Go to turn to Mark chapter 15, where we had our scripture reading. And I'm just going to read verses again, verses 33 to 39. And when the sixth hour had come, darkness fell over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabbatani, which is translated, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? And when some of the bystanders heard it, they began saying, behold, he is calling for Elijah. And someone ran and filled the sponge with a sour wine and put it on a reed and gave him a drink and saying, let us see whether Elijah will come to take him down. And Jesus uttered a loud cry and he breathed his last. And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. And when the centurion who was standing right in front of him saw the way he breathed his last, he said, truly this man was the son of God. Most of us are very familiar with the biblical narrative regarding the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. I think I shared with you on Sunday that we've actually traced this date back. It actually occurred April 6th, A.D. 30. Jesus was 33 and a half years old. And I know that most of you have probably heard of his trials and the beatings and the betrayals, the conviction for a crime he did not commit, his whipping, his mocking, his crucifixion, and his death. And we know from history that these events did occur. So this is recorded history. I know there are revisionists out there who say, oh, there's no record of Jesus. Don't even bother wasting your time on that. But it begs the question for us, what's so good about Good Friday? What's so good about Good Friday? There's so much more to the death of Jesus Christ than what we see immediately in the gospel text. What exactly was accomplished on the cross, what exactly was accomplished? Did God make an arbitrary decision just to say, hey, I'm gonna wipe out sins, or was there more to it? Tonight we're gonna examine the scriptures. So we're gonna be going all through the scriptures, so get your fingers ready. And we're gonna examine the scriptures to demonstrate that Christ's death on the cross involves so much more, so much more. On the cross, we're gonna see tonight, our Lord fulfilled four offices. He fulfilled four offices. The first was Christ, our High Priest. The second was Christ, our Redeemer. The third, Christ, our Substitute. And the fourth, Christ, our Atonement. And what we're gonna see with this, it's my intent and I pray that through the Holy Spirit's power in anointing, we will learn how this work of Christ on the cross secured eternal life and new birth for all who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. So let's take a look at the first office. Christ, our great high priest. We know that on Good Friday, Christ proactively acted as our high priest. He proactively acted as our high priest. Now, the high priest, the high priest was the one who would go into the Holy of Holies on the Day of Atonement to offer the sacrifice unto God on behalf of the people of Israel. It wasn't just an ordinary priest, it was the high priest. And in order to do that, in order to do that, first he had to offer sacrifice for himself. You know, he used to go in there with a rope tied around his leg, and once he went into the Holy of Holies, the rope had a bell, and he had the rope around his legs. And you know what that was for? That was for that if this high priest went in there with hidden sins, if he was a vile person, if he was a contemptible person, that when he went into the presence of the Holy of Holies, which is where the Ark of the Covenant was, which is when the temple was instituted where the presence of God was, that if he went in there in an unworthy manner, he would drop dead instantly and nobody can go and get him. You can't go past, that was only for the high priest. So what was the rope for? When he dropped dead, they could pull him out. This was not something that was taken lightly. This was something that the high priest, quite frankly, trembled and feared when it came his time on the calendar to go make the sacrifice. Now he would bring a sacrifice for himself, sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat, the mercy seat being the lid of the Ark of the Covenant, right? So he would sprinkle the blood on the mercy seat. It was referred to as the propitiatory, and we'll get into that a little bit more. But then there would be another sacrifice, and there would be a lamb, an unblemished lamb, a lamb without spot or defect. and that lamb would have to be slaughtered. It's a very interesting thing. When they slaughtered that lamb, that lamb could not be resisting. So if the lamb was going no, no, no, and they slit the throat, it's an invalid sacrifice. The lamb had to be peaceful. The lamb had to be placid. The lamb could not be offering resistance. And that lamb would be butchered. and it would be put upon the altar of sacrifice and its blood would be collected and carried into the Holy of Holies where the high priest again would