| Christian Life and Doctrine | September 1975 |
What a Savior!
IN I Peter 1:11 we read that the Holy Spirit, which directed the testimony of God’s holy prophets concerning the Messiah, explains that it was a two-fold testimony. It was concerning the “sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” It is in keeping with this that we find many of the prophecies concerning the coming of Christ mentioning both his suffering and his subsequent glory.
At times, however, the glory of Christ is introduced into the prophecy first and then the suffering later. It is this sequence of thought that we find in the 52nd and 53rd chapters of Isaiah. One of the titles given to Jesus is found in Isaiah 52:10, which reads, “The Lord hath made bare his holy arm in the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.” How truly great Jesus will be eventually in the eyes of the people when all the ends of the earth recognize him as the bringer of salvation!
But the scene changes in this prophecy and we read in the 1st verse of the next chapter (53), “Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Evidently the prophet Isaiah saw this exalted one of Jehovah subjected to ignominy and suffering. We read in verses 2 and 3 of chapter 53, “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” How different is this from the thought that he would be revealed in the eyes of all the nations and that all the ends of the earth would see through him the salvation of our God!
While Jesus is described as a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, it was not sorrow that stemmed from his own imperfections, because he had none. Verse 4 reads, “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” Verse 5 continues, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 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.”
Verse 7 reads, “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.” Here we are reminded of a very outstanding characteristic in Jesus’ earthly life because, as we know, he did not resist when he was persecuted. He left the outcome of his devotion in the hands of his Heavenly Father.
Verse 8 reminds us that Jesus was “taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.” There is no record telling us of the children of Jesus, because from a natural standpoint he had none. There was none to “declare his generation.”
Verse 9 reads, “And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”
Verses 10 and 11 are remarkable ones: “Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.” When we think of the great kindness of our loving Heavenly Father and his affection for his beloved Son, it might seem strange that it pleased him to bruise his only begotten Son and to put him to grief. It is only through a knowledge of the divine plan of redemption that we can understand this. That plan was, as the text indicates, that Jesus’ soul, his life, should be made an offering for sin. But as a result of this “he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”
Earlier in the chapter we read that Jesus was cut off from the land of the living; there was none to declare his generation. But because he gave his soul an offering for sin, thus making provision for all mankind to be ransomed, he will have a family, he will see his seed. His days, to use the thought expressed by humans, are prolonged—not by his natural children, but by the life of the whole world of mankind who accept the provision of the ransom and who obey the laws of the kingdom.
This is the pleasure of the Lord. This is the great central feature of his divine plan of salvation. And what joy it will bring to him and to his beloved Son when they see this glorious purpose accomplished through the times of restitution of all things!
Verse 11 carries the thought with language appropriate thereto. When children are brought into the world there is travail of soul and of body. So it was with Jesus. And while he was cut off from the land of the living with none to declare his generation, “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.” What satisfaction it will indeed bring to Jesus when he thus sees the result of his travail of soul! He knew that this would be the result, and this was one of the joys set before him. It was this knowledge that enabled him to bear the cross, and because he voluntarily laid down his life, that sacrificed life will be a basis of justification for all who accept of this loving provision. It is thus that he bears their iniquities, that is, through his shed blood.
Verse 12 describes the glory that follows this pathway of suffering: “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great.” Because of Jesus’ faithfulness he was exalted to the right hand of God, thus given a portion with the great, that is, the great Jehovah. But Jesus’ unselfishness is manifest in this too, because the text explains that he in turn shall divide the spoil, that is, the reward, with the strong. This is a reference to his faithful footstep followers who are described in the New Testament as being, among their other qualities, strong in the Lord and in the power of his might.
And Jesus does just this. In Revelation 3:21, where Jesus is speaking, we read, “To him that overcometh [the strong ones] will I grant to sit with me in my throne.” We like to think of Jesus as here emphasizing the fact that he gladly cooperates with his Heavenly Father by sharing his reward with these overcomers, I will divide my reward with the strong just as my Heavenly Father saith.
