To regular readers of the blog: I'm aiming to post more regularly. So, I might not hold each post to quite as strict standards for quality. They should still be readable, but I might let a few grammatical or formatting errors slip through. Hopefully this is a good decision for all of us. Your feedback is very welcome!Not long ago, a citizen of Georgia, Mr. Troy Davis, was executed for the alleged murder of a police officer, Mr. Mark MacPhail.
However, questions remain about whether Mr. Davis was truly guilty of murdering Mr. MacPhail or not.
It's not my intention in this post to go into the details of the case or attempt to figure out whether Mr. Davis was innocent or guilty. However, I would like to briefly consider a quote by Reverend Al Sharpton, which he made concerning the execution of Mr. Davis.
According to a news article posted about the time of the execution, Rev. Sharpton said:
"Our hearts go out to them [the family of Mr. MacPhail]. We have nothing but sympathy and prayers for them, but they are not getting justice if the wrong person is paying for what happened to their son, their brother."Rev. Sharpton asserted that justice is not done if the "wrong person" pays for the sins of another. And in fact, no justice was done if Mr. Davis was innocent.
However, Rev. Sharpton's quote reminded me of something similar and all the more profound: The death of Jesus for us. Was Jesus the "wrong person"? Was His death a mistake? Moreover, what did it accomplish? And how should we respond?
In this post, I'll try to answer those questions with some Scriptures.
A well-known Bible quote, written by Jesus' Apostle, Paul, is this:
For the wages of sin is death,This Scripture states, or implies, at least three paradoxical truths:
but the free gift of God is eternal life
in Christ Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 6:23 ESV)
- God is just; He gives everyone what they deserve. The one who earns death because of his sin receives death.
- Jesus was not guilty of sin, but God gave Him death. In other words, Jesus died, but He didn't sin. He died despite the fact that He didn't earn death.
- We are guilty of sin, but God gives us life. In other words, we sin, but instead of death, we get eternal life.
Here is the answer. Jesus' Apostle, Paul, wrote this:
He [God] made Him who knew no sin [Christ Jesus]Unlike you and I, Jesus did not sin. He never did anything that displeased God. He obeyed God perfectly. Therefore, Christ Jesus "knew no sin".
to be sin on our behalf,
so that we might become
the righteousness of God in Him [Christ Jesus].
(2 Corinthians 5:21 NASB)
But "on our behalf", for our sakes, God did something both terrible and glorious. He made the sinless one, Christ Jesus, "to be sin on our behalf"!
But how can this be? Why would God do such a thing to His only Son?
Two reasons are that God is just and that God is love. Because of God's justice, He does not tolerate sin. In fact, there is no one who hates sin more than God. But at the same time, God is love. He hates sin, but He loved us sinners. He never designed us for death; He designed us for life with Him. We were the ones who opted to break God's rules by sinning. And we were the ones who earned death, not life, as our just wages.
But the Apostle John also wrote:
I am writing to you, little children,We know that God is just. His judgments are always perfect. But how could He love us if we were sinners? How could he forgive our debts? Who would pay the price of death?
because your sins are forgiven for His name's sake.
(1 John 2:4 ESV)
God found a way to forgive us and yet maintain His justice. That was by killing Jesus instead of us. Jesus wasn't just symbolically sacrificed. He actually tasted the death we should have tasted. The payment was made in full with each drop of blood and each undeserved second of agony He felt.
The Apostle Paul wrote at great length to describe what Jesus did in our place. Here is a section of his writings from the letter to the believers in Rome:
Now we know that whatever the Law says,God justifies those who have faith in Jesus. That means that He declares believers righteous. Our works (e.g. going to church, reading the Bible, being nice to people) do not and cannot earn this righteousness. Why? All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. We already proved our inability to live up to God's perfect standard, and God provided His sinless Son as a propitiation in His blood through faith to suffer His just wrath against our sins. This was and is all done as a free gift by God.
it speaks to those who are under the Law,
so that every mouth may be closed
and all the world may become accountable to God;
because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight;
for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin.
But now, apart from the Law,
righteousness of God has been manifested,
being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
even righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ
for all those who believe;
for there is no distinction;
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
being justified as a gift by His grace
through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith.
[This was] to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God
He passed over the sins previously committed;
for the demonstration of His righteousness at the present time,
so that He would be just
and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Where then is boasting? It is excluded.
By what kind of law? Of works?
No, but by a law of faith.
For we maintain that
a man is justified by faith apart from works of the Law.
