A Ransom for All
Memory Verses
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Background Scripture: 1 Timothy 1-2; John 19
Lesson Scripture: John 19:16-19, 25-30; 1 Timothy 1:15; 2:3-6
Introduction
Today's lesson strikes near the heart of the gospel message. That message, for a creation gone wrong, is the voice of God persistently calling through the redeeming work of His Son: "Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth" (Isa, 45:22). This call is real and becomes personal when we realize we are sinners. May we become better acquainted with the suffering Savior and comprehend the tremendous cost of our salvation.
Key Verse
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isa. 53:6).
Lesson Scripture
JOHN 19:16 Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
17 And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew Golgotha:
18 Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
19 And Pilate wrote a title, and put it on the cross. And the writing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE KING OF THE JEWS.
25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home,
28 After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst.
29 Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.
30 When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished: and he bowed his head, and gave up the ghost.
1 TIMOTHY 1:15 This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.
2:3 For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
4 Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth.
5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;
6 Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.
Studying the Lesson
The apostle John offers to us a terse and moving account of the crucifixion story; laid out simply and clearly. Essentially, not many words are needed to further convey the meaning of God's gracious and costly act of love.
Although it was Pilate who ordered Jesus's crucifixion, Jesus made it plain that He laid down His life of His own volition. The weight of punishment and the sentence of death rested on Him in finality, along with the shame and reproach of carrying His own instrument of death. The depiction of Jesus being led away from the place of judgment implied that this was His just due for a life of crime and wrong. Now, nearly two thousand years later, one trembles at the sheer injustice of that consecrated scene.
Even in His dying hour, Jesus's thoughts included others. He addressed His mother tenderly and respectfully, as if to remind her of His real mission. He also reached out to the thief and promised him eternal life.
Jesus's cry of thirst may signify that He experienced the human soul's thirst and desire for immortality and freedom from corruption; with it He voiced the deep spiritual need of mankind. A body of flesh and blood had been prepared for Him as a human, and now He was drinking the dregs of the cup of our sin. See Hebrews 10:4-6 and John 18:11.
When the cry, "It is finished," sounded from the cross, it was not a cry of defeat, but a declaration of victory. The plan of God for redemption was completed with Jesus being the only authorized intercessor and advocate, our eternal high priest, offering himself in our behalf.
Luke's record of Jesus's dying includes these words of Jesus: "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit" (Luke 23:46). Having completed His Fathers will, Jesus placed His Spirit in trust with Him.
A "faithful saying" as Paul called his statement of Jesus's purpose may be described as an absolutely trustworthy and reliable record. We are assuredly in need of a Savior, and Christ is positively committed to doing the work of God to save those who reach out to Him.
Practical Truths for Today
The word ransom carries the concept of a hostage being held until payment that is deemed legitimate compensation is made so that the captive is freed. If we wish to understand the ransom that Jesus offers to the sinner, we need to properly understand the bondage into which we were hopelessly cast. This bondage is a somewhat elusive concept, and Satan wishes to keep mankind in dark ignorance of spiritual reality. Much attention may be given to God's love, but if we are to attain a true vision of what this lesson means, we must take a step backward and review the condition of man without a Redeemer.
In the Word of God, the law of righteousness precedes the message of love and grace. This perfect law and the holy wrath of God against sin have placed us at enmity with Him. God cannot simply ignore sin or choose to look the other way because to do so would violate His righteous nature and make Him unjust. Sin must be accounted for and punished. The correct punishment for all sin is death; the guilty must pay. Our inherent fallen nature and our disobedience to God have brought us into opposition with Him.
Christ's work on the cross was to pay the ransom to the Law for all those who were in bondage because they could not keep the Law. Jesus took our guilt upon Him; that guilt was not His in the legal sense, as He was sinless, but it was put to His account. Because Jesus took our guilt, God is able to forgive our sin and impute righteousness to us. It is not ours in the legal sense, but it is imputed to us through the atonement. "For he hath made him to be sin [offering] for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" (2 Cor. 5:21).
To commemorate the suffering of Christ teaches us to fear God and hate sin. In the suffering of Christ we see the fierce anger and unchangeable zeal of the Lord against sin. He struck His only begotten Son so grievously for the transgression of His people, as written in Isaiah's prophecy (Isa, 53:7-10). As we remember the bitter death that Jesus Christ had to die for our sakes, we get a glimpse of the righteousness of God.
Dietrich Philip has this to say on the Lords Supper: "Now, when man properly contemplates this he is frightened and humiliated by it, he is grief-stricken and trembles before the Lord his God, at his stern judgment and his great wrath against sin. And, remembering how greatly God hates sin and how sin was the cause of the bitter suffering and innocent death of Jesus Christ, he will, by God's grace, guard against sin as much as lies in his power, thanking Christ for his love and faithfulness which he has manifested toward the human race."
A true encounter at Calvary brings a spirit of unworthiness and humility. God does not offer "cheap grace' nor should we, because there is no such thing. A casual or flippant approach to the throne of grace is a dishonor to God and does not bring about a redemption that gives power over sin and its deadly influence.
When we contemplate Christ's substitutionary death and behold the depth of the Father's love to us, it should be life-changing. We will then say with ardent passion, "We love Him, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). God's love to us should cause thanksgiving in our hearts for His unspeakable gift to us, and from this devotion springs allegiance to God. We are then dedicated to deny our flesh and live a consecrated life. We will exclaim with Paul, "To live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Phil. 1:21).
Illustration
There is that in human nature that finds it hard to accept forgiveness and the ransom that Jesus provides; rather, man is inclined to seek settlement with God on human terms. This, of course, never brings reconciliation with God.
Jesus's parable in Matthew 18 about the servant who owed his king ten thousand talents contains several notable points on forgiveness.
The king forgave his servant after he had taken him into account, but evidently the man was not willing to be a recipient of such mercy. Did he not comprehend the magnitude of his enormous debt and the good will of his master in freely forgiving him? Since he found it impossible to show the kindness and compassion to others that results when we experience forgiveness, he may have still been focusing on his selfish personal needs. No one is able to give something that he does not first possess. If the servant had accepted the king's forgiveness, he would have been able to grant it to his fellow servant. If I become hurt or offended, I also need to repent and be forgiven, as much as the one who caused the offense. The servant in the parable asked his Lord to be patient with him and he would try to repay his debt by what he felt would be a correct and honorable method. However, by so doing he passed over knowing the freedom and deliverance that true forgiveness brings.
Attempting to justify our self-will never bring the peaceable fruit of true reconciliation with God. Neither does it bring the effects of peace in the soul, healing to the mind, and restoration to shattered and broken relationships. Another aspect to be considered in this account is the absurd notion that this man could, by working, actually repay his debt. Either he was not dealing with reality or he did not comprehend the huge sum he owed. This story is also a solemn reminder of the consequences of rejecting our King's offer of forgiveness. We must never forget that if we reject God's offer on His terms, we will someday be required to answer for turning away from our King's redeeming offer of love.
Questions
- From practical, everyday circumstances, give an example of counting the blood of the covenant an unholy thing. See Hebrews 10:29.
- Is our appreciation for the atonement greater if we have gone far into sin before coming to God for deliverance as opposed to answering God at the first call to repentance?
- How can we better understand the relationship of God's wrath against sin and His boundless love?
- 1 Dietrich Philip Hand Book, "The Lord's Supper," p. 82
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).