In this message we shall see more aspects of Christ’s person in His crucifixion and burial as revealed in the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies.
Christ is the One on whom Jehovah laid our iniquity and the One who bore our iniquities. This is prophesied in Isaiah 53:6b, 11c, and 12d. On the cross Christ bore our sins. When Christ was on the cross, God took all our sins and put them upon Him as the Lamb of God. Three verses are very clear concerning this: 1 Peter 2:24, 1 Corinthians 15:3, and Hebrews 9:28.
After God laid our sins upon the crucified Christ, God considered Him the unique sinner, even as sin itself. According to 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Christ, who knew no sin, to be sin for us. In fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies, Christ died as our Substitute bearing our iniquities. As the One made sin on our behalf, Christ was judged by God once for all.
Psalm 22:1 prophesies concerning Christ as the One forsaken by God: “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” The fulfillment of this prophecy is in Matthew 27:46: “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The Lord was crucified at the third hour, and suffered on the cross for six hours. In the first three hours He was persecuted by men for doing God’s will; in the last three hours He was judged by God for the accomplishment of our redemption. It was during this time that God counted Him as our Substitute for sin. Because our sin and sins and all negative things were dealt with, darkness came upon all the land (Matt. 27:45), and God forsook Him because of our sin. God forsook Christ on the cross because He took the place of sinners (1 Pet. 3:18), bearing our sins and being made sin for us. In the sight of God, Christ became a great sinner. Because Christ was our Substitute and was even made sin for us, God judged Him and forsook Him.
According to Matthew 1 and Luke 1, the Lord Jesus was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Later, for His ministry, He was anointed with the Holy Spirit, who descended upon Him (Luke 3:22). Before the anointing Spirit descended upon the Lord Jesus economically, He already had, essentially, the begetting Spirit as the divine essence within Him as one of the two essences of His being. The begetting Spirit as the divine essence never left Christ essentially. Even when He was crying out, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” He still had the begetting Spirit as the divine essence. Then who left Him? It was the anointing Spirit through whom He presented Himself to God (Heb. 9:14) who left Him economically. After God accepted Christ as the all-inclusive offering, the anointing Spirit left Him. But although the anointing Spirit left Him economically, He still had the begetting Spirit essentially. When the Lord Jesus, the God-man, died on the cross under God’s judgment, He had God within Him essentially as His divine being. Nevertheless, He was forsaken by the righteous and the judging God economically.
In Deuteronomy 21:23 there is the prophecy that Christ would be the cursed One hanging on a tree. In fulfillment of this word, Galatians 3:13 says, “Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, Cursed is every one hanging on a tree.” Here the word “tree” denotes the cross made of wood. Elsewhere in the New Testament the cross is called a tree (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 13:29). In particular, 1 Peter 2:24 says that Christ “carried up our sins in His body onto the tree.” As our Substitute on the tree, the cross, Christ not only bore the curse for us, but He also became a curse for us. The curse of the law issued from the sin of man (Gen. 3:17). When Christ took away our sin on the cross, He redeemed us out of the curse.
Adam brought us all under the curse. But the curse was not altogether official until the law was given. Now the law declares that all the descendants of Adam are under the curse. Therefore, the curse brought in by Adam has been made official by the law. Through His crucifixion Christ redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf.