In His death the Lord Jesus worked to give His life a ransom for many. “The Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:28). In His humanity the Lord served sinners even with His life, that is, with His soulish life. In John 10:11 the Lord says in a clear but general way that He would lay down His life. But in Matthew 20:28 He says definitely that He gives His life a ransom for many. The Lord’s soulish life was the ransom, the price, He paid for many.
The Lord Jesus gave His soul a ransom for many when He died on the cross. During the last three hours the Lord Jesus was on the cross, God put our sins upon Him, regarding Him as the unique sinner, even as sin itself. As a result, God forsook Christ economically, leaving Him alone under His judgment. Therefore, Christ’s giving His human life as a ransom for us took place under the process of God’s judgment. While He was being judged by God for us, He gave His soul life as a ransom, as a payment, for us. This payment required a procedure that lasted at least three hours.
It is a great matter that on the cross the Lord Jesus paid the price for us, giving His soul life as a ransom. Because God is a God of law, He must do everything legally. Even in forgiving us, in writing off our debt, He must act legally. Furthermore, God’s enemy Satan is always watchful to see if God will act righteously. If God were to do anything in an unrighteous way, Satan would immediately protest. Therefore, with respect to Christ’s giving Himself as a ransom for many in payment of our debt, God could not do anything lawlessly. On the contrary, He had to do everything according to His nature and His way. Christ paid the price for us by doing a great work according to God’s nature, justice, and requirements and under the watching of the enemy, Satan. On the one hand, God forsook Christ economically. On the other hand, God was waiting and watching to see how Christ as our Substitute would pay the debt for us. This was the reason that the time of God’s judgment of Christ as our Substitute lasted three hours. For Christ to pay off our debt it was necessary for Him to pass through a process that went on for three hours. From this we see that Christ did a great work in giving Himself as a ransom to pay off our debt before God.
In His death Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice for our sins. Hebrews 10:12 says, “This One, having offered one sacrifice for sins, sat down forever on the right hand of God.” The priests in the old covenant stood daily (v. 11) and offered the same sacrifices again and again, because what they offered could not take away sins. Their standing was a sign that the taking away of sins had not been accomplished. It was Christ’s offering of Himself that has accomplished the taking away of sins. Whereas the old covenant priests stood daily offering the same sacrifices again and again, Christ has put away sin by offering Himself to God as the unique sacrifice for sin. His sitting in heaven is a sign and proof that the taking away of sins has been accomplished (Heb. 1:3). He no longer needs to do anything for sin, for He has done it once for all.
Hebrews 9:26 says, “Now once at the consummation of the ages He has been manifested for the putting away of sin by His sacrifice.” Here the consummation of the ages means the end of the Old Testament age, whereas the consummation of the age in Matthew 28:20 indicates the close of the church age. Christ was foreordained for us before the foundation of the world (1 Pet. 1:20), and He was slain from the foundation of the world (Rev. 13:8). Actually, His being slain took place once for all at the consummation of the ages, when He offered Himself to God for the putting away of sin.
More than nineteen centuries ago, Christ put away sin. Before He accomplished this, the priests offered the sin offering day after day. But that was not the actual putting away of sin; it was only a type, a picture. The real putting away of sin was accomplished once for all by Christ on the cross when He offered Himself as a sacrifice for sins.
Hebrews 9:14 tells us that Christ offered Himself to God through the eternal Spirit. On the cross Christ offered Himself to God in a human body (Heb. 10:5, 10), which body is a matter of time. But He did this through the eternal Spirit, who is of eternity, without any limit of time. His offering of Himself was once for all (Heb. 7:27), and the redemption accomplished through His death is eternal (Heb. 9:12), having an eternal effect.
Christ’s offering Himself as a sacrifice for sin involves His being the sin offering. During the last three hours He was on the cross, He was in the sight of God the unique sinner offering Himself as a sin offering. This work was accomplished once for all, and it is eternally effective.
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