died for us, because he loved us. He died as a spotless lamb and it is for his sake (the sake of the innocent lamb of God) that God has forgiven our sins.

In Revelation 1:5, John tells us that Jesus loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. It was love that freed us from sin. It was the perfect, sinless, holy Christ that sanctified us and made us accepted in the eyes of God.

Peter tells us that we were redeemed with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. ~ 1 Peter 1:18

In the Old Testament when the sacrifices which foreshadowed Jesus were offered, they had to be offered as holy and unblemished sacrifices.

Consider for a moment what the ideology that claims that God poured out his wrath on Jesus, really teaches. It states that before God could save us, forgive us, redeem us, God had to exhaust all his wrath on a holy, pure, sinless, and spotless victim. It states that God had to get retribution on the innocent to save the guilty.

This concept is taught nowhere in scripture. It literally has to be built into texts and is of pagan origins. It is not the revelation of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.

Proverbs 17:15 tells us, He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the Lord. God does not justify the guilty by condemning the innocent. This would make God an unjust Judge, but this is exactly what many teach. Instead, God justifies the guilty because the innocent lays down his life for the guilty, and this is what Jesus did when he gave his life for us.

God forgives us not because he condemned the Just One, but because the Just one gave his life for us. Oh, if we could just see the marvelous truth of the saving Christ, how it would change our affection for Jesus. Peter preaching in Acts 3 says the following:

The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. ~ Acts 3:13-15

It wasn’t God who denied the Holy and Just One, it was the people! We are not forgiven because God punished Christ out of his anger/wrath. We are forgiven because Christ loved us even as the Father loves us, and gave his life to save us. Jesus willingly took the penalty of death when there was no sin in him and by his blood, he redeemed us.

This disposition in Jesus,  was to God a sweet fragrance (Ephesians 5:1-2). And for his sake, God has made us accepted in him, and forgiven us ! Think about this today and let the reality of this beautiful, lovely truth take root into your heart. For Christ’s sake, you belong to God and your sins are forgiven! 

For Christ’s sake your sins are forgiven. For his name’s sake your sins are forgiven.

After God called Abraham, he promised Abraham that the land of Canaan would be given to his descendants as an inheritance forever (see Genesis 13:15).

Does this then mean that the promise of the land inheritance has relevance today? If we were to take Genesis 13:15 along with Genesis 17:8 at face value only without considering the balance of scripture, then we would certainly have to come to a conclusive yes, but does the balance of scripture support such an interpretation?

To begin, consider Genesis 13:15 and Genesis 17:8

For all the land which thou seest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed for ever. ~ Genesis 13:15

And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God. ~ Genesis 17:8 

The same Hebrew word translated forever in Genesis 13:15 is translated  everlasting in Genesis 17:8. Now, that’s certainly a good start if we are going to build a case that the land inheritance is still relevant.

However, we immediately have our first hurdle before we ever get out of Genesis 17. In verses 10-14, we read that physical circumcision is an everlasting covenant and that the land inheritance coincides with circumcision. The “uncircumcised” have no share in the covenant through which the land was to be inherited.

This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised. And ye shall circumcise the flesh of your foreskin; and it shall be a token of the covenant betwixt me and you. And he that is eight days old shall be circumcised among you, every man child in your generations, he that is born in the house, or bought with money of any stranger, which is not of thy seed. He that is born in thy house, and he that is bought with thy money, must needs be circumcised: and my covenant shall be in your flesh for an everlasting covenant. And the uncircumcised man child whose flesh of his foreskin is not circumcised, that soul shall be cut off from his people; he hath broken my covenant. ~ Genesis 17:10-14

This immediately becomes problematic in building a defense for the land inheritance having relevance today because in the New Testament the apostle Paul tells us that circumcision in the flesh no longer has any value. According to Paul, it is the circumcision of the heart (in the Spirit) which matters.

For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love. ~ Galatians 5:6

For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but a new creature. ~ Galatians 6:15

As we continue through the scriptures we find that the feast of Passover and unleavened bread are said to be an ordinance forever (Exodus 12:14, 17, 24), and the Sabbath was to be a covenant forever. ~ Exodus 31:16-17

Yet the New Testament tells us that these were only shadows of Christ (Colossians 2:16-17) and that Christ Himself is our Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7).

The ministry of the Levitical priesthood (Aaron and his descendants) within the tabernacle is said to be a statute forever (Exodus 27:21, Exodus 28:43, Exodus 30:21, Leviticus 24:1-3) and an ordinance forever (Numbers 18:8). The wearing of the priestly garments by the sons of Aaron was also referred to as a perpetual (forever) statue. The ceremonial washing of the hands of the priests who served in the tabernacle was to be a statue forever. ~ Exodus 30:21

Yet according to the New Testament priesthood established under the law has been abolished and has given way to one that is greater and more glorious, and that is the Priesthood of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Law of Moses also declares that the Levites were to be servants to the priests and this was to be a statute forever. ~ Numbers 18:23

The law of the portion of meat offering which belonged to the sons of Aaron was also to be a statute forever. ~ Leviticus 6:14-19

The daily meat offerings offered by Aaron and his descendants was to be a statute forever. ~ Leviticus 6:20

The commandment for Aaron and his sons not to drink wine nor strong drink in the tabernacle was to be a statute forever. ~ Leviticus 10:9

The heave and wave offerings belonging to the Levitical priests and their families were a statue forever. ~ Exodus 29:28; Leviticus 10:15: Numbers 18:19

Like Passover, the Day of Atonement was also to be a statue forever (Leviticus 16:29, 34, Leviticus 23:31). Yet according to the New Testament, those things which were done under the Law on the Day of Atonement served as a foreshadowing of Christ (Hebrews 10:1-4) and have now been taken away because Christ has become the High Priest of a greater and a perfect tabernacle.

With regards to sacrifices for sin, the Law of Moses also says that the sin offering of the red heifer was to be a statute forever. ~ Numbers 19:9-11

Yet Hebrews 9:13-14 says, For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: 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?

As we can see the use of the language forever as it applied to the Old Testament promises, statues, and ordinances doesn’t mean for all eternity, without any change as they originally were.

In studying the scriptures, we should consider the qualifying clause “throughout your generations” and other similar clauses. These should be taken into account when considering those things which were said to be forever.

For instance, Genesis 17 says the covenant of circumcision and the land inheritance is forever in view of those generations.

In Exodus 12:14 the scripture says, And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and ye shall keep it a feast to the Lord throughout your generations; ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever. ~ See also verses 17 and 42

The daily offering of the burnt offering was to be throughout your generations (Exodus 29:42). The yearly consecration of the altar of Incense by the High Priest on the Day of Atonement was to be throughout your generations. ~ Leviticus 30:10

The Old Covenant was a covenant for God’s people in the flesh and was binding throughout their generations, wherein the revelation of Christ was hidden in a mystery (Colossians 1:26).The forevers were types and foreshadowings of Christ.

God has saved us according to his mercy by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost (Titus 3:5) and that which was in the flesh has now given way to that which is in the Spirit.

The forevers of the physical covenant has given way and been translated to forever in Christ!

The eternal ordinances (the forevers) such as Passover continue, but now we celebrate them in Christ and not in the outward offering of animals. The same holds true for the land inheritance, for in Christ we become citizens of the Heavenly city, New Jerusalem. Also, the Sabbaths and all other forevers of the first covenant have been fully realized in the person of Jesus Christ in whom we have our true and inheritance and eternal rest

Christ is our Passover, He is our Sabbath, He is our promised land!