The Lutheran Pioneer St. Louis — 1916, Page 10

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10

Our Substitute was sinless; He “knew no sin”
(2 Cor. 5, 21); but as our Substitute He willingly
took our sins upon Himself. “The Lord hath laid
on Him [the Messiah] the iniquity of us all,” when
“He was brought as a lamb to the slaughter; and
He opened not His mouth.” (Is. 53, 6. 7.) Our

‘ sins were accounted His. For “God was in Christ,
... not imputing their [the sinners’] trespasses unto
them,” but to His own Son, in this way “recon-
ciling the world unto Himself.” (2 Cor. 5, 19.)
O precious truth, which we should never forget,
but deeply inscribe in our heart, our conscience, by
the power of the Holy Spirit.— Indeed, in Him-
self Christ was holy and undefiled; in the sight
of His Father, however, He was the greatest sinner,
the basest and most abject mortal on earth, from
whom not only men hid their faces, but even God.
God held Him responsible for all wicked inclina-
tions, desires, thoughts, words, and deeds of the

‘ entire fallen human race, yea, for all those dark,
abominable crimes and vices that are numberless
like the stars overhead, countless like the sands
along the shore of the sea. St. Paul says expressly:
“God has made Him to be sin for us who knew no
sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in Him.” (2 Cor. 5, 21.) -

In our place Christ fulfilled the Ten Command-
ments, for us, who could not keep them. This we
call His active obedience. “God sent forth His
Son... made under the Law, to redeem them that
were under the Law, that we might receive the adop-
tion of sons.” (Gal. 4, 4. 5.) He took the obli-
gation of the Law upon Hiniself for us, and ful-
filled the divine will perfectly. In the Sermon on
the Mount He tells us that He has not come to
destroy the Law, but to fulfill it. (Matt. 5, 17.)

» We heard before that our sin was laid on Christ
by God the Father; hence also “the chastisement of
our peace was upon Him,” as Isaiah says, namely,
our punishment, when He suffered and died for us.
‘This is His passive obedience, which is stated most
clearly in those truly admirable, yea, incomparable
words of prophecy: “Surely, He hath borne our
griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem
Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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.” (Is. 53, 4. 5.) “One died for all.” (2 Cor.
5,14.) Also read John 11, 50—52 carefully.

Let me repeat only a few of the words fraught
with blessing which are recorded in the Lenten

The Lutheran Pioneer.

story; words which will never pass away though
heaven and earth crumble together like a decayed
building; words of God which speak to us of
Christ’s work of redemption: of the “blood and
bitter pain” wherewith He has “dearly bought us”;
of the sorrow, grief, and torture of body and soul
which He patiently endured for us; words which
will be a fountain of joy for us in time and eternity.
Hear concerning His battle in the garden: “And
He took with Him Peter, James, and John, ...
and began to be sore amazed, and sorrowful, and
very heavy. Then saith He unto them, My soul is
exceeding sorrowful, even unto death... . And
being in an agony, He prayed more earnestly: and
His sweat was as it were great drops of blood fall-
ing down to the ground.” — Look at this portrait:
“Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of
thorns and the purple robe. And Pilate said to
the Jews, Behold the man!” Tinally He was cru-
cified. On the cross He tasted eternal death for us,
being a curse for us. (Gal. 3, 13.) ternal death
consists in the total separation of the sinner from
God. This Jesus suffered in our stead, for we read:
“And it was about the sixth hour, and there was
a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour,
and the sun was darkened. And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, My God, My
God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” — Peacefully
He gave up the ghost, having finished His work,
that we might have eternal life by faith in His
name. What a glorious confession the centurion
made who witnessed the miracles accompanying
Christ’s death! He exclaimed, “Certainly this was
a righteous man and the Son of God.” Is this
your confession, dear reader? If you believe in
Christ, His blood cleanses you from all sin. Then
you become God’s child and heir; then your Savior
has not died for you in vain.. But he who rejects

‘this Gospel is helplessly lost.

At the Royal Academy in London there is Sigis- +,
mund Goetze’s celebrated painting of Christ, the
Man of Sorrows. He forms the central figure, while
on both sides various people in modern garbs and .
of various walks of life are crowding by Him with-
out paying the least attention to Him. Each one,
from the humblest servant in rags -to the highest
dignitary, is busied with his own occupation or
pleasure. If they do, notice Him, they only cast:
looks of scorn at Him. The painting bears the
title, “Despised and Rejected of Men.” ‘Thus it
is with the world, the poor, sorrow-stricken, blind,
deceived world, which thinks that glittering pebbles