By Kathy L McFarland
Jesus Christ loves the LORD God with all his heart, soul and might. When faced with the ultimate loss of his physical, spiritual, and eternal life away from the LORD God, he chose to do his Father’s Will. At the moment of Christ’s death, he did not know how events were going to play out ultimately. He only knew that his LORD God, his Father, had turned away from him, and He was going to die and go to hell through no fault of his own. Yet, Christ’s love was so deep for the LORD God, that even in the face of ultimate rejection from His Father, Christ could not sin. His love for his Father demanded that he maintain his righteousness despite losing everything. Jesus chose to honor his Father’s will, and he went to his grave with the wicked and was condemned to Hell.
1 John 3:5
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.
- Jesus Christ was made known to the world to take away our sins.
- Jesus Christ was free of sin.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. 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.
- 2 Corinthians 5:20-21
- Jesus Christ did not know sin. He had no knowledge, perception or understanding of sinful things.
- The LORD God made Jesus Christ to be sin for us, so we might have the same righteousness of the LORD God that Jesus has in him.
John 15:22-24
If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have
no cloke for their sin. He that hateth me hateth my Father also. If I had not done
among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now
have they both seen and hated both me and my Father. - Jesus Christ makes a person conscious of sin. Once a person is made aware of sin, he can no longer pretend to be innocent.
Teachings by Kathy L McFarland
Jesus describes a sin hidden by ignorance as a sin covered by a cloke (pretext). Pretext means an excuse to conceal something. Notice how ignorance of sin does not mean a sin is not present. A person that appears ignorant of sin, is deeply aware of his sin, but allows it to be covered by pretext of innocence in his consciousness. Once Jesus Christ speaks to a person, their awareness of sin
is brought to the forefront of a person’s awareness. - If a person hates Jesus, they hate the LORD God also.
- People hate Jesus and the LORD God because of his works to reveal their sin.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4
Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you,
which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; By which also ye are saved,
if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died
for our sins according to the scriptures; And that he was buried, and that he rose
again the third day according to the scriptures: - If a person is to be delivered from sin and made whole, he must hold fast and truly believe three things:
1) Jesus Christ died for my sins.
2) Jesus Christ was buried.
3) Jesus Christ rose again the third day.
Isaiah 53:1-12
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? For
he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:
he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty
that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows,
and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was
despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 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. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured
out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. - Jesus was wounded by God for His chosen people’s rebellious sin and bruised by God for their moral evil. Jesus lifted their sickness and carried their pain even as he was stricken and afflicted by God.
- The LORD God gave Jesus Christ the responsibility for His called people’s welfare and safety. People called by God are cured of sins and made whole by Jesus Christ being wounded by the LORD God.
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. - The LORD God laid His chosen people’s moral evil onto Jesus Christ because they had gone astray by scattering to their own desires, rather than what the LORD God had willed.
Isaiah 53:7
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is
brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb,
so he openeth not his mouth. - Jesus Christ was tyrannized, harassed, defiled, and hurt before He was led away as a lamb to be butchered. The enemies of Jesus were unable to hear and perceive his Word, so Jesus said nothing during this torturous affliction.
Matthew 27:26-32
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he
delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped
him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns,
they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee
before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon
him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. And after that they had mocked
him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him
away to crucify him. And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by
name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Teachings by Kathy L McFarland
We must face the awful fact that Jesus Christ suffered tremendously before he was put to death on the cross. Visualize how it must have been, the sights and sounds and smells, as the agitated crowd pressed around Jesus and Pilate, calling wildly for the release of Barabbas and the crucifixion of Christ. Hear the crowd shouting “Crucify Him” over and over and over. Watch as Jesus is stung repeatedly with a whip, as it cuts through his skin leaving blood dripping and oozing from the stripes. His bloodied and bruised living body is thrown to the soldiers for crucifixion, but his enemies require
even more defilement. They drag him in front of even more soldiers, and they strip Jesus of his clothes. Then as soldiers are gathered around laughing at Jesus standing before them naked and bloody, they make sport of him, and put a crown of thorns, a robe and a reed on him so he can be mocked. In a final act of absolute violation toward Jesus, over 600 men press toward Jesus and person after person ferociously expels saliva over Jesus, and he is covered in the globular and grotesque liquid excrements of his enemies. Then they take the reed and strike him repeatedly over the head in a violent and bloody beating. And during all this humiliating, defiling, painful violence,
our Lord Jesus Christ did not utter one Word, for his enemies were unable to hear.
Interesting Note: A eunuch from Ethiopia was moved to baptism after hearing of Jesus Christ’s silence and the violent, humiliating beatings. This baptism by Philip, recorded in Acts 8:26-39, will be covered further in the Water Baptism section.
Isaiah 53:8
He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his
generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of
my people was he stricken.
- Jesus was beaten because of the transgressions of the LORD God ‘s called people.
- The LORD God removed Jesus from the restraint and judgment of his enemies.
