Midweek Review #20 (Acts 10:38-61)

Over and over again, you see the world rages against this doctrine particularly, it's called substitutionary atonement.

Jesus died as a substitute on the cross to pay the penalty of our sin.

The devil hates that and it seems very strange to me that mankind would hate this doctrine.

Why would you rage against love? Why would you rage against the doctrine that says that the father was pleased to pour out his wrath upon his son in order that I, a guilty sinner, could go free?

And yet this doctrine is derided and hated at every corner. The only explanation

I have for that is that the devil hates this doctrine and the hatred against substitutionary atonement is demonic in nature because the

Bible could not be any more clear, could it? 2nd Corinthians 5 21, God made him who had no sin to be sin for us so that in him we would become the righteousness of God.

That's substitution. My sin imputed to him, his righteousness given to me. That's substitution.

1st Peter 3 says the same thing, the righteousness, his righteousness imputed to me.

That's the doctrine. That's the reason for his dying. I have a question for you. Why did

Jesus sweat drops of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane? Was he scared of nails?

Was he scared of the crown of thorns that loomed over the horizon? Why was he sweating drops of blood before his death?

I mean, think about it. When Jan Hus, the Christian martyr, was burned at the stake for preaching the gospel in Europe, he sang praises with such loud and joyful lyric that the crowds couldn't hear themselves talking.

He was crying out in joy at the top of his lungs with a smile on his face as he died.

Was Jan Hus more courageous than our Savior? When Stephen was martyred back in Acts chapter 6, we saw his face look like the face of an angel.

Why is Jesus sweating drops of blood? The death of Jesus is utterly unique and completely different than any death, even the death of a martyr, even the death of a soldier fighting for his country.

Because in the death of Jesus, he faced and bore the wrath of his father.

The wrath of God against every sin, every rebellion, every time we've cursed in our hearts and through our lips.

Every time we've rejected God and wanted nothing to do with his rule, we wanting to be autonomous.

There was a holy God in heaven storing up wrath, storing up wrath.

Because God and his glory must be vindicated. If he is a good God and a holy

God, he must be wrathful towards the deriding of his glory.

Here we have image bearers made in the image of God and yet we are rebellious and we hate the

God who made us. According to Romans 1, we exchange the glory of God for images, for images.

Created things. If God did not have wrath against the unholiness of man, he would not be worthy of worship.

The reason Jesus sweat drops of blood in the garden is because he knew that as he set his face like flint to go to the cross, he was going there and would receive in himself the penalty that we deserve.

The full wrath of God would be poured out on him. He was not afraid of nails. He was not afraid of thorns.

He dreaded the wrath of God because he understood the holiness of God. That's the gospel we preach.

That's the reason why he was hung on a tree. No one takes my life. I give it willingly. I am the good shepherd.