sprinkle the blood upon the mercy seat asking God for forgiveness of the sins of the nation. But the high priest wasn't done. There would be a goat And after he left the Holy of Holies, the high priest would walk over to the goat, place both hands on the goat's head, and then recite the sins of the people. And then that goat, which we call the scapegoat, that goat would be led into the wilderness demonstrating that God had carried the sins of the people far, far, far away, never to be realized again. Christ is our scapegoat, is he not? For those of us who put our faith and trust in Jesus Christ, Christ himself is our scapegoat. We call that, theologically, we call that expiation. That's the formal term, expiation. It means that God carries our sins away. One of my favorite verses, is as far as the east is from the west. So far have you removed our transgression. It's been removed so far, it's no longer. The prophet Micah says, thou has taken our sin and cast it into the depths of the ocean where it could be remembered no more. Christ, on that good Friday, is our great high priest, the writer of Hebrews. And Hebrews 2.17 says this, therefore he had to be made like his brethren in all things that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God to make propitiation for the sins of the people. The writer continues in Hebrews 4.15, for we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. but one who has been tempted in all things, as we are, yet without sin. Christ, our high priest, I want you to notice this, Christ, our high priest, does not go to the cross with the blood of bulls and goats and rams and lambs. Christ goes to the cross as our great high priest. But however, something changes. Instead of bringing the sacrifice of blood of animals, the high priest himself, Jesus Christ, now is the sacrifice. He becomes the sacrifice. He becomes that lamb that is not resisting He becomes both the priest to bring the intercession and the intercession is himself. It's the blood of Jesus Christ. And through the blood of Jesus Christ, Christ himself makes propitiation for the sins of the people. Don't get lost in a fancy theological word. Propitiation simply means to satisfy or to appease the wrath of God. To satisfy or to appease Christ through his blood by becoming the sacrifice and as a great high priest offering it up to God, Christ himself becomes and makes propitiation for us. rather than offer the sacrifice of an animal. The great high priest is the sacrifice. There's no other high priest that ever did that and there'll never be anyone that does that. Christ himself becomes the sacrifice, and his sacrifice and his only satisfies the justice of God. Oh, we know this from Isaiah 53, right? We read this so many times. We read it when we do a Lord's Supper. Isaiah 53 five describes the scene perfectly. But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment for our well-being fell upon him and by his scourgings, by his wounds, we are healed. Isaiah 53 10, listen to this verse. But the Lord Yahweh was pleased to crush him. It's inconceivable. The Lord was pleased to crush Christ, putting him to grief. Now notice these words. If he would render himself a guilt offering. He would render himself a gift offering. You know, it's very common for the world today to see Christ as maybe somebody who was really sincere about his faith that he was willing to die for it. And other people see Christ as a revolutionary or a leader of men or a great even prophet. But none of those things were true. Christ became the sacrifice. Christ was broken apart for all who would put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. Rather than us paying for our sins, and by the way, I want you to know this, we could never pay for our sins. Okay, so if we were to live 50,000 millenniums and do good deeds every single day, we can never pay for our sins, but God choose to pour out his justice, his wrath upon Jesus Christ, his only son. Thousands of years before there was a similar scene, there was a man, Abraham, who had been promised his only son, And God said, Abraham, I want you to take your son up Mount Moriah, and I want you to offer him to me as a burnt offering. You probably know the story. I don't have to go into too much detail. But let's shoot straight to Mount Moriah. Here's one of the things. Isaac went voluntarily. Isaac did not resist. He went voluntarily. Abraham went knowing, well, if this is what God can do, God is able to even raise the dead. and after binding his only son and laying upon the sacrifice in the altar and rearing that flint knife back, Abraham was ready to thrust that knife into his son when the angel of the Lord stayed his hand and said, I know that you love me. Look over there, there's a ram in the thicket. But thousands of years later, another only son will go up that same mountain. He'll go up that same mountain. And there the father will lay him out. And he will be pierced. And he will be bruised. And he will be