"TO PLEASE HIS HEAVENLY FATHER" by John Piper

Jesus did not wrestle his angry Father to the floor of heaven and take the whip out of his hand.  He did not force him to be merciful to humanity.  His death was not the begrudging consent of God to be lenient to sinners.  No, what Jesus did when he suffered and died was the Father’s idea.  It was a breathtaking strategy, conceived even before creation, as God saw and planned the history of the world.  That is why the Bible speaks of God’s “purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began” (2 Timothy 1:9). 

Already in the Jewish Scriptures the plan was unfolding.  The prophet Isaiah foretold the sufferings of the Messiah, who was to take the place of sinners.  He said that the Christ would be “smitten by God” in our place.

 

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.  But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities…All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned everyone to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.  (Isaiah 53:4-6)

But what is most astonishing about this substitution of Christ for sinners is that it was God’s idea.  Christ did not intrude on God’s plan to punish sinners.  God planned for him to be there.  One Old Testament prophet says, “It was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief” (Isaiah 53:10). 

This explains the paradox of the New Testament.  On the one hand, the suffering of Christ is an outpouring of God’s wrath because of sin.  But on the other hand, Christ’s suffering is a beautiful act of submission and obedience to the will of the Father.  So Christ cried from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46).  And yet the Bible says that the suffering of Christ was a fragrance to God.  “Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2).  

Piper, John.  The Passion of Jesus Christ.  Wheaton:  Crossway Books.  2004.  22-23.

"Quote" of the Week

Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.  Ephesians 5:2

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”  Matthew 27:46

God the Father was the one who ultimately sent Christ to the cross and was the cause for all of the anguish he felt at Gethsemane and all of His suffering at Calvary.  And we do not just learn this in the Gospels, do we?  This was God’s plan from the beginning. 

In Isaiah 53:10, we learn that it pleased God—it was His will to crush His Son.  Why?  So that we could be accepted.  A glorious truth we learn here from Isaiah (Isa. 53) and Matthew (Mt. 27:46) and John (Jn. 18:11) and elsewhere is that God rejected His son for a time so that he would not have to reject us for all eternity.  Though all we like sheep have gone astray, though every one of us without exception have rejected God, He has responded by rejecting His son for a time so that he in turn could accept us forever.  THAT’S THE GOSPEL!

"Quote" of the Week

“There is no greater sin than to hate and kill the Son of God.  There was no greater suffering nor any greater innocence than the suffering and innocence of Christ.  Yet God was in it all.  'It was the will of the Lord to crush him' (Isaiah 53:10).  His aim, through evil and suffering, was to destroy evil and suffering.  'With his stripes we are healed' (Isaiah 53:5).  Is not then the passion of Jesus Christ meant by God to show the world that there is no sin and no evil too great that God, in Christ, cannot bring from it everlasting righteousness and joy?"  -John Piper

Father, I desire that they also whom You gave Me may be with Me where I am.  John 17:14

Jesus desired not only that we would be in Him, but that we would be with Him. There is no place in the universe I would rather be than in the presence of Christ. There is no more marvelous presence than His. Incredibly, He also wants me to be with Him. Remember, He prayed here not just for the disciples but for you and for me. He was asking the Father that we might be with Him. The greatest benefit of Christianity is not the forgiveness of sins; that’s simply a means to an end. The greatest benefit that we have is access to the presence of God and His Son. That’s where Jesus wants us to be.

Sproul, R. C. John. St. Andrew's Expositional Commentary. Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009.

"Quote" of the Week

"People will save money to go to a rock concert or a professional sports contest so that they can see some celebrities for an hour or two. But we are going to see the King of kings one day in all of His glory. That joyous moment is as good as guaranteed."  -R.C. Sproul

He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.  John 16:14-15

There is a lot of confusion in the church today when it comes to the work of the Holy Spirit, but Scripture clearly teaches that His primary role is not so much to bring something new as it is His role to magnify and glorify the Lord Jesus.  Jesus told His disciples that when the Holy Spirit comes, he will direct people to Him and present to them His completed works.  

Jesus says, “He’s going to take what is mine and declare it to you.”  He says, “He is going to take who I am and the works I’m going to accomplish for you and is going to make these truths clear to you.”  That is primarily what the Spirit does.  

Yet, the work He does is also very important because, without it, we would be without salvation.  Scripture is clear, that it is the Spirit who opens our blind eyes and softens our calloused hearts and transforms our broken lives.  This work is what enables us to see the beauty of Christ and respond to Him in faith.