Because he poured out his soul unto death for the world of sinners it was necessary that he be numbered with the transgressors. “And he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
The Cross and Before
In the New Testament we are furnished with more of the details concerning Jesus’ life of suffering and the circumstances responsible for it. The Apostle Paul wrote that Jesus was tempted, or tried, in all points like as we are, yet without sin. This tempting of Jesus, this trying of his soul as to his obedience to his Heavenly Father, began shortly after he was baptized. First, he spent forty days in the wilderness. And there Satan appeared to him, presenting three basic temptations. He had fasted during these forty days and, of course, suffered from hunger, and Satan said to him that he should turn stones into bread to supply himself with food. To this Jesus replied by quoting from Moses (Deut. 8:3), “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of the Lord.”
This reveals not only Jesus’ loyalty to the Word of God, but his deep understanding of the purpose of his coming to earth. It was not a selfish purpose. He knew that he had been endowed with the privilege of using divine power for the blessing of others, and he did this lavishly during his brief ministry by healing the sick, raising the dead, and feeding the hungry. But he knew that this power was not to be used to satisfy his own natural cravings. He could use this divine power to feed five thousand, but he knew it would be contrary to the will of his Father to use it to feed himself.
Satan presented a second temptation—to cast himself down from the pinnacle of the temple and angels would bear him up. And here he used a text from the 91st psalm. But Jesus knew that this was an erroneous application of the text; so he replied, “Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.” When Jesus was immersed at the river Jordan he was given the assurance that he was the Son of God, an it would be tempting his Father to do anything that would call for further assurance, because it would indicate a lack of full faith in his Heavenly Father and in his Word.
The final temptation was that if Jesus would fall down and worship Satan he would give him all the kingdoms of the world. Jesus knew from the divine plan that a time would come when he would be given these kingdoms, for Jehovah had said through the prophet David, “Ask of me, and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.” (Ps. 2:8) Jesus knew, however, that the time for this in the divine plan had not arrived, and he did not propose to accept rulership over the nations at the hands of Satan.
The Bible tells us that if we resist the Devil he will flee from us. But the Bible does not say he will not come back. He did return to Jesus time and time again through his ministry, and especially toward the close of his ministry when he came back to him with at least two of these same points. When Jesus was arrested he made the statement, “The hour of darkness is come.” This suggests that what happened to him of an adverse nature from there to the end of his devoted life of sacrifice would be instigated by Satan, the ruler of darkness. Thus, when he was brought before the high priest the principal question asked him was, “Art thou the Son of God?” Undoubtedly Satan inspired this question. It was as though Satan asked Jesus, “Are you the one who three and a half years ago refused an opportunity to establish your claim to be God’s Son? Now see what the result has been. You turned me down and now I have you in my hands, and if you now admit the truth—that you really are the Son of God—you will be put to death.” But this did not disconcert Jesus. His bold reply to the high priest was, “Thou hast said,” this is the truth.
And then when Jesus was brought before Pilate for questioning, one of the questions was, “Art thou then a king?” Jesus’ reply to this was, “To this end was I born, for this cause came I into the world.” This faithful servant of God, who knew that he was destined to be a king, was not afraid to declare his faith even though he realized that so far as the Roman civil authorities were concerned this would lead to death. This is the man who, according to the Scriptures, had come into the world to be our Redeemer and Savior. What a Savior!
Hanging on the Cross
After the opposing Jews and Roman authorities heaped insults and suffering upon Jesus, they hung him on a cross to die. We do not know how many of the curious mob were there to watch that scene of sorrow. We know that Mary was there. We know that the Apostle John was there. But so far as the Jewish public was concerned we do not know. But there were enough of the opposing Israelites to create a mob which continued to harass Jesus even while he was dying. One of the statements hurled at him was, “If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.” This undoubtedly was also inspired by Satan, the same one who at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry said to him, “If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down from the pinnacle of the temple.” Now it was as though Satan were saying to him, “You refused to establish your claim once by refusing to jump from the pinnacle of the temple, but now I give you another chance. Perhaps you can save your life by coming down from the cross.” To this Jesus made no reply, helping to fulfill the prophecy that he was led as a lamb to the slaughter and opened not his mouth in protest.
