The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Messiah

The Sacrifice of Jesus Christ the Messiah

When we think of the sacrifice Jesus gave for mankind we are usually thinking of him giving his life on the cross. It is only natural that we think of this, for it is because of that great sacrifice that we are able to become children of God, with an inheritance from God.

In reality, his sacrifices for us began long before he went to the cross. His sacrifices were many and beyond our full comprehension.

In order to get a better understanding of what he did for us, there are some things that need to be kept in mind at all times.

Keep in mind that before coming to earth, He was immortal. He had always been in existence. Christ was with God and was the God (John 1:1-2) who created the earth and all that was on it. He was the creator of the humans he came to save. He was completely pure and sinless. He had all power. He had glory and dominion over everything that existed.

To even come to earth for the salvation of mankind, Jesus had to give up his throne. He had to give up His immortality. He had to leave His position of dominion as God, and enter a human womb!

We cannot begin to fathom this since we have never been immortal. We cannot imagine what it is like to exist throughout time, to have all power, honor, dominion and glory. Nor can we comprehend what it would be like to leave that behind for even one day. This would be a tremendous sacrifice indeed, but to give it up for thirty years? To exchange freedom from all discomfort and all limitation to become dust? It is unimaginable!

To leave the freedom of the vast universes and beyond and to confine oneself inside a human womb and be joined with a human ovum was a sacrifice we will never understand!.While inside Mary's womb, Jesus existed outside of his 'God' form, for He had taken upon himself the form of a human - the form of a servant and was made in the likeness of men!

You show me one man who would trade immortality for mortality, to become a dying human being, after being a god! And who would be willing to do so by way of becoming a seed inside a human womb and becoming completely subject to and dependent on, a human mother who you yourself had created?

This was the Word, of whom it was said -

John 1:1 - In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the WORD WAS GOD.

2. The same was in the beginning with God.

3. All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.

Heb.1:10 And, Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; and the heavens are the works of thy hands.

He and God the Father had always been one. - John 10:30 I and my Father are one.

And yet -

Philippians 2:6- Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God

7 But MADE HIMSELF (notice he did this to himself) of no reputation, and TOOK UPON HIM the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men.

In Genesis we read how that man was created in the image of God, but now we see God taking on the form and image of man!

The Most High God who had not dwelt in temples made by man, but had Heaven as his throne and earth as his footstool (Acts 7:49 Heaven is my throne, and earth is my footstool: ....) laid aside his immortality, took the form of a human - dust - entered a human womb and became submissive, not only to the Father God, but to a human mother. He lived nine months in her womb and endured childbirth. He allowed himself to become totally human, while being God, even to the point of being completely dependent on a human mother for his sustenance.

It is beyond my understanding how that he could become so human, that as a child he was at the mercy of God the Father and his parents to even learn right from wrong.

Surely as time went on he grew in knowledge and remembrance of who he was and from whence he came, yet as a child, these amazing things are said of him.

Isaiah 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.

15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good.

16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings.

Luke 2:40 And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

Almighty God lowered himself to the point of being in subjection to Mary and Joseph, allowing them to be his authority, to teach and train him and even correct him. He was so submissive to Father God that he would only do what the Father shewed him, even though he had the power in himself even to raise the dead!

John 5:19 Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.

20 For the Father loveth the Son, and sheweth him all things that himself doeth: and he will shew him greater works than these, that ye may marvel.

21 For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.

Was this not a tremendous sacrifice?

Indeed it was!

For thirty years he lived in this lowered state of humanity. He walked in the dirt! He lived, ate, and slept with men who were not noblemen, not kings and princes, but laborers - fishermen, a doctor etc..

Once Heaven was his throne, now he on earth!

Matthew 8:20 And Jesus saith unto him, The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head.

He allowed himself to be tempted as was every man he came to die for.

Hebrews 4:15 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.

Hebrews 2:18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted.

Can you imagine this? The eternal God who could wipe man off of the face of the earth with one word, allows himself to feel the infirmities of his creation and to be tempted by one who he had created himself, but who had rebelled against him!

Ahh - but he could have cast him into outer darkness, could have crushed him under his feet - but he made a sacrifice, and allowed himself to suffer such an indignity - for OUR sakes!

Every day Jesus walked on the earth until his crucifixion was a day of sacrificing for us!

The King of Kings and Lord of Lords was ridiculed, slandered, scoffed at and lied about. There was an assignment out against him by the ruler of evil, to take his life.

He endured the discomforts of the human body. Knew separation from loved ones. He dealt with the weather and travel without the vehicles we have today. He knew what it was to become hungry and tired. And he knew what it was like to be rejected, by those he loved; the very ones he was going to die for.

