Message Six

The All-inclusive Christ
in His Four Stages according to
God’s New Testament Economy
(2)
In the Stage of His Crucifixion

Scripture Reading: Isa. 53:4-10a, 12b

Isa. 53:4-10a Surely He has borne our sicknesses, / And carried our sorrows; / Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, / Smitten of God and afflicted. ⁵But He was wounded because of our transgressions; / He was crushed because of our iniquities; / The chastening for our peace was upon Him, / And by His stripes we have been healed. ⁶We all like sheep have gone astray; / Each of us has turned to his own way, / And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him. ⁷He was oppressed, and it was He who was afflicted, / Yet He did not open His mouth; / Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter / And like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, / So He did not open His mouth. ⁸By oppression and by judgment He was taken away; / And as for His generation, who among them had the thought / That He was cut off out of the land of the living / For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due? ⁹And they assigned His grave with the wicked, / But with a rich man in His death, / Although He had done no violence, / Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. ¹⁰But Jehovah was pleased to crush Him, to afflict Him with grief. / When He makes Himself an offering for sin, / He will see a seed, He will extend His days, / And the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand.

Isa. 53:12 Therefore I will divide to Him a portion with the Great, / And He will divide the spoil with the Strong; / Because He poured out His life unto death / And was numbered with the transgressors, / Yet He alone bore the sin of many / And interceded for the transgressors.

I. “Surely He has borne our sicknesses, / And carried our sorrows; / Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, / Smitten of God and afflicted. / But He was wounded because of our transgressions; / He was crushed because of our iniquities; / The chastening for our peace was upon Him, / And by His stripes we have been healedv—Isa. 53:4-5:

A. In the report of the prophets and the revelation of Jehovah (v. 1), Christ is revealed as the crucified Redeemer, who sacrificed Himself for our trespasses (our sin) to accomplish Jehovah’s eternal redemption (vv. 4-10a; Heb. 9:12) that the believers in Christ may be redeemed (forgiven of sins—Acts 10:43, justified—13:39, and reconciled to God—Rom. 5:10), resulting in the life union with Christ in His resurrection (Isa. 53:10b), the reality of which is the life-giving Spirit (John 11:25; 1 Cor. 15:45b; Rom. 8:11).

Isa. 53:1 Who has believed our report? / And to whom has the arm of Jehovah been revealed?

Isa. 53:4-10a (see reference above)

Heb. 9:12 And not through the blood of goats and calves but through His own blood, entered once for all into the Holy of Holies, obtaining an eternal redemption.

Acts 10:43 To this One all the prophets testify that through His name everyone who believes into Him will receive forgiveness of sins.

Acts 13:39 And from all the things from which you were not able to be justified by the law of Moses, in this One everyone who believes is justified.

Rom. 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,

Isa. 53:10 But Jehovah was pleased to crush Him, to afflict Him with grief. / When He makes Himself an offering for sin, / He will see a seed, He will extend His days, / And the pleasure of Jehovah will prosper in His hand.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live;

1 Cor. 15:45 So also it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living soul”; the last Adam became a life-giving Spirit.

Rom. 8:11 And if the Spirit of the One who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who indwells you.

B. Sicknesses and sorrows, like transgressions and iniquities (Isa. 53:5), come from sin; hence, they too need Christ’s redemption (Psa. 103:1-3):

Isa. 53:5 But He was wounded because of our transgressions; / He was crushed because of our iniquities; / The chastening for our peace was upon Him, / And by His stripes we have been healed.

Psa. 103:1-3 Bless Jehovah, O my soul; / And all that is within me, bless His holy name. ²Bless Jehovah, O my soul; / And do not forget all His benefits: ³He pardons all your iniquities; / He heals all your diseases;

1. All healings accomplished on fallen people are a result of the Lord’s redemption; on the cross He took away our infirmities, bore our diseases, and accomplished full healing for us—Matt. 8:17.

Matt. 8:17 So that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “He Himself took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

2. However, in this age the application of this divine healing power can be only a foretaste to us; in the coming age we will experience the full taste—Heb. 6:5.

