Luke 22:19 says, “Having taken a loaf, when He had given thanks, He broke it, and gave it to them, saying, This is My body which is given for you.” This loaf is a symbol signifying Christ’s physical body broken for us on the cross to release His life that we may participate in it. By participating in this life we become the mystical Body of Christ (Rom. 12:5; 1 Cor. 12:27). The words “for you” in Luke 22:19 indicate that the body here denotes Christ’s physical body. His physical body is for us, whereas the mystical Body of Christ is for Him. The physical body of Jesus which was crucified is for us, and the mystical Body of Christ is for Him.
The physical body of Jesus was given on the cross to accomplish redemption for us. But that body has nothing to do with God’s present administration. However, the mystical Body of Christ is absolutely related to God’s administration. Apart from the mystical Body of Christ, God has no means to carry out His administration. Redemption has been fully accomplished by the offering of the physical body of Jesus on the cross. But Christ today has a mystical Body, and this Body is for the carrying out of God’s administration. In order that we may become members of this mystical Body Christ gave His physical body for us on the cross.
Having seen that Christ gave Himself for the believers and for the church and that He gave His physical body for the believers so that they may become members of His mystical Body, we need to consider how Christ gave Himself for us. This giving, of course, was accomplished on the cross. The four Gospels indicate clearly that the Lord Jesus was on the cross for six hours, from nine o’clock in the morning until three o’clock in the afternoon. The Lord’s giving of Himself, therefore, took six hours. Before His crucifixion, the Lord Jesus made the long journey from Galilee to Jerusalem for the purpose of presenting Himself to God. The presenting was to God, and the giving was for us.
Christ’s giving Himself for us on the cross was a very difficult task. It required the Lord Jesus to pass through man’s cruel treatment. During the first three hours the Lord was on the cross, He was persecuted by both the Jews and the Romans. All that they did to Him was part of the process through which the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us. Without the Jewish and Roman persecutors, He could not have given Himself for us. He could not have given His physical body for us so that we may become the members of His mystical Body. We need to be impressed that Christ’s giving Himself for us involves hard work carried out through a long process of suffering. If the Jews and the Romans had not persecuted Him, He could not have been crucified. After the Jews and Romans persecuted Him, the Jews mocked Him, and the soldiers robbed Him of His garments. Whatever the Jews and Romans did to Him was part of the procedure of His giving of Himself for us.
After the Lord Jesus was persecuted by men, He was judged by God. Matthew 27:45 says, “From the sixth hour darkness came over all the land until the ninth hour.” The sixth hour is our twelve noon, and the ninth hour is our three o’clock in the afternoon. We have seen that during the first three hours of His crucifixion, Christ 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 suffering Substitute for sin (Isa. 53:10). Hence, darkness came over all the land because our sin and sins and all negative things were being dealt with. God put all our sins, iniquities, and transgressions upon the Lord Jesus. If God had not put our sins upon Him, the Lord Jesus could not have given Himself for us to bear our sins. Therefore, man did his part by putting the Lord Jesus on the cross and persecuting Him. Then God came in to do His part by putting all our sins, iniquities, and transgressions upon the Lord Jesus and judging Him as our Substitute for our redemption. This also was part of the process the Lord passed through to give Himself for us.
Christ’s giving Himself for us was not a simple matter that happened quickly. On the contrary, it was a complicated matter that took six hours and required the Lord to pass through a long process. In order for Christ to complete His giving of Himself for us, it was necessary for man to do his part and for God to do His part. On the cross the Lord passed through the process to give Himself for us individually as believers and corporately as the church and in particular to give His physical body for us so that we may become members of His mystical Body.
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