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death, but the primary motive was to reconcile God to man so that sinners might be freely forgiven. Calvary forever changed man’s standing before God. Therefore Paul says that God “was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them.’’ Christ Substituted for Us in His Death on the Cross The word “vicarious” pertains to the substitution of one person for another. In Christianity, this means that the guilt of sin demanding eternal punishment was as sumed by an infinite Person. The vicarious satisfaction made by Christ means that Christ, in our stead, satisfied justice in the place of you and me so that we do not have to do it for ourselves. The infinite majesty of God which was offended by the rebellion of man and by the enmity of man, was satisfied by the obedience of Christ. In this act of obedience, Christ also demonstrated before man What it meant to act for the greatest good of the universe. In so doing, He satisfied the very nature of God which is at the heart of the universe itself. Such a satisfaction was called an expiation and the entire Old Testament teaches the significance of such a sacrifice. In Leviticus 1:4 the consummation of the cere mony of the burnt offering is described. The Word says, “And he shall put his hand on the head of the burnt-offer ing; and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.” Again in Leviticus 4:26, 29, we read, “And the priest shall make an atonement for him as concerning his sin, and it shall be forgiven him . . . And he shall lay his hand upon the head of the sin-offering, and slay the sin-offering in the place of the burnt-offering.” Also in Leviticus 16:21, the directions for the day of atonement are given after the offerer brought two goats to the altar on behalf of the people, “Aaron shall lay both his hands upon the head .of the live goat, and confess over him all the iniquities of the children of Israel, and all their trans gressions in all their sins, putting them upon the head of the goat, and shall send him away by the hand of a fit man into the wilderness.” One goat was to be slain and one was to go free. This was the symbol of a substitute, hence the rise of the word “scapegoat.” Lambs, bullocks, goats, pigeons and other animals were substitutions for men in making an atonement for sin in the sight of the Lord. Thus a sacrifice was substitutionary when it was for the purpose of making atonement. The blood of the sacrifice was important because the life was in the blood. The Levitical law stated: “The life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.” These sacrifices were all types or shadows of the sacri fice of Christ. They foretold the coming of God’s Lamb who would take away the sins of the world. None of these Old" Testament sacrifices took away sin, but because God foresaw the sacrifice of Christ, He overlooked the sins of the past which were covered by blood and forgave them. This was made possible because Christ was “ the Lamb slain'from the foundation of the world.” Sins of the Old Testament saints were covered in prospect as ours are covered in retrospect because of the Cross. The writer of Hebrews not only calls these Old Testament offerings “shadows,” but says “which are figures of the true” and “For the bodies of those beasts, whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest for sin, are burned without the camp. Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate.” Christ was both the priest who presented the offering and the offering which was made. He was priest after the order of Melchisedec. In attestation thereof, it is stated in Hebrews 5:5,10: “So also Christ glorified not him self to be made an high.priest” ; “Called of God an high priest after the order of Melchisedec.” Christ is frequently
Griffith Park Planetarium and Observatory. Photograph courtesy Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce.
called a priest in the New Testament, and He holds not only the offices of prophet and king, but also of priest, the mediator between God and man. He represents man to God and God to man, and His particular work as priest is to offer sacrifice on our behalf and to intercede for us. His is an eternal and changeless priesthood. Christ died vicariously in the sinner’s place. Paul asserted: Christ “loved me, and gave himself for me.” The words “for me” actually mean “instead of me.” The same expression occurs in these verses: “When we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.” “He by the grace of God should taste death for every man.” It is clear that our sins, the curse of the law, the experience of death and all the consequences of sin were laid upon Christ instead of upon us. The substitution o f Christ for us involves obedience in two respects: Active obedience in that Christ was born, lived and died under the law, thereby fulfilling the law. “When the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Christ thus gave us the right to eter nal life. But such submission did not take care of the penalty of our sins. Therefore, Jesus also rendered a passive obedience: That is, He voluntarily took our de served sufferings upon Himself and paid the penalty of sin in our behalf. “He is the propitiation for our sins." The plot of Dickens’ great novel, “The Tale of Two Cities,” is built upon this principle of substitution. Charles Darnay, descendant of a French nobleman, was con demned to death by the Revolutionaries. Previously he had lived in England, where he had married one Lucie Manette, whose father had been confined in the Bastille through the villainy of Charles Darnay’s grandfather. There was no hope whatever for the condemned man. However, Lucie had been exceedingly kind to the dissolute Sidney Carton, a drunken lawyer who closely resembled Charles Darnay, and so great was Lucie’s influence that Sidney desired to befriend her. For her sake, therefore, he goes to Paris and in one of the most moving and dramatic scenes of all literature, he exchanges clothing with Charles Darnay and substitutes for him at the guil lotine. This is an excellent illustration of the substitu tionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ for us. (Continued on Page 110)
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