Heb. 6:5 And have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,

C. Christ bore our sicknesses at the time when He was judged by God on the cross, in the hour when God put all our iniquities on Him—Isa. 53:6b; 1 Pet. 2:24.

Isa. 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray; / Each of us has turned to his own way, / And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him.

1 Pet. 2:24 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.

D. Christ’s suffering of death healed our death so that we might live in His resurrection—v. 24.

E. The experience of the children of Israel at Marah portrays that as we experience the cross of Christ and live a crucified life, Christ’s resurrection life becomes our healing power, and the Lord becomes our Healer—Exo. 15:22-26; 1 Pet. 2:24; Matt. 8:17; 9:12; Isa. 53:4-5; cf. 61:1:

Exo. 15:22-26 Then Moses moved Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³And when they came to Marah, they could not drink of the waters of Marah, for they were bitter; therefore its name was called Marah. ²⁴And the people murmured against Moses, saying, What shall we drink? ²⁵And he cried out to Jehovah, and Jehovah showed him a tree; and he cast it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. ²⁶And He said, If you will listen carefully to the voice of Jehovah your God and do what is right in His eyes and give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah who heals you.

1 Pet. 2:24 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.

Matt. 8:17 So that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, saying, “He Himself took away our infirmities and bore our diseases.”

Matt. 9:12 Now when He heard this, He said, Those who are strong have no need of a physician, but those who are ill.

Isa. 53:4 Surely He has borne our sicknesses, / And carried our sorrows; / Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, / Smitten of God and afflicted.

Isa. 53:5 But He was wounded because of our transgressions; / He was crushed because of our iniquities; / The chastening for our peace was upon Him, / And by His stripes we have been healed.

Isa. 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is upon Me, / Because Jehovah has anointed Me / To bring good news to the afflicted; / He has sent Me to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, / To proclaim liberty to the captives, / And the opening of the eyes to those who are bound;

1. Just as Moses saw a vision of a tree and cast this tree into the bitter waters, we need to see a vision of the crucified and resurrected Christ as the tree of life and apply Him to our bitter situations and our bitter being—Exo. 15:25-26:

Exo. 15:25-26 And he cried out to Jehovah, and Jehovah showed him a tree; and he cast it into the waters, and the waters became sweet. There He made for them a statute and an ordinance, and there He tested them. ²⁶And He said, If you will listen carefully to the voice of Jehovah your God and do what is right in His eyes and give ear to His commandments and keep all His statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you which I have put on the Egyptians; for I am Jehovah who heals you.

a. First Peter 2:24 indicates that this tree signifies the cross of Christ, or the crucified Christ; the cross is the tree, and the One who died on the tree is our Healer—Exo. 15:25-26; cf. Gal. 3:13.

1 Pet. 2:24 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.

Gal. 3:13 Christ has redeemed us out of the curse of the law, having become a curse on our behalf; because it is written, “Cursed is everyone hanging on a tree”;

b. This tree also signifies the resurrected Christ because the tree was cast into the bitter waters of Marah after the children of Israel had traveled three days in the wilderness—Exo. 15:22.

Exo. 15:22 Then Moses moved Israel onward from the Red Sea, and they went out into the wilderness of Shur. And they went three days in the wilderness and found no water.

c. The tree of life in Revelation 2:7 signifies the crucified (implied in the tree as a piece of wood—1 Pet. 2:24) and resurrected (implied in the life of God—John 11:25) Christ.

Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

1 Pet. 2:24 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed.

John 11:25 Jesus said to her, I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes into Me, even if he should die, shall live;

2. The crucified and resurrected Christ is the tree of life, and this tree is Jehovah our Healer, the One who heals the bitterness of our circumstances and the bitterness of our being, turning this bitterness into the sweet waters of His inward presence—Rev. 2:7; Exo. 15:22-26; 1 Pet. 2:24-25.

Rev. 2:7 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, to him I will give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the Paradise of God.