Teachings by Kathy L McFarland
They were allowed to wound and eventually sacrifice Jesus’ life, however, they were not allowed to base this crucifixion on a violation of man’s laws. Jesus Christ was delivered into his enemies hands because it was the LORD God’s Will that Jesus be sacrificed for the sins of the chosen people. Just as the Passover lamb was without blemish, Jesus was without sin. The enemies of God could not
restrain him, nor judge him, because he was not guilty of anything.
Isaiah 53:9
And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he
had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. - Jesus went to his grave and joined the immoral, ungodly, condemned, bad men in their graves. He died as a lustful rich man is destined to die, through death and damnation. (1 Timothy 6:9)
- Jesus Christ was condemned to die, and received damnation, because he refused to lie or resort to violence. He maintained his righteousness in the face of death and loss of his physical, spiritual, and eternal life.
Teachings of Kathy L McFarland
It is easy to believe as righteous Christians that when we die, we are going to eternal life. The LORD GOD has placed that promise on our hearts and minds, and we know that our eternal life is guaranteed. It is easy to face our physical deaths because we have this promise of eternal spiritual life.
Now imagine for a moment that the LORD God would remove this promise from you. That suddenly He forsook and turned his back on you, and you had done nothing wrong. Your time is running out and you’re facing your death. You know that if you die, you will not be going to Heaven for eternal life, but rather suffering eternal damnation in hell. You become confused and disorientated, and as
Christ did on the cross, scream out to the LORD God … Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46 AV). At that moment of realization that you are going to die and go to hell and eternal damnation; to be punished so severely when you have done nothing wrong; to face eternal separation from the holy LORD God; you’re faced with a choice.
You have the power to remove yourself from that sentence of death. You have the ability to fight your enemies, to defeat them all, and save yourself. Even easier, you can lie. A simple lie refuting the charges against you would be all that it would take to remove the death sentence from you and maybe buy enough time to return to the LORD God ‘s good grace. BUT……. You know that the
LORD God wills you to maintain your righteousness and do His Will, even if that means the loss of your physical, spiritual, and eternal life. What do you do?
DO YOU LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, WITH ALL YOUR MIGHT? ARE YOU WILLING TO FACE DEATH WITHOUT THE PROMISE OF SALVATION? ARE YOU WILLING TO GO TO HELL AND BE ETERNALLY DAMNED AS AN INNOCENT PERSON, SIMPLY BECAUSE IT IS YOUR LORD GOD’S WILL?
Jesus Christ loves the LORD God with all his heart, soul and might. When faced with the ultimate loss of his physical, spiritual, and eternal life away from the LORD God, he chose to do his Father’s Will. At the moment of Christ’s death, he did not know how events were going to play out ultimately. He only knew that his LORD God, his Father, had turned away from him, and He was going to die
and go to hell through no fault of his own. Yet, Christ’s love was so deep for the LORD God, that even in the face of ultimate rejection from His Father, Christ could not sin. His love for his Father demanded that he maintain his righteousness despite losing everything. Jesus chose to honor his Father’s will, and he went to his grave with the wicked and was damned to hell.
Isaiah 53:10-12
Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. - Jesus Christ poured out his soul unto death.
- Jesus Christ was numbered with the transgressors.
- Jesus Christ bare the sins of many
- Jesus Christ made intercession for the transgressors.
- The LORD God Willed that pain and death come to Jesus to fulfill His plan for salvation for His
chosen people.
Teachings of Kathy L McFarland
This plan pleased the LORD God because He included great rewards to Jesus Christ when he fulfilled the LORD God’s Will. As a result of his soul being poured out unto death, being numbered with the sinners, bearing the sins of many, and making intercession for the transgressors, Jesus Christ would be rewarded in seven ways:
1) He shall see his seed – He will be given the reward of seeing the beginnings and the growth of the lives dedicated to the LORD God because of Jesus.
2) He shall prolong his days- He will live long
3) The pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand – Jesus will do the desires of the LORD God and fulfill them. Jesus Christ’s effort will be allowed to prosper, as the pleasures of the LORD God are accomplished through his hands.
4) He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied – The LORD God will reveal to Jesus the reasons for his wearisome, sorrowful troubles that his soul experienced on earth and he will be satisfied.
5) He will justify many through his knowledge – Jesus will be able to make things right between the LORD God and His chosen people. Jesus will bear the iniquities of many, and will morally cleanse and make a person righteous.
6) He will receive a portion reserved for the “great” – Jesus will be given a portion of reward that is reserved for the “great” of the LORD GOD’s people.
7) He will divide the spoil with the strong – Jesus will also be given a division of the booty gained through his efforts and struggles.
Remember, the LORD God’s plan for salvation for His chosen people developed over time. Before Jesus Christ was born, the LORD God revealed to Isaiah His Will, and it was included as prophesy from Isaiah. When Jesus Christ fulfilled the LORD God’s Will and poured out his soul unto death, numbered with the transgressors, bore the sin of many, and made intercession for transgressors, the LORD God was pleased and gave Jesus seven rewards as prophesized.
The LORD God was rewarded by having a way for His chosen people to be sin free and have a relationship with Him, as well as having a faithful and knowledgeable son that became an intermediary and could make things right between God and man.