He Was Crushed-A Few Words on the Wrath of God
Suggested Readings: Isaiah 53:3-12 & Matthew 27:35-54
"I don't like that topic," might be what someone says if they're feeling uncomfortable. Several topics make us uncomfortable, particularly as Christians. One of those uncomfortable topics is the anger and wrath of God towards sin. We get uncomfortable when we discuss the plagues that God sent to Pharaoh during the time of the Exodus, or the Exile of Israel from the promised land to Babylonian captivity. When a doubting world asks about the Canaanite conquest, we become silent. We might get uncomfortable when we read about a man who knew no sin, and yet he was suffering and ultimately was punished for crimes which he did not himself commit.
“He wasdespised and rejected bymankind, a man ofsuffering, and familiar withpain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem. 4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet weconsidered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression[a] and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished. 9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. 10 Yetitwas the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and thoughthe Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life[d] and be satisfied by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,[g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:3-1235 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews. 38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.45 From noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land. 46 About three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eli, Eli,[a] lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”). 47 When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a staff, and offered it to Jesus to drink. 49 The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”50 And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit. 51 At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook, the rocks split 52 and the tombs broke open. The bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. 53 They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and[c] went into the holy city and appeared to many people 54 When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” Matthew 27:35-54
God's Righteous Holy Anger
The innocent being punished makes us uncomfortable. Typically we would call this abuse. When anger and punishments are applied to someone who has done nothing to provoke anger and nothing to deserve punishment. In the death and loneliness of Jesus we see the awesome righteous and overwhelming anger of God on full cosmic display. And yet it is not abuse. God's righteous holy anger was poured out on Jesus as he took on the full weight of our sin. His righteousness and holy anger didn't crush Jesus when He healed the sick, gave the blind their sight, restored the dead to life, or preached the kingdom come. God's righteous holy anger crushed Jesus when he accepted the full weight of God's people's sin.
This week is one of those times that we are drawn into a better understanding of God's righteous anger. It may make us uncomfortable to meditate on the righteous anger of God and the evil one would certainly want to rob God of his glory by deceiving us. God is worthy of all glory and praise including when we see God's righteous anger on display against sin. God has revealed to us his righteous anger toward sin and it is right for us to worship God for who he is including his righteous anger against sin.
God's Righteous Holy and Perfect Nature
It was God's righteous holy and perfect nature that could not abide sin in the garden of Eden. That could not allow violence in to run amuck in the days of Noah. It was God's righteous holy perfect nature that could not tolerate the injustice of Pharaoh against God's people. His perfect nature that provided instruction to his people at Sinai and purged idolatry from the monarchy in Israel. It was God's righteous holy perfect nature that demanded a separation from sin. It was God's righteous holy perfect nature that crushed the Son of God while he was bearing the full and total weight of our sin.
When we are uncomfortable with God's righteous holy perfect nature we miss out on a part of our God. When we refuse to study God's Word towards sin we risk living in manners that God has expressly forbidden. RC Sproul wrote it this way in his book The Holiness of God he says:
“God's grace is not infinite, God is infinite and God is gracious. We experience the grace of an infinite God but grace is not infinite. God sets limits to his patience and forbearance. He warns us over and over again that someday the axe will fall and his judgment will be poured out.” RC Sproul The Holiness of God
It's a good reminder that the full righteous anger of God was brought to bear on Jesus on the cross.
Our Sinful Nature
Sometimes we're tempted to minimize the anger of God and to minimize the suffering of Christ. Maybe the anger of God scares us, maybe it makes us uncomfortable. So we could minimize or maybe even ignore altogether the righteous anger of God. But at the same time, this would minimize or remove any need for a Savior. We often use that term “saved” to describe someone who has put their faith in Jesus. The person who is saved has been saved from the penalty of their sins through the atoning death of Jesus on the cross. To minimize the wrath of God would be to minimize the need for a savior.
The hope that we have because of Christ's death would be false if the sin that he paid for wasn't deserved. If the punishment didn't fit the crime. God's righteous anger wouldn't be righteous or just at all if the suffering of Christ was in any way exaggerated. God's wrath wouldn't need to be poured out onto sin.
We may go so far as to think that God can tolerate some sins and wouldn't mind it if we began dictating moral policy in the universe. Any hope that a Savior would provide would be a false hope. Jesus would be a false Savior if God's wrath wasn't righteous. We wouldn't need a savior to bear the crushing weight of God's righteous anger towards sin because sin wouldn't be that big of a deal. Consequently God's righteousness, justice and holiness wouldn't be that big of a deal either.
God's Grace and Mercy
God's righteousness, his justice and his holiness are a big deal. So are God's grace and mercy. When Jesus was stricken we were spared. When Jesus was crushed and we were commuted. He was reviled and we were redeemed. He was afflicted and we were adopted. To add to that quote from RC Sproul earlier you might adapt it this way by saying God's wrath is not infinite, God is infinite. God is righteous but his anger and his wrath are not infinite. He poured out the full weight and penalty for sin onto Jesus in his death. His atoning death led the Apostle Paul to exclaim;
“there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Romans 8:1
There are no leftovers of God's righteous anger. It has all been paid and been poured out, onto him the one who was crushed. As the hymn goes: "in my place condemned he stood sealed my pardon with his blood hallelujah what a savior." There are no leftovers of God's righteous anger because they have all been poured out as punishment for the sins of his people unto Christ Jesus.
God loved us, his people, so much that he revealed just how far he will go to eradicate sin. He revealed in his righteous anger, his fervent judgment against sin. God revealed just how much he loves his people by saving us from sin and sparing us from his holy righteous anger.
The innocent son of God received the death we deserved. Today and this week is a time to praise God for who he is including his righteous holy divine wrath and his just judgment upon sin. This is a time to praise God for what he has done for sparing us the full crushing weight of our own sin and adopting us into his family through the death and resurrection of Jesus.