Exo. 15:22-26 (see reference above)

1 Pet. 2:24-25 Who Himself bore up our sins in His body on the tree, in order that we, having died to sins, might live to righteousness; by whose bruise you were healed. ²⁵For you were like sheep being led astray, but you have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

F. Through Christ’s healing death and life-dispensing resurrection, He became the Shepherd and Overseer of our souls—vv. 24-25; Isa. 53:6; John 21:15-17.

Isa. 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray; / Each of us has turned to his own way, / And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him.

John 21:15-17 Then when they had eaten breakfast, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Feed My lambs. ¹⁶He said to him again a second time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? He said to Him, Yes, Lord, You know that I love You. He said to him, Shepherd My sheep. ¹⁷He said to him the third time, Simon, son of John, do you love Me? Peter was grieved that He said to him the third time, Do you love Me? And he said to Him, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You. Jesus said to him, Feed My sheep.

II. “We all like sheep have gone astray; / Each of us has turned to his own way, / And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him”—Isa. 53:6:

Isa. 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray; / Each of us has turned to his own way, / And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him.

A. It was when God was judging Jesus on the cross that He caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him, making Jesus, in the eyes of God, the unique sinner at that moment—Matt. 27:45-46; Psa. 22:1.

Matt. 27:45-46 Now from the sixth hour darkness fell over all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And 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?

Psa. 22:1 My God, my God, why have You forsaken me? / Why are You so far from saving me, / From the words of my groaning?

B. Christ’s death was not merely a murder (Acts 7:52), nor was it a martyrdom; rather, it was carried out by God Himself according to His law.

Acts 7:52 Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand concerning the coming of the righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become,

C. Thus, Christ died a vicarious death as the Substitute for sinners (1 Pet. 3:18), a death that was legal according to God’s law and was recognized and approved by God according to the law.

1 Pet. 3:18 For Christ also has suffered once for sins, the Righteous on behalf of the unrighteous, that He might bring you to God, on the one hand being put to death in the flesh, but on the other, made alive in the Spirit;

D. The flesh of the passover lamb, typifying the crucified Christ, was to be roasted with fire and was not to be eaten raw or boiled—Exo. 12:8-9:

Exo. 12:8-9 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread with bitter herbs. ⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire—its head with its legs and with its inward parts.

1. To be roasted with fire signifies Christ’s suffering under the holy fire of God’s judgment—Isa. 53:4, 10; Psa. 22:14-15; John 19:28.

Isa. 53:4 Surely He has borne our sicknesses, / And carried our sorrows; / Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, / Smitten of God and afflicted.

Psa. 22:14-15 I am poured out like water, / And all my bones are out of joint. / My heart is like wax; / It is melted within me. ¹⁵My strength is dried up like a shard, / And my tongue is stuck to my jaws; / You have put me in the dust of death.

John 19:28 After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had now been finished and so that the Scripture might be fulfilled, said, I thirst.

2. To be eaten raw signifies not to believe in Christ’s redemption but to regard Him merely as an example of human life to be imitated.

3. To be eaten boiled signifies regarding His death on the cross not as death for redemption but as the suffering of human persecution for martyrdom.

E. Just as the flesh of the passover lamb was to be eaten for life supply, so we need to eat Christ for our life supply—Exo. 12:8-10; John 6:53, 55-57; cf. Deut. 15:19-20:

Exo. 12:8-10 And they shall eat the flesh in that night, roasted with fire, and they shall eat it with unleavened bread with bitter herbs. ⁹Do not eat any of it raw or boiled at all with water, but roasted with fire—its head with its legs and with its inward parts. ¹⁰And you shall not let any of it remain until the morning, but any of it that remains until the morning you shall burn with fire.

John 6:53 Jesus therefore said to them, Truly, truly, I say to you, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do not have life within yourselves.

John 6:55-57 For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. ⁵⁶He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me and I in him. ⁵⁷As the living Father has sent Me and I live because of the Father, so he who eats Me, he also shall live because of Me.

Deut. 15:19-20 All firstborn males that are brought forth in your herd and in your flock you shall sanctify to Jehovah your God; you shall not do work with your firstborn ox, nor shall you shear your firstborn sheep. ²⁰You and your household shall eat it before Jehovah your God year by year in the place which Jehovah will choose.