(Romans 3:13-28 NASB)
Consequently, God justifies those who have faith in Jesus, but He refuses to justify those who depend on their own works to save themselves. No one who is justified can boast, because only one man's sacrifice for sins was considered effective in God's judgment. Only through faith in Jesus Christ can we be seen by God as righteous. Don't depend on your works. Depend on Jesus!
After God raised Jesus from the dead, the risen Lord Jesus sent His Apostles out to preach the Gospel to all men. The Apostle Peter preached a powerful sermon to those who had demanded that Jesus be crucified. In part, he said:
“Men of Israel, listen to these words:
Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know—
this [Jesus], delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put to death.
But God raised Him up again, putting an end to the agony of death, since it was impossible for Him to be held in its power.
(Acts 2:22-24 NASB)So, to return to Rev. Sharpton's quote:
"Our hearts go out to them [the family of Mr. MacPhail]. We have nothing but sympathy and prayers for them, but they are not getting justice if the wrong person is paying for what happened to their son, their brother."In the case of Christ Jesus' death for us, He was not the "wrong person." It was always God's will that His own Son pay our debts. Jesus was delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God. So Jesus did not randomly, arbitrarily, or unwillingly die. He died with the full assurance and understanding that what He was doing was His Father's will. It was God who decided that Jesus should die, when, and how. And at the predetermined time, God raised His Son from the dead.
Before His death, Jesus Himself said this:
No one has ascended into heaven,When Jesus speaks of the Son of Man, He is referring to Himself, and when He speaks of being lifted up, He is referring to being crucified. So Jesus' death, and even the specific form of death, were intended by God, and Jesus understood and agreed with His Father's intention.
but He who descended from heaven: the Son of Man.
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up;
so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son,
that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
(John 3:13-16 NASB)
The Apostle John, who recorded those statements by Jesus, also wrote this:
In this is love,Here again, just as in the earlier quote from Romans chapter 3, is the term "propitiation". Jesus is the propitiation for our sins. Part of what that means is that He paid the cost for them and took the wrath of God that we deserved for them. Although we were guilty and deserved to die, He died instead of us. Justice and mercy met at the cross. The One who died was not the guilty one. And the ones who live were guilty indeed. But instead of paying our own debts, Jesus paid them in full for us.
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 also ought to love one another.
(1 John 4:10-11 ESV)
How can we respond to these things? We've already seen at least one example from the Scripture above, which I'll quote again:
In this is love,But these illustrations and examples taken from Jesus' earthly life may help us to get a fuller understanding. Here is the first example of two:
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 also ought to love one another.
(1 John 4:10-11 ESV)
Luke 7:36-50 ESV
One of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him, and He went into the Pharisee's house and took His place at the table.
And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that He was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind Him at His feet, weeping, she began to wet His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed His feet and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he said to himself,
"If this man were a prophet, He would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."
And Jesus answering said to him,
"Simon, I have something to say to you."
And he answered, "Say it, Teacher."
"A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both.
Now which of them will love him more?"
Simon answered,
"The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt."
And he said to him, "You have judged rightly."
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, "Do you see this woman?
I entered your house; you gave me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss My feet. You did not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with ointment.
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven— for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little."
And He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."
Then those who were at table with Him began to say among themselves,
"Who is this, who even forgives sins?"
And He said to the woman,
"Your faith has saved you; go in peace."
And here is the second example:
Matthew 18:21-35 ESV
Then Peter came up and said to Him,Let's continually forgive our brothers and sisters from our hearts, even though we are all imperfect. Think of the debts we owed God. Think of God's precious gift of His own Son and the greatness of the salvation that we didn't earn and can't boast about. Think of the fact that Christ Jesus did no sin, but God made Him to be sin for us and punished Him instead of us for what we owed. Let us never stop thanking Him for His great love, and let us love Him by keeping His word and loving our neighbors as ourselves.
"Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him?
As many as seven times?"
Jesus said to him,
"I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents [one talent was worth more than fifteen years' wages for a laborer!].
And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.' And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii [a denarius was worth one day's wages for a laborer], and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying,
'Pay what you owe.'
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you.' He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
Then his master summoned him and said to him,
'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant,
as I had mercy on you?'
And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers,
until he should pay all his debt.
So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you,
if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."
Thanks for reading. May our Lord Jesus Christ bless you.
---
All boldface emphases are mine.
Scripture citations are from these translations:
English Standard Version (ESV) and New American Standard Bible (NASB).
Added words in the NASB have been italicized or omitted.
Some capitalization and punctuation have been altered from the translated texts.
