Last time we briefly discussed the wrath of God. Everything we have said about that wrath is an understatement. We cannot express in language the wrath of God. We cannot imagine in our minds the wrath of God. Our minds are too finite to embrace the infinite wrath and judgment of God. But we have done and said what we could. Maybe we have an idea of that wrath.
Imagine 3 hours of the judgment of God being poured out. Imagine 3 hours of heavy darkness; 3 hours of the wrath of God. Imagine the thoughts of those in Jerusalem. The disciples' minds went back to their desertion of Christ in his time of need. Surely the wrath of God was coming for them! Pilate's mind went back to the warning he received from his wife that he should have no part in crucifying this man. Surely the wrath of God was coming for him! Peter's mind went back to the night before when he denied he even knew Christ, who he had just professed as the Christ! He denied him not once, not twice, but three times! Surely the wrath of God was coming for him! Judas' mind goes back to every penny he stole from Jesus' treasury! He remembered every time he criticized Jesus. He remembered foremost, his betrayal. Surely the wrath of God was coming for him! The soldiers minds went immediately to their mocking of this "King of the Jews." They thought about the beating they had given him, how they spit in his face, stripped him of his clothing, gambled for his robe, and crucified him; an innocent man. Surely the wrath of God was coming for him! If I were standing in Jerusalem that day I would be certain that the wrath of God, the judgment of God, was coming for me as well. I deserve his wrath, his judgment, and his indignation.
But here is the twist. Everyone is scattering, trembling, and waiting for the judgment of God that they do not experience. No, it has not come for them. It has come for Jesus. This is the fury of God being poured out against His Son. God unleashed the full extent of His fury on Jesus Christ. The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isa 53:10 "Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him." The Roman soldiers did not crush him. The nails did not crush him. The whip did not crush him. It was God the Father who crushed him. It was God the Father who poured out his wrath and judgment upon the perfectly holy, sinless, righteous Son of Man. He gives His Son the hell that should have been given to us. Isa 53:6 reminds us that "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."
Because of that, There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans 8:1. Condemnation has already been delivered! And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment, so Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him. Heb 9:27-28 The sins of the saved were carried by the Savior. When he returns, he will not deal with their sin! He will save those of us who are eagerly waiting for him.
Calvary is not just negative though…there is a positive as well. And the veil of the temple was torn in two. The veil that separated the holy place from the outside world was torn in two. The place where the manifest presence of God resided, where only the high priest could go on behalf of the people, had been opened up for us all. When God showed up in judgment, He also showed up in salvation, didn’t He? All the fury goes on Christ, the way is open for us to approach, pursue, and know God. Heb 4:16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
And the reason that we can do that today, is because He lives! He conquered death, hell, and the grave. He arose! He arose! Halelujah, Christ arose!
2 comments:
extremely good post. I came across this when I was googling "wrath of God poured out on his son," just to see what I would come up with. I deeply appreciate what you wrote. This is the truth! All of that wrath was satisfied in one single act on the cross!! I am writing a book on this very topic and I was looking around to see what other people might say about it....so many sad commentaries, but what you wrote births life and is true. Thank you! Very well done!
Actually, it's a common theological mistake to say that the wrath of God was poured out on Jesus and satisfied. The wrath of God is being stored up and will be poured out at the end of time, at the judgment. Jesus' blood covers us, and the wrath of God will pass us over, and his blood cleanses us of sin.
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