My friend all of this and more were sacrifices made by - GOD - who never had to be limited by human limitation; who could call ten thousand angels to do his bidding; could take back his throne and glory - yes - who never had to give anything up, but sacrificed it all for you and for me!

Dear reader keep this ever in your mind - that - every suffering Jesus endured was a sacrifice for you, and I that he did not have to go through! He chose it out of his great love for us!

Christ suffered greatly when in the garden of Gethsemane. His sorrow was exceeding, even unto death. The idea has been spread that when Jesus prayed to the Father to let 'this' cup pass from him - if it were possible, that he was referring to the crucifixion he was about to endure. But could he not have been referring to what he was going through right there in the garden, where his sorrow was so great he may have come close to death? Had he died there he would not have made it to the cross, which was his purpose in coming to earth, as a man, in the first place.

At that moment he needed strength beyond his own human strength, to make it through all he was dealing with. He needed supernatural help, for his human body was evidently not strong enough to endure it. Notice that after he prayed concerning 'this cup' an angel appeared and strengthened him. After receiving strength from the angel he was able to go through the agony that was so severe he sweat as it were great drops of blood that fell to the ground. Yes, this was not just dampness on his skin, but sweat so great that it literally fell from him to the earth!!

Matthew 26:37 And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.

39 And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luke 22:39-44 And he came out, and went, as he was wont, to the mount of Olives; and his disciples also followed him.

40 And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that ye enter not into temptation.

41 And he was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed,

42 Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done.

43 And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him.

44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

This agony that he was suffering is the word agonia in the Greek. It means - a struggle (prop. the state), that is, (fig.) anguish;- agony.

We are not told what was going on in our Lord's mind and heart in those moments. Was it a spiritual battle in which Satan tried to take his life before he could get to the cross? Was it grieving of what those he loved were going to do to him, both those who would put him on the cross and those he loved, but who would leave him? Was it anguish over the great physical torture he knew he was about to go through? Was it a struggle between the desire to carry out this purpose of death that the world might be saved, and the desire to live and not die that is so typical of a human being, such as he had been for thirty years. Was it a struggle for the God of the Universe to submit himself into the hands of human men, who he had created, to do as they willed to do with him, with the exception of taking his Life? The one thing they could not do was to take his life, for he would give that up on his own, of his own free will? Was it any or all of the above and more? We are not told the answers to these questions but we are told his agony was very great!

He bore the agony, with the strength God gave him and did not refuse the suffering to come.

Yes dear reader the sacrifices of our God, Jesus Christ were many!

Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

What I think was happening in the garden that was so hard for the Savior to bear was that the sin of the world was being transferred to his sinless body! If so that would explain the agony he felt! This must have been one of the most amazing, most horrible things Jesus ever suffered. He had never experienced sin. He was love and in him was the light of the world, but he was about to take on all that was evil and dark in mankind.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

1Peter 2:24 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 Bible tells us he literally was made sin!

There is not a human being on the face of the earth who can comprehend what it might feel like to have every vile, perverted, filthy sin, ever committed, stuffed in his body all at once. To feel the guilt and shame of horrendous evil, when you had been nothing but good, pure and sinless throughout all of time, is not something any one of us can fathom! Can you imagine our sinless Lord having the sin of rape - or child abuse - or torture, put on him, only to name a few? How could our pure Savior bear even one of these things, let alone, ALL the sins of the world?

I believe this transfer of sin probably took place in the garden because as soon as he left the garden, He was taken to where He would have that body tortured for the sins we had committed.

People think of Jesus as pure and holy. AND HE WAS!

They think of his precious blood being pure and holy. AND IT WAS! HOWEVER - When He took our sin in his body, when he became sin, that blood that flowed from his body on the cross, was blood contaminated with OUR sin! The body of sin was dying and our sins were being washed away in the flow of his blood on that day!

This is why the born again child of God can speak of being washed in the blood of the lamb. His sin was washed away, in the blood that flowed from Christ on Calvary!

Romans 7:24 O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death?

Colossians 1:14 In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:

Leviticus 17:11-12 For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.

12 Therefore I said unto the children of Israel, No soul of you shall eat blood, neither shall any stranger that sojourneth among you eat blood.

Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him.

He bore our sins in his own body. That body was beaten and tortured. He suffered for the sins that we did, that were put on him! That body of death (physical death and separation from God) was pierced with a sword so that the blood flowed out and the body of sin died, so that we might live!

Look at how the psalmist described it -

Psalms 22:11- 24 Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round.

13 They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.

14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels.

15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

16 For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.

17 I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me.

18 They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture.

19 But be not thou far from me, O LORD: O my strength, haste thee to help me.

20 Deliver my soul from the sword; my darling from the power of the dog.

21 Save me from the lion's mouth: for thou hast heard me from the horns of the unicorns

22 I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee.

23 Ye that fear the LORD, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel.

24 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.

