Obedient Unto Death
Jesus' death on the cross was the climax of His incarnation and life, fulfilling the purpose of His designation as the Lamb of God.
G.W. North emphasizes the profound sacrifice of Jesus, who, even in His moment of greatest suffering on the cross, was primarily focused on establishing communion between God and humanity. He reflects on the weight of this mission, which was known to Christ from the beginning of time, culminating in His forsakenness. North draws parallels between Christ's sacrifice and the Old Testament laws of atonement, illustrating the continuity of God's redemptive plan. Despite the immense burden of His impending death, Jesus remained committed to fulfilling the divine purpose. The sermon highlights the depth of Christ's obedience and the significance of His sacrifice for the salvation of mankind.
Text
Hanging there He was more deeply concerned about creating the possibility of Communion for men than anything else. He knew that the whole reason for His incarnation and life would climax in that most dreadful moment of forsakenness. It had been known to Him before the foundation of the world. He had faced and undergone it in anticipation then, but the actual manifestation of it lay yet ahead.
By the sovereign choice of Jehovah, He was designated the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world, and the immensity of the result of His consent lay weighty upon Him from that point onward -- as heavily as when, millennia later He lay sweating in Gethsemane adjacent to Golgotha.
Similarly, when God defined and Moses wrote down the many different sacrifices required by law for the multiplicity of sin's atonements, it all loomed up again in His heart and brought nearer the awful day. It had been ever with Him; there had never been any respite from it, always He was the slaughtered Lamb, the slain lion, the dove destroyed as if it was the dragon.
Yet nothing withheld Him from the eternal purpose, and one day, having humbled Himself into a man, at Father's request He went lower still, right out alone into the long-foretold and oft-prefigured death.
Sermon Outline
- The Weight of the Cross
- The Sovereign Choice of Jehovah
- The Weight of Sacrifice
- The Eternal Purpose
- The Humbling of Himself into a Man
- The Long-Foretold and Oft-Prefigured Death
Key Quotes
“He knew that the whole reason for His incarnation and life would climax in that most dreadful moment of forsakenness.” — G.W. North
“He had faced and undergone it in anticipation then, but the actual manifestation of it lay yet ahead.” — G.W. North
“He was the slaughtered Lamb, the slain lion, the dove destroyed as if it was the dragon.” — G.W. North
Application Points
- We must understand the weight of sacrifice that Jesus endured for us.
- We should be grateful for the eternal purpose that Jesus fulfilled through His death.
- We can have communion with God through Jesus Christ, who took away our sin.