1. To solve the problem of the fall of man and to accomplish God’s original intention, both life and redemption are needed.

2. God’s judicial redemption through the blood of Christ is the procedure to reach God’s goal of dispensing Christ as life into us for our organic salvation—Rom. 5:10.

Rom. 5:10 For if we, being enemies, were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more we will be saved in His life, having been reconciled,

III. “He was oppressed, and it was He who was afflicted, / Yet He did not open His mouth; / Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter / And like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, / So He did not open His mouth. / By oppression and by judgment He was taken away; / And as for His generation, who among them had the thought / That He was cut off out of the land of the living / For the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due?”—Isa. 53:7-8:

A. In His vicarious death for sinners, Christ was oppressed, afflicted, and led to the slaughter like a lamb and sheared before the shearers like a sheep, with no reaction—Acts 8:32; Matt. 27:12-14.

Acts 8:32 Now the passage of Scripture which he was reading was this: “As a sheep He was led to slaughter; and as a lamb before its shearer is dumb, so He does not open His mouth.

Matt. 27:12-14 And while He was being accused by the chief priests and elders, He answered nothing. ¹³Then Pilate said to Him, Do You not hear how many things they testify against You? ¹⁴And He did not answer him, not even to one word, so that the governor marveled greatly.

B. Christ was oppressed by the hypocritical Jewish leaders (26:57, 59, 65-68) and then judged by the unjust Roman officials (Luke 23:1-12; John 18:33-38; 19:1-16); by these two things He was taken away and crucified.

Matt. 26:57 And those who seized Jesus led Him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered.

Matt. 26:59 Now the chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were seeking false testimony against Jesus so that they might put Him to death,

Matt. 26:65-68 Then the high priest tore his garments, saying, He has blasphemed! What further need do we have of witnesses? Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy. ⁶⁶What do you think? And they answered and said, He is worthy of death. ⁶⁷Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists, and others slapped Him, ⁶⁸Saying, Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who hit You?

Luke 23:1-12 And the entire multitude of them rose up and led Him before Pilate. ²And they began to accuse Him, saying, We found this man perverting our nation and forbidding people to pay taxes to Caesar, and saying that He Himself is Christ, a King. ³And Pilate asked Him, saying, Are You the King of the Jews? And answering him, He said, It is as you say. ⁴And Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowds, I find no fault in this man. ⁵But they were vehement, saying, He stirs up the people, teaching throughout the whole of Judea, beginning from Galilee even to this place. ⁶And when Pilate heard this, he asked whether the man was a Galilean. ⁷And when he realized that He was of Herod’s jurisdiction, he sent Him up to Herod, who also himself was in Jerusalem in those days. ⁸And when Herod saw Jesus, he rejoiced greatly, for he had wanted to see Him for a considerable time, because he had heard about Him, and was hoping to see some sign done by Him. ⁹And he questioned Him with many words, but He answered him nothing. ¹⁰And the chief priests and the scribes stood by, vehemently accusing Him. ¹¹And Herod with his soldiers, having despised Him and mocked Him, threw around Him splendid clothing and sent Him back to Pilate. ¹²And both Herod and Pilate became friends with one another on that very day, for they had previously been at enmity toward each other.

John 18:33-38 Pilate therefore entered again into the praetorium and called for Jesus. And he said to Him, You are the King of the Jews? ³⁴Jesus answered, Are you saying this of yourself, or did others tell you about Me? ³⁵Pilate answered, Am I a Jew? Your nation and its chief priests have delivered You to me. What have You done? ³⁶Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, My attendants would be struggling so that I would not be delivered to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not from here. ³⁷Pilate said therefore to Him, So then You are a king? Jesus answered, You say that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, that I would testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice. ³⁸Pilate said to Him, What is truth? And having said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them, I find no fault in Him.

