Sufferer, Substitute, Sovereign

Verse 1 of John 19. Then Pilate therefore took Jesus and scourged him, and the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe. They came unto him and said, Hail King of the Jews, and they struck him with their hands or with rods.

Pilate therefore went forth and saith unto him, Behold, I bring him forth to you, that ye may know that I find no fault in him. Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, and Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man. Look down to verse 13.

When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth and sat down in the judgment seat in the place that is called the pavement, but in the Hebrew, Gabbatha. And I'm reading for this verse, verse 17, and they took Jesus and led him away, and he, bearing his cross, went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha, where they crucified him. Now another verse in 1 Peter chapter 2. This verse has been quoted this morning.

1 Peter 2 verse 24, Who his own self bear our sins in his own body on the tree, that we being dead to sins should live unto righteousness, by whose stripes ye were healed. Now one last verse in Zechariah, way back in the Old Testament. Zechariah chapter 6, verse 12.

Zechariah 6 and 12 says, And speak unto him, saying, Thus speaketh the Lord of hosts, saying, Behold the man whose name is the branch. He shall grow up out of his place, and he shall build the temple of God, the temple of the Lord. Even he shall build the temple of the Lord, and he shall bear the glory, and shall sit and rule upon his throne, and he shall be a priest upon his throne, and the counsel of peace shall be between them both.

Now I want to direct your attention simply to three expressions. We read, He went forth bearing his cross. That's the sufferer.

We read in 1 Peter chapter 2 that he bear our sins. That's a different word. It's the word for a substitute.

And then in Zechariah chapter 6 we read, He shall bear the glory. That's the sovereign. That's the coming day.

Interesting to me that in John 19, John tells us so much about his sufferings. He went forth. He came forth.

He was brought forth. And again we read that he went forth. They took Jesus, led him away, and bearing his cross, he went forth onto the place of the skull where they crucified him.

That was the burden that he bore, the cross. I don't know what you think, but you remember Simon of Cyrene. It seems to me that there was some sense of compassion in his heart.

That officer that compelled Simon of Cyrene to bear the cross after Jesus. Now this was God the Son. There is no sense at all in which he could not have carried the cross.

My understanding is, as we were told on one occasion when we were there, there were snakes impaled in the ground along the way to Calvary. And the criminal carried the cross beam. And oftentimes in their anxiety to put him to death, he was crucified along the way before they got to Calvary.

But it was Calvary where the Savior was crucified. And in my mind that centurion was moved when he thought of all the sufferings the Savior had been through. You think of the many different ways that he was stricken.

They buffeted him with their fists. This chapter tells us they smote him with rods. He was hit with their hands.

He was scourged with a Roman scourge. So much agony that he endured. And it seems to me in the mind of that hardened soldier, he was moved to pity.

And he compelled Simon to bear it after Jesus. And in my mind, I think what he did was he lifted the end of that cross beam and he bare it after Jesus. You think about it.

The burden bearer. Then Peter reminds us of the substitute. Lovely words that Peter writes, who his own self bear our sins.

That means he took our place. Upon the cross, because the sinless Savior died, our sinful soul is counted free. And God the just is satisfied to look on him and pardon me.

We'll never, never suffer for our sins. They're all gone. Isaiah says they're buried in the depths of the sea.

The psalmist tells us in the 103rd Psalm, they're as far as the east is from the west. You can never measure the east from the west. You can measure the poles from the north to the south, but you can start to journey east and you'll continually go east or west.

And so that's where our sins are. Isaiah tells us again he has blotted them out. Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.

And God says he remembers them no more. You know it's possible at times for believers to get discouraged when they think of their sinful past. I wouldn't go very far to hear someone dig up all their sinful past in their testimony.

Paul says about those things of which you're now ashamed. But they're put away. And sometimes believers get occupied and they lose their joy as they think of their past life.

But the Lord says they're put away. They're out of his sight. They're buried in the depths of the sea.

And so we bear our sin in his own body on the tree. But I want you to think of the sovereign in Zechariah chapter 6. We read those lovely words. As king priest upon the throne, he tells us that he shall bear the glory.

The counsel of peace shall be between them both. And in that coming day when, as king priest upon the throne, and he will bear the glory eternally. This is acquired glory because of Calvary.

And you and I in association with him will reign from sea to sea. Psalm tells us from the rivers onto the ends of the earth. His kingdom will know no end.

And there will be kingdoms and unfoldings, Paul tells us in the ages to come. He might show the exceeding riches of his kindness in us, toward us, in Christ Jesus. I remember in one of my visits to Northern Ireland, having meetings with a late Mr. McKelvey, godly man that he was, he said one day at a ministry meeting, God is never going to come out folding his hands or wringing them to say there's no more to unfold to his people.

It will be forever. You read Romans chapter 5, Paul talks about more and more and more. So in that day of endless glory, you and I shall reign with him.

What a glad prospect it could be today. We'll hear the shout and be with him and like him forever.