THE GOOD NEWS COMES CLOSER

 Isaiah 52:13-15; 53:1-12; Hebrews 10:16-25; John 19:16-37

Introduction

The death of Christ on the cross is the Expiation and propitiation of sins. "Yet the LORD was pleased to crush Him severely. When You make Him a restitution offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, and by His hand, the LORD’S pleasure will be accomplished." Isaiah 53:10 (HCSB)

Expiation: the prefix 'ex' means 'out of' or 'from' - expiation has to do with removing something or taking something away. Biblically, it has to do with taking away guilt through the payment of a penalty or the offering of atonement.

Propitiation: the prefix 'pro' means 'for', so propitiation is about a change in God's attitude. It is the satisfaction of God over the sacrifice of atonement.

"For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith." Romans 3:22-25 (ESV). Because God is holy and can not stand sin and He had sworn to punish all sin, there must be that satisfactory payment for sin. 

The point is, if God punishes humanity for our sins, we would die and go to hell. On the other hand, if He does not punish for sin, His justice will never be satisfied. That is why God would become our substitute and die with us on the cross.

When Christ died on the cross, He did not only die for the sinners, but the sinner died in Him as well - the sinner died with Christ. "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died." 2 Corinthians 5:14 (ESV). 

Apostle Paul says, "By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?" Romans 6:2 (ESV) He adds that "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin." Romans 6:6 (ESV)

Truly, truly, I say unto you, Christ did not just die on the cross for us but we died with Him on the cross.

In baptism, the Christian is buried with Christ (Rom. 6:4). The Christian is dead, we have been crucified with the Lord, and our death and our crucifixion with Him are facts, yet the Word of God goes on to charge us saying, "In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus." Romans 6:11 (NIV)   

Dying with the Lord.

Dying with the Lord is the conscious and intentional faith act in Christ Jesus. In baptism, we die with Christ to all our sins in expiation and propitiation to the Father Almighty. 

Dying with the Lord is significant to the Christian in many ways. Let's discuss some of them here.

1. His Covenant of Justification: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Hebrews 10:17 (NIV). Dying with the Lord exonerates the Christian from all sins. The state of karma is broken when we die with the Lord. 

2. Death to sin: The Christian is counted as dead to sin. It is our victory over sin. "For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin — because anyone who has died has been set free from sin." Romans 6:6-7 (NIV)

It is our freedom from sin.

"...The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. No one who is born of God will continue to sin, because God’s seed remains in them; they cannot go on sinning, because they have been born of God." 1 John 3:8-9 (NIV)

Dying with the Lord is death to sin - no more sin. This is the reason the son of God came.

3. Free Access to Heavenly Blessings: When we die with Christ, we are granted access and "confidence to enter the Most Holy Pace". Dying with the Lord brings us to "God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need." Hebrews 4:16 (NIV)

Beloved in Christ, dying with the Lord on the cross is characterized by sacrifice, shame, suffering, and salvation.

The Inscription on Jesus' Cross.

Every criminal who is hanged on the cross has his/her crime written on top of it. And the inscription of the charge against him read, “Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.” John 19:19 (ESV)

To the Romans, the crime of Jesus is being the king of the Jews because that is political leadership. That is where they come in because of ruling power not as the Son of God, that is the problem of the Jews. They could not even agree on the inscription, "So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but rather, ‘This man said, I am King of the Jews.’”" John 19:21 (ESV)

I do not agree with Pilato on how he handled the case of Jesus, never. But I love the statement he made to the Jews saying, “What I have written I have written.” John 19:22 (ESV)

Precious one, what is written about you will surely stay written and fulfilled. Die with Christ today for your divine atonement and justification of sins. Your divine order can never be thwarted by the enemy in any way. 

Conclusion

Dying with the Lord is your acceptance to crucify the sinful nature and be born new to a new life. God makes His grace and mercy available to everyone who dies with the Lord.

Shalom aleichem...