John 19:1-16 Therefore at that time Pilate took Jesus and scourged Him. ²And the soldiers wove a crown of thorns and put it on His head, and they threw a purple garment around Him. ³And they came to Him and said, Rejoice, King of the Jews! and slapped Him. ⁴And Pilate went outside again and said to them, Behold, I am bringing Him out to you that you may know that I find no fault in Him. ⁵Then Jesus came out, wearing the thorny crown and the purple garment. And he said to them, Behold, the man! ⁶When therefore the chief priests and the attendants saw Him, they cried out, saying, Crucify! Crucify! Pilate said to them, You take Him and crucify Him, for I do not find fault in Him. ⁷The Jews answered him, We have a law, and according to that law He ought to die because He made Himself the Son of God. ⁸When Pilate therefore heard this word, he became frightened the more, ⁹And he entered into the praetorium again and said to Jesus, Where are You from? But Jesus gave him no answer. ¹⁰Therefore Pilate said to Him, You do not speak to me? Do You not know that I have authority to release You and I have authority to crucify You? ¹¹Jesus answered him, You would have no authority against Me if it were not given to you from above; for this reason, he who has delivered Me to you has the greater sin. ¹²From then on, Pilate sought to release Him, but the Jews cried out, saying, If you release this man, you are not a friend of Caesar; everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar. ¹³Pilate therefore, when he heard these words, brought Jesus outside and sat down on the judgment seat in a place called the Pavement, but in Hebrew, Gabbatha. ¹⁴Now it was the day of preparation for the Passover; it was about the sixth hour. And he said to the Jews, Behold, your King! ¹⁵They cried out then, Take Him away! Take Him away! Crucify Him! Pilate said to them, Shall I crucify your King? The chief priests answered, We have no king except Caesar. ¹⁶Therefore at that time he delivered Him to them that He might be crucified. Therefore they took Jesus.

C. No one among Christ’s generation understood that He was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of the prophet’s people, the Jews, to whom the stroke was due.

IV. “And they assigned His grave with the wicked, / But with a rich man in His death, / Although He had done no violence, / Nor was there any deceit in His mouth”—Isa. 53:9:

A. Those who crucified Christ planned to bury Him with the two transgressors, the wicked ones (Luke 23:32-33), but eventually God in His sovereignty caused Christ to be buried in a rich man’s tomb (Matt. 27:57-60).

Luke 23:32-32 And two others also, who were criminals, were led with Him to be executed. ³³And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left.

Matt. 27:57-60 And when evening fell, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸This man came to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that it be given to him. ⁵⁹And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean, fine linen cloth. ⁶⁰And he laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn in the rock. And having rolled a great stone in front of the door of the tomb, he went away.

B. The word for “death” in Isaiah 53:9 is plural in Hebrew, deaths, signifying “a violent death, the very pain of which makes it like dying again and again” (Keil and Delitzsch).

V. “But Jehovah was pleased to crush Him, to afflict Him with grief. / When He makes Himself an offering for sin”—v. 10a:

A. Because Christ was crushed for our iniquities, Satan can be crushed under our feet (Rom. 16:20), and because He was afflicted with grief, we can be filled with His joy (John 16:20-22).

Rom. 16:20 Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

John 16:20-22 Truly, truly, I say to you that you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will be turned into joy. ²¹A woman, when she gives birth, has sorrow because her hour has come; but when she brings forth the little child, she no longer remembers the affliction because of the joy that a man has been born into the world. ²²Therefore you also now have sorrow; but I will see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one takes your joy away from you.

B. Christ bore our sin in its totality, dying on the cross to be the reality of the sin offering and the trespass offering—1:29; cf. Heb. 10:5-10; 1 John 1:7-9; Lev. 4—5.

John 1:29 The next day he saw Jesus coming to him and said, Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Heb. 10:5-10 Therefore, coming into the world, He says, “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but a body You have prepared for Me. ⁶In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You did not delight. ⁷Then I said, Behold, I have come (in the roll of the book it is written concerning Me) to do Your will, O God.” ⁸Saying above, “Sacrifices and offerings and burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin You did not desire nor delight in” (which are offered according to the law), ⁹He then has said, “Behold, I have come to do Your will.” He takes away the first that He may establish the second, ¹⁰By which will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.

