The truth was, that Jesus had come to take the place of sinners.
He was not just some helpless victim.
He laid down his own life willingly to die in our place.
They even released a criminal when they crucified Jesus.
A rebel and murderer who was supposed to be hung on the cross where they nailed Jesus on.
It was the perfect picture of how He came to die in our stead.
Those that rebelled against God’s reign and deserved to be put to death.
Which is all of us.
But that was never God’s heart for us.
He never wanted us to suffer and die because of our rebellion.
But justice needed to take place or we would never submit to him.
We would never see the importance of living according to his ways, his instructions He has given us through the scriptures, the bible.
We would never change if He just pardoned our sin without showing us what the rightful penalty for our rebellion would be.
And so He took our verdict upon himself.
He died the death we deserved to die.
They falsely accused him and He let them.
Because He was bearing the rightful accusations that were made to us.
It was really our indictment He underwent.
The rightful charges against us were falsely put upon him.
He was charged with treason against the roman empire.
They charged him of being a rebel, a threat to the roman reign which would be treason.
Non of those charges were true of him.
But they were true of us.
We all put ourselves in God’s place.
We all rebelled against his reign.
We all did what we wanted and deemed right instead of submitting to him and living in the ways He instructed us for our own well-being.
We made ourselves the god of our own life.
And He paid the rightful penalty for our high treason against the King.
So we did not have to suffer what was rightfully ours to suffer.
So we could be pardoned and forgiven.
So we could be united with our Father.
The One that never stopped loving us but provided a substitute when we rebelled against him.
So that we could learn his ways.
So that He could give us a new heart that wants to submit to him and live in love the way He intended life to be.
So that He could make us whole and healthy again by bearing the pain and sicknesses and grief we went through as a result of our rebellion.
Not necessarily all directly through our own rebellion, but through the rebellion of people nonetheless.
He really carried all our sorrows and pain and guilt when He was judged undeservingly.
Everything that was in the world because of sin came on Jesus.
So He could give us new life instead.
Life that was his very own.
First by laying his life down for us.
Then by giving us his Spirit, by giving us a new heart.
Making us a new person.
So we could be all we were made to be.
To be continued…
Creator's Joy 