“Then saith He unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: abide ye here, and watch with me” (Mathew 26: 38).
Hitherto before our Lord Jesus was despised and rejected of men, betrayed by His disciples, afflicted by the Romans and the Jews. Before He was punished for our transgression and wounded for our iniquities (Isaiah 53:5), and brought before Pilate for judgement, God the Father was with Him (John 16: 33) and the Holy Spirit was upon Him (Luke 3: 22; Luke 4: 18-21).
The time came however when He must fulfil the purpose for which He came. The Lord Jesus Himself said in Luke 24: 7 : saying, ‘It is necessary that the Son of Man be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified, and rise on the third day.” He was brought before Pilate for judgement for sin He never committed and mankind for whom He came pronounced death sentence on Him. Crucify Him they chanted. Our Lord Jesus at this point fully identified with man. All our sins was laid upon Him and because God cannot behold iniquity (Habakkuk 1: 13), therefore God punished Him for our sins. The Lord’s identification with man was total, He was stripped of all divinity and became a true sacrifice for the sin of mankind. He who knew no sin became sin that we might become the righteous of God (2 Corinthians 5: 21).
The wages of sin is death (Romans 6: 23). Jesus Christ our Lord became sin for us and died. He died spiritually, being separated from God the Father. His cry recorded in the gospel of Mathew chapter 26 verse 47 affirms this: “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, Lema Sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”.
He died physically also and this was recorded in the gospel of John chapter 19 verses 31-34: “Now it was the day of preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.” Once He died, the wages of sin was fully paid and death and sin had no more claim or power over Him.
The sacrifice of Jesus Christ our Lord was acceptable to God, the Righteous Judge, and in His righteousness, He raised up Jesus Christ from the dead. Jesus Christ became our Justifier (Romans 4: 25; 1 Corinthians 1: 30). A guilty prisoner once he has fully served his sentence can no longer be kept in prison. Much more, God who is Righteous Judge cannot leave the soul of Jesus in the grave once the wages of sin, which is death, was fully paid for by Jesus Christ. Once a convicted prisoner who has served his sentence is released, there is joy, not only for him but also for his associates and relations. This was the joy set before our Lord Jesus. “For Thou will not leave my soul in hell; neither will Thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption (Psalm 16: 10). His resurrection was the joy set before Him and for all those who will believe in Him as it is written in 1Corinthians 15: 20 : “But now Christ is risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep.”
What shall we do then.
If we put our trust in Christ Jesus who identified with us and tasted death for us, and we truly repent, we should as well put our faith also in Him and submit to Him to live in us the new life which He was raised unto by His resurrection. Men submit themselves to their therapists for rehabilitation, so we also are to submit ourselves to our Lord Jesus Christ for a totally transformed life. We are to submit ourselves to Him, as those made comformable to His death that also through faith and knowledge of Christ, we may grow unto a perfect man unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ (Ephesians 4: 13). Through faith in Christ, we become a new creation that Christ now lives in. This transformation is what most believers fail to grasp. Not just forgiveness of sin but transformation as well which is inwardly and which its fruit is manifested outwardly. The scripture in Galatians 2 verse 20 succinctly described this transformation. “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” The water baptism we are enjoined to perform is a demonstration of our believe in His death and that we died with Him and we live no more. If we die with Him, we shall also be raised up with Him, raised up in His likeness (Romans 6: 5-9). In Christ Jesus is life (John 1: 4), so when He arose, He arose to live in us instead of us, the newness of life as He now live in every believer. He is the firstfruit among many brethren, meaning like a seed planted which dies and brings forth many seeds, so Christ having died abide no more alone (John 12: 24) but now brought much fruit, reproducing Himself in all those who believe in Him. This is Christ in us, the hope of glory. As we grow in faith in Him and in the knowledge of Him, we grow up unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ Jesus our Lord.
Being dead we have no more knowledge of sin but of Christ and being alive through the resurrection power of Christ we have now grow up into Christ. We have no more knowledge and fear of death but of Him in whom is eternal life and who now live the endless life in us. God has given us eternal life and this life is in His Son (1John 5: 11).
So how does Christ live in us.? He lives in us by His word and His Spirit. The scripture says in Psalm 119 verse 105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path.” The Spirit of the LORD also, the Holy Spirit puts us in remembrance of all things, that is, the words and teachings of our Lord Jesus. He is our Helper. In John 14 verse 26 we read: “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.” Yes we no longer live under the law but we are not lawlessness. We have the word as a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. We do not also stumble as we have the Holy Spirit as our Helper to bring to our memory the teachings and words of Christ so we know how to act appropriately. Thus as believers we are able to flee from every appearances of evil (1Thessalonians 5: 22) so that we do not stumble and live perpetually in sin or in transgression of the law. For example how do I keep myself in the way from falling into transgression of the law which says, “thou shall not commit adultery.” Here is the teaching of Christ. In Mathew 5 verse 28 we read: “But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” If I look at a woman with lustful intent, it is just a matter of time before the sin of adultery comes in. Just as the scripture asked in book of Psalms 119 verse 9: “How can a young person stay on the path of purity? By living according to your word.” I no longer have the knowledge of sin but now I have the knowledge of Christ and His words as I allow Him to live in me with the help of the Holy Spirit who reminds me of His teachings. I do not look at a woman to lust after her anymore and if the temptation comes, am to flee from this toxic environment like Joseph fled from the presence of Portiphar’s wife who was trying to seduce him (Genesis 39: 9-12).
Similarly, the law says, “thou shall not commit murder.” How do I keep myself from falling into transgression of the law? Our Lord Jesus taught in Mathew chapter 5 : 21-22: “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment.” Also 1John 3: 15 says: “Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” Anger and hatred are roots of murder. Anyone that has anger and hatred in him or he is taught anger and hatred against others is a murderer walking about because he has the root of murder in him already. Thou shall not commit murder is a law, so what other law will justify murder when we harbour the root of murder in our heart.? We transgress the law when we have its root within us.The wages of transgression of the law is death, that is why the word says no murderer has eternal life abiding in him but rather the wrath of God abides on him. Here is the power of Christ in me, am able to keep my path pure by being mindful and obeying the words and teachings of Christ and it is the Holy Spirit who brings me into remembrance of these.
The darkest moments during which our Lord Jesus identified fully with man, during which He was stripped of His divinity and died both spiritually and physically for man has indeed turned to our glory. We no more have the knowledge of the law but of Christ, no more knowledge of sin but of Christ who lives in us, no more knowledge of death but of eternal life given us of the Father through faith in His Son, our Lord Jesus. Christ in us is the hope of glory, and our redemption. The whole of creation awaits the manifestation of this reality, the reality of our redemption which is sealed in the death and resurrection of Christ Jesus our Lord. It is now left for us to manifest as children of God as we walk in the knowledge of His resurrection life that operates in us and live by His word and His Spirit. Morning has broken again like the first morning of man’s creation. We are the new creation in Christ and it is no more us that lives but Christ Jesus who lives in us. Hallelujah.