1 John 1:7-9 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from every sin. ⁸If we say that we do not have sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. ⁹If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Lev. 4—5 (see referenced verses in Holy Bible)

C. Christ’s precious blood shed for the forgiveness of our sins is also the blood of the covenant; because of the blood of Jesus, we have boldness for entering the Holy of Holies, where we can enjoy God, behold His beauty, and receive His infusion—Matt. 26:28; Heb. 10:19-20; cf. Lev. 16:11-16; Psa. 27:4.

Matt. 26:28 For this is My blood of the covenant, which is being poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Heb. 10:19-20 Having therefore, brothers, boldness for entering the Holy of Holies in the blood of Jesus, ²⁰Which entrance He initiated for us as a new and living way through the veil, that is, His flesh,

Lev. 16:11-16 And Aaron shall present the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself, and shall make expiation for himself and for his household, and shall slaughter the bull of the sin offering, which is for himself. ¹²And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before Jehovah, with his hands full of finely ground sweet incense, and bring it inside the veil. ¹³And he shall put the incense upon the fire before Jehovah, that the cloud of the incense may cover the expiation cover that is over the Testimony, so that he does not die. ¹⁴And he shall take some of the blood of the bull and sprinkle it with his finger upon the expiation cover toward the east, and before the expiation cover he shall sprinkle some of the blood with his finger seven times. ¹⁵Then he shall slaughter the goat of the sin offering, which is for the people, and bring its blood inside the veil, and do with its blood as he did with the blood of the bull, and sprinkle it upon the expiation cover and before the expiation cover. ¹⁶And he shall make expiation for the Holy of Holies because of the uncleannesses of the children of Israel and because of their transgressions, for all their sins. And so he shall do for the Tent of Meeting, which dwells with them in the midst of their uncleannesses.

Psa. 27:4 One thing I have asked from Jehovah; / That do I seek: / To dwell in the house of Jehovah / All the days of my life, / To behold the beauty of Jehovah, / And to inquire in His temple.

D. Christ came into the death waters, was wounded by us and for our transgressions, and secretes His life into us to make us precious pearls for the building of God’s eternal expression—Isa. 53:5; Rev. 21:21; John 19:34.

Isa. 53:5 But He was wounded because of our transgressions; / He was crushed because of our iniquities; / The chastening for our peace was upon Him, / And by His stripes we have been healed.

Rev. 21:21 And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; each one of the gates was, respectively, of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass.

John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water.

VI. “He poured out His life unto death / And was numbered with the transgressors, / Yet He alone bore the sin of many / And interceded for the transgressors”—Isa. 53:12b:

A. Man, God, and Christ all had a part in Christ’s crucifixion; man did the murdering, the killing (Acts 7:52), but God carried out the legal judgment to kill Christ as a legal Substitute so that Christ might die a vicarious death for sinners (Isa. 53:6b, 10a).

Isa. 53:6 We all like sheep have gone astray; / Each of us has turned to his own way, / And Jehovah has caused the iniquity of us all / To fall on Him.

B. Moreover, Christ Himself was willing to be such an offering; He made Himself that offering (v. 10b), and He poured out His life for that purpose (John 10:17-18; Heb. 9:14).

John 10:17-18 For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again. ¹⁸No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it again. This commandment I received from My Father.

Heb. 9:14 How much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

C. When Christ was crucified on the cross, He was numbered with the transgressors, and He interceded for the transgressors—Luke 23:32-34a; cf. Heb. 7:25:

Luke 23:32-34 And two others also, who were criminals, were led with Him to be executed. ³³And when they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁴And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. And dividing His garments, they cast lots.

Heb. 7:25 Hence also He is able to save to the uttermost those who come forward to God through Him, since He lives always to intercede for them.

1. He interceded for them regarding the evil of the transgressors, the result of their ignorance, a trespass that He prayed would be forgiven by God.

2. Stephen prayed for his persecutors in the same way that his Lord, whom he loved and lived, had prayed for His—Acts 7:60.

Acts 7:60 And kneeling down, he cried out with a loud voice, Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, he fell asleep.