The mob then exclaimed, “He has saved others, let him save himself.” How little did they know that by Jesus’ refusal to save himself he was providing an opportunity of salvation for them, and not only for them but for all the families of the earth. This is the man, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all. And how we rejoice that in due time this great truth and the fact concerning the love that prompted this sacrifice shall be testified to all!
In an admonition to the followers of Jesus we read, “Who is he that will harm you, if ye be followers of that which is good? But and if ye suffer for righteousness’ sake, happy are ye: and be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled.” (I Pet. 3:13,14) The testimony of the Scriptures is that Jesus went about doing good. He never did anything else but good. Yet he was cruelly persecuted, and especially was he made to suffer in connection with a final trial and crucifixion. They put a purple robe upon him, and a crown of thorns. This was in derision over the fact that he claimed to be a king. They spat upon him and beat him. They hung him upon a cross by nails driven through his feet and through his hands. He was mocked while hanging on the cross. Finally he died at the hands of his enemies. But still the Apostle Peter’s testimony was true. Jesus was not harmed. The worst they did to Jesus merely constituted the final trial that made him worthy of high exaltation in the resurrection. The flesh they harmed, but Jesus was not harmed as a new creature. And the same, incidentally, is true of all his followers who are faithful in walking in his footsteps, enduring for the truth’s sake and for their zeal in serving as his witnesses until the final end of the way. Jesus was not harmed, nor are we.
Forsaken
While Jesus was hanging upon the cross he was heard to pray to his Father, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” Strange as this might appear, this might well be an exclamation of triumph from the Master, for these words, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me,” are in reality the opening of a prophecy concerning Jesus in which are related some of the sufferings and particularly his experiences on the cross. And as he noted the details of this prophecy taking place before him, he would be able to identify the meaning of them and what their outcome would be. For instance, one of the points in this prophecy reads, “I am poured out like water, and all by bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potsherd; and my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; and thou hast brought me into the dust of death.”—Ps. 22:14,15
Jesus knew that his hands and feet had been pierced (vs. 16). As he hung there on the cross he watched the Roman soldiers part his garments among them and cast lots upon his vesture (vs. 18). Verse 24 reads, “For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard.” He knew from this prayer that Jehovah, while having temporarily forsaken him, would eventually hear him and that he would be delivered. Then in the prayer mention is made of the great and final result of his death on the cross. “All the ends of the world shall remember and turn unto the Lord: and all the kindreds of the nations shall worship before thee.” (vs. 27) Verse 30 reads, “A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.” Verse 31, “They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.” No doubt Jesus during the course of his ministry had become well acquainted with this Psalm, but not until now, when he was hanging upon the cross and remembered, in the prayer, references to details which he saw taking place and to experiences which he was passing through, did he realize the full import of this prophetic prayer.
For instance, reference is made to the kingdom—“For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he is the governor among the nations.” We remember the question of the thief, “Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom.” Jesus never did lose faith in the kingdom of his God, and when the thief made this request, how this prophecy must have strengthened him and given him the courage and strength to answer the thief as he did, “Verily I say unto thee, shalt thou be with me in paradise.”
So as Jesus hung there with all these thoughts going through his mind it was the logical thing that the opening verse of this prayer would be recalled. Then in his ecstasy of his increasing knowledge of the meaning of his present experiences he began to quote the prayer, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” In the vernacular of today it was as though Jesus was saying in his heart, “This is it! This is not something that developed and caused God to forsake me. This was all known in advance—not only this temporary turning of the Father’s smile from me, but the glorious outcome of this final experience in my earthly ministry.” Thus the recalling of the words “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” followed the bitter experience of losing the smile of his Heavenly Father and the assurance that now this was over and he could enjoy the blessed assurance that God had remembered him and would give him the necessary strength and courage to endure whatever was ahead for him to the bitter end.