So then, Jesus sacrificed a healthy body for a beaten and tortured one. He sacrificed a healthy body for one of excruciating pain. Jesus sacrificed a pure sinless body for one of sin. He sacrificed the peace of his innocent life for the shame of all manner of sin.

I believe that as he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, the cup that He was finding hard to bear, the burden that he needed strengthened to bear, was the sin of the world being put on Him, His being made sin. He prayed and received strength to bear it and make it to the cross, where it could be put to death. I do not believe He was asking God if He might allow Him to bypass the cross, or at least, not that alone.

But now I want to speak of the pain that was probably greater than all other, that our precious Savior suffered. One thing Jesus had always been able to count on was the presence of his heavenly Father, who he had been one with throughout all of eternity. The Father had been with him every moment of his earth life. He had guided him, showed him what to do, strengthened him and encouraged him. Even though he had become man, yet up until now it was said of him -

Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.

Colossians 1:19 For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell;

He and His Father were one and the Holy Spirit dwelled in him. He was human, but a sinless human, so there was nothing to prevent perfect fellowship between himself and the Father.

BUT NOW he had been MADE SIN!

The wages of sin were to be paid to him. What is the wage that a person receives for sinning? DEATH! This death was more than the dying of his physical body but included separation from God.

As long as Jesus carried within his body, the sins of the world, the fellowship with the Father that he had always known was cut off!

Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ezekiel 18:20 The soul that sinneth, it shall die....

1John 1:5 This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.

Isaiah spoke to Judah long ago and said -

Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.

Now, this was true of Jesus, The sins of the world had separated him from the Father!

Habakkuk 1:13 Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: …

I doubt that any of his sufferings, up until the sins of the world were put on him, were so excruciating as this! What horror to be left alone in this way, and in such a condition! And see how he expressed his anguish! -

Matthew 27:46 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?

Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God,why hast thou forsaken me?

Psalms 22:1 My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?

It is one thing to be physically apart from God, but to have the relationship ended is quite another! The death He suffered in having his Father separate himself from him was the worst kind of death, and it was a horribly painful death!

1Peter 2:24 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.

Galatians 3:13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

GOD- IMMORTAL, ETERNAL, SELF-EXISTENT, GOD; - The ANCIENT OF DAYS - took on himself our sins - became sin, became a curse, suffered torture and was separated from the Father -

FOR WHAT? - FOR YOU AND ME!

So that we would not have to! He paid our dept, ransomed us from the enemy by redeeming us and reconciling us to the Father so that we would not have to live separated from him - as He was, until He gave up the ghost - for our sake!

But let us not forget one more important thing that He did. He did not leave the cross and immediately go to Heaven. He spent three days in the heart of the earth.

Jesus went to Hell!

Not four days, for He could not remain in the tomb long enough for his body to begin to decompose. It had been said -

Acts 2:27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

Acts 13:35 Wherefore he saith also in another psalm, Thou shalt not suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

He spent three days in HELL!

Matt. 12:40 For as Jonas was three days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the So of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

Eph. 4:8 - 10 Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.

9 Now that he ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?

10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above all heavens, that he might fill all things.)

1 Peter 3:18 - 20 For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit:

19 By which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison;

20 Which sometime were disobedient, when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was a preparing, wherein few, that is, eight souls were saved by water.

It has been understood that Jesus went into Hell and allowed those, who had died before He came, to know that indeed He had come and became their Savior. Also that He then led those who believed and received Him, out of hell and up to the Father. He did not have to suffer hell fire, for once He died, destroying the body of sin and death, the price for sin was completely paid. But He did go and lead captivity captive.

Ephesians 4:8-10 Wherefore he saith, when he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
(Now he that ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the lower parts of the earth?
10 He that descended is the same also that ascended up far above the heavens, that he might fill all things).

Luke 4:18 The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised.

May we never again think of the sacrifice of Jesus as singular, but remember that He sacrificed in many ways over a span of about thirty years, plus the time in Mary's womb. He went from conception to Hell!

WHEN HE ROSE - HE ROSE IN VICTORY!

Rom. 14:9 For to this end Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord both of the dead and living.

1Cor. 15:4 And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Luke 24:6 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:

He defeated Satan - Sin and Death by His sacrifice for us!

Romans 8:2 For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.

Eph. 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain thee enmity thereby:

Gal. 6:14 But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.

1Peter 2:24 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 sacrifices of Jesus, for us, were many! His victory over sin, death, hell and the grave was mighty and everlasting!

TO GOD BE GLORY AND HONOR FOREVER and EVER!