In this remarkable prophetic prayer concerning Jesus’ suffering and death, after noting that God had forsaken him, he enlarges upon this thought, “O my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not; and in the night season, and am not silent. But thou art holy, O thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel. Our fathers trusted in thee: they trusted, and thou didst deliver them. They cried unto thee, and were delivered: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded. But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him.” Actually, by now Jesus realized that his Heavenly Father had not forsaken him, and then in the prayer his thoughts turn to things that definitely assure him that the smile of his Father’s favor is still upon him. “But thou art he that took me out of the womb: thou didst make me hope when I was upon my mother’s breasts. I was cast upon thee from the womb: thou art my God from my mother’s belly. Be not far from me; for trouble is near; for there is none to help.”
While Jesus was assured now that the Father’s favor was upon him, he realized more than ever the help and strength and courage he would need from his Heavenly Father in order to go through these final experiences upon the cross. And then we have the Master’s affirmation of his determination to continue in the service of the Lord, not only on this side of the veil, but also on the other, “I will declare thy name unto my brethren: in the midst of the congregation will I praise thee. Ye that fear the Lord, praise him; all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him; and fear him, all ye the seed of Israel. For he hath not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither hath he hid his face from him; but when he cried unto him, he heard. My praise shall be of thee in the great congregation: I will pay my vows before them that fear him. The meek shall eat and be satisfied: they shall praise the Lord that seek him: your heart shall live for ever.”
Made to Hope
In this prophetic prayer concerning Jesus he states, too, that he was made to hope while on his mother’s breasts. We are not to assume from this that Jesus had revealed to him the real purpose of his being born, but merely that God in his own way did give him a basic hope in the purpose of his work, and he realized that, this being true, the Heavenly Father would not forsake him now.
How faith-strengthening and joy-inspiring it must have been for Jesus while tasting the dregs of being temporarily forsaken by his Heavenly Father to have the realization brought to him through this prayer that it was only temporary. No wonder he gave audible expression to the first verse in this prayer. It could have been that, since he had been hanging on the cross some time by now, he did not have the physical strength to utter the prayer loudly enough to be heard, except those few words coming really as an exclamation. This may well be the reason the entire prayer is not recorded as having been uttered by Jesus. But sufficient of the prayer, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” is quoted in the gospel account of the Master’s death to serve as a valuable lesson to us who are endeavoring to be faithful followers in his footsteps. There probably are experiences in every faithful Christian’s life when he temporarily feels that the Father has forsaken him. If this should occur to us let us remember that, if it be true, the Father has his purpose as he did with Jesus, and let us seek to reach out more earnestly to him through great faithfulness and finally again realize the smile of his favor.
How thankful we are indeed to have such a Savior! One who is faithful under the most trying circumstances and determined, whatever might come or not come into his life in service for the Father, he would be faithful to him. With Jesus, this determination carried him through all of his trials. It enabled him to endure the cross and to despise the shame, because he knew the joy that was set before him and he did not lose his faith in the promises of these joys—the joys of continued cooperation in the Father’s plan for the blessing of all mankind. This is why, when it was finally at an end and he barely had strength to utter a few words, he said, “Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit.” He knew that the end was near in death, that his sacrifice would soon be consummated, and he had full faith in what the Father would do and he left it all with him. May this be our experience as we come to the end of our earthly course.
So far as the meaning of Jesus’ faithfulness in life and courage in death is concerned, it is well summed up for us by the Apostle Paul in Hebrews 12:1-4: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds. Ye have not yet resisted unto blood, striving against sin.”