brutalized. And that knife came down. upon his only son, and his shed blood was shed for the forgiveness of sin. The guilty for the innocent, the innocent for the guilty. Christ is broken apart, Christ is battered, Christ himself becomes that Passover lamb. And one of the things that we always have to remember is that God does not blink at sin. This week as we were doing the Holy Week Bible studies every night, I kept sharing with those that were on of how God is dealing with my heart to understand the issues of the heart, to understand that it's in the heart where worship is conceived, What does it mean when we say we love Jesus? What does it mean when we say I'm a Christian? What does it mean when we say I'm a follower of Christ? What does it mean that I'm a believer? These should never be to us trivial words. These should not be flippant words. We must contemplate, and what I love about the Holy Week is this, is that it forces us, if we're really pursuing God, it forces us to contemplate the price that was paid for our pardon. And that price was priceless itself. The precious, holy blood of Jesus Christ. God had imputed, God had charged to Christ's account our sinfulness, our transgressions, our violation of his law. And God poured out the wrath that you and I deserve upon his son. And you know what we got? As we sang in our first hymn, we got his robes of righteousness. Here we see Christ as the great high priest. Here's the second thing we see. We see Christ as our substitute. Simply put, Christ was charged with our offenses. If you can even fathom that. We're sharing with someone this week that many times I look back on the sins that I committed as a young person and as a young man, and I'm ashamed of them now, and I wasn't ashamed of them then, and I sit back and I think, how did you do that? Why would you do that? That was the unregenerate, the unsaved man. But I even repent for those sins today. And to think that my Lord was charged with those crimes and they were charged to his account is almost too much to bear. On that good Friday, beginning early in the morning after having not slept for over 24 hours, after having endured multiple interrogations which included beatings, mocking, scourgings. At about 8 a.m. in the morning, he's turned over to savage Roman soldiers who then proceed to flog him or whip him, mock him, beat him, and then march him up to Golgotha. And he hangs on that cross from about 9 a.m. to about 3 p.m. And God's punishment is placed upon him. And the blood that ran down Calvary tree was the judgment that we deserved, was the judgment that we deserve. Christ became our substitute. And on the cross, Christ endured the punishment of God for all who put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ. The blood of Christ satisfies God's justice. Romans 3.25 and 26, they read as follows. Whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in his blood through faith, for a demonstration of his righteousness, because in the forbearance of God, he passed over the sins previously committed. For the demonstration, I say, of his righteousness at the present time, that he might be the just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Where does that leave the person who repents and entrusts himself by faith to Jesus Christ. Where does it leave the person who committed those sins? The one who was rebellious and deserved the punishment of God. One of the most miraculous things ever is we've received the righteousness of Christ. Second Corinthians 521, should be no new news to anybody in this church. He made him who knew no sin to become sin on our behalf that we might become the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus. In doing so, Christ became our sacrifice. He became our Passover lamb. Christ was our substitute. Christ stood in the gap as our sacrifice. And by offering himself, Christ makes propitiation for sins. Christ makes atonement for sins for all who come to him in repentance and faith. Listen, there's no small wonder, none at all, why Charles Wesley penned the words to that great hymn, And Can It Be. He writes this, and can it be that I should gain an interest in my Savior's blood Died he for me who caused his pain for me to him through death pursued. And then these amazing words, amazing love. How can it be that thou, my God, should die for me? Amazing love, how can it be that thou, my God, should die for me? You know what's amazing? What's amazing today is that most of the world out there are going to the movies, are going to the clubs, are at the bars, are watching baseball games or soccer games on TV. Right, they're out there shopping, they're out there doing maybe summer at the beach, maybe summer going out for a nice dinner, all these other different things on the most holiest, on the most sacred day. Now I don't say that to elevate ourselves above anybody because we gathered here tonight, that's not what I'm saying. What I'm saying is this, that good Friday, was the pivotal moment in history. Did you ever stop to think what happened after Christ came down off the tree, darkness filled the land, Jerusalem went silent because the Passover was coming? Did you ever stop to think of the rejoicing that perhaps took place in hell when they think finally we won, finally I did away with him? Did you ever think of the vileness and the evil that could have emerged on that day? And I'm being purely speculative here. As the Son of God lay in the tomb. on the cross Christ purchased back the children of God. Those whose names were written in the Lamb's book of life before the foundation of the world. The price was the blood of Jesus. So we see Christ as our great high priest. We see Christ as our substitute. There's a third thing we see. We see Christ as our redeemer. Galatians 3 verses 13 and 14 read as follows. Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse for us. For it is written, as cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree, in order that in Christ Jesus the blessings of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. Now the Apostle Paul speaks of redemption being completed on that Good Friday. But what is redemption? What is redemption? It's the purchase back of something that a ransom payment paid for. The biblical definition of a curse, by the way, you see there in Galatians 3.13, Christ became a curse for us. The biblical definition of a curse is this. God turns his face away. That's the definition of being cursed by God. God turns his face away. God turns completely away. Notice the words of the Apostle Paul. Christ became a curse for us. God turned away from Christ. the holiness of God fully on display that when even his only begotten son is charged with these crimes, when they're imputed to his account, that God's holiness is such that he could not look upon his son. And God turns away as Christ stands in our place. And on the cross, Christ purchased back. As our Redeemer, He purchased back the children of God. Ephesians 1.7 says this, in Him, meaning Christ, in Him, we have redemption. We have been bought back. We have redemption through His blood. The forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace. What a Savior. What a God. What a plan of redemption. Who but God can do something like this? through Christ, and I want you to understand this, through Christ's willing and through Christ's active obedience, through his active obedience and his sacrifice on the cross, Christ purchased the believer's redemption. All of us were lost in our trespasses and sin, but for those who came to faith in Christ Jesus, our eternal life, was purchased. Our eternal life, our forgiveness of sin, our sanctification, our justification, all acquired there at the cross. And Paul states it best in Ephesians 1.7 as I mentioned when he says, the forgiveness of our trespasses according to his riches of his grace. Paul writes about this in Romans 3, 23, 24 when he states, for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, but being justified as a gift by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus. The believer is justified as a gift of God's grace. done through Christ's perfect work of redemption. Christ our Redeemer on the cross. So we see Christ as our great high priest, Christ as our substitute, Christ as our Redeemer. There's one more we see. We see Christ our atonement. Through his voluntary and submissive death, Christ made atonement for sin to the Father. Christ thus is our atonement, and that is substitutionary death, dying in the place for our sin, atones for sin. Now atonement is an Old Testament word. It's an Old Testament word. Atonement we see on the day of atonement, right? I just explained to you what the high priest does with the sacrifice and going into the mercy seat. It literally means the state of being at one or the state of being reconciled. So what do we mean when we say Christ is our atonement? It is Christ who reconcile. He gives us reconciliation. He reconciles us. to the Father. Hebrews 9.12 says this, not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His blood He entered the holy place once and for all, having obtained eternal redemption. And I want to make a point here, this is a very subtle point, but I want to make a point here. Christ made redemption once and for all. The sacrifice of Christ does not need to be repeated multiple times a day, multiple times a year as some churches do. When we celebrate the Lord's table, this we do in memory of him. The wine does not become the blood of Jesus Christ. The bread does not become the body of Jesus Christ. And none of this in this celebration, Christ is not being butchered and beaten and broken all over again. Notice the words of the writer of Hebrews, but through the blood he entered the holy place once and for all. Let me share something else. No minister, no priest, no rabbi, no guru of any sort can enter that holy place because they're all full of sin. One man did it, that perfect sacrifice in Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 3.18 says this, for Christ also died for sins once and for all. the just for the unjust, in order that he might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. It is Jesus Christ who reconciles the guilty sinners to God through his atoning death on the cross. And because Jesus Christ paid the penalty for our sins, the believer in Christ is brought into an internal relationship with God. We have access to God through Jesus Christ. Believers are the children of God. Believers are no longer at enmity, nor are we enemies with God. Believers have been justified by faith through Jesus Christ, his son. There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, said the Apostle Paul, Romans 8, 1. As a matter of fact, in Romans 8, Verses three and four, the apostle Paul says this, for what the law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did. Underline, God did, God did. I didn't do it, you didn't do it, the minister didn't do it, the priest didn't do it, God did it. And God did it how? Sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and as an offering for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh in order that the requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit. Listen, because of Christ's atonement, the believer is reconciled to God. He's made a child of God. He is joint heirs with Jesus Christ, saved, sanctified, justified, glorified through the blood of Jesus Christ. So on that Good Friday, we saw Christ in four offices as our high priest, as our substitute, as our redeemer, and as our atonement. but a final word on this issue regarding the cross. The question may be asked, at what point on that Good Friday did this happen? It happened during Christ's six hours on the cross. The climax of which we see here in Mark 15, 34. Mark 15, 34, and at the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice. Eloi, Eloi, Lama Saptiani, which is translated, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? As the full wrath of God was poured out on his only son, Jesus, the son of God, is now forsaken of God, as God brings his full justice to bear on his only son. And it is on the cross that we see these things. We see Christ as our high priest, offering the sacrifice of himself for the sins of the people. We see Christ as our redeemer, buying back the elect of God for salvation and providing redemption. We see Christ as our substitute, satisfying the wrath of God as our propitiation, and bearing God's wrath, the innocent for the guilty. And we see Christ our atonement, reconciling guilty sinners to God, the holiness of God, judges sin, and Christ pays the price. 1 Peter 1.19 says this, knowing that you were redeemed, not with perishable things like silver or gold from your futile way of life inherited from your fathers, forefathers, but with the precious blood as a lamb unblemished, spotless, the blood of Christ. On that good Friday, guess what? The serpent's head was crushed. Genesis 3, 15. And yeah, he may have been bruised in the heel. The seed of woman may have been bruised in the heel, but the serpent's head was crushed. was done away with. Sin is defeated. Our Lord, recognizing that He had fulfilled the will of His Father perfectly, now offers up His life. And when Jesus therefore had received the sour wine, he said, Jesus said, it is finished, the Greek word, testelestai, it's done, it's over. The debt had been paid, reconciliation had been made, atonement had been made. John 19.30 says this, and Jesus, crying with a loud voice, said, Father, into thy hands I commit my spirit, and having said this, he breathed his last. The debt is paid. Every prophecy about Christ's earthly ministry and his work of redemption was fulfilled. He was faithful to the end, and I want you to notice this. In his sovereignty, In his sovereignty, he commits his spirit to the Lord. He determined when he died. He was the one who had the authority to offer it up to the Father. And when he says it is done, it's done. On Sunday morning on that third day, praise God, God will show the world that He accepted the sacrifice of His Son. And you know how He does that? By raising Him from the dead. And let me share something with you. Christ was raised from the dead physically. Flesh, blood, bone. He was not a spirit. He was not an apparition. He raised from the dead physically bearing the scars of his crucifixion. Go ahead, put your fingers in the nails holes. Go ahead, you want to see my side? Stick your hand in there. Put it in there. He ate, he drank, he was seen by over 500 different people. He cooked, he was able to materialize and dematerialize at will. Christ walked out of that tomb. The wages of sin had been paid. You know what wages are? It's what you deserve. If you work every week or every two weeks, you receive wages for your labor. Paul says the wages of sin, what does sin pay? It pays death, both physical and eternal. Well, guess what? For the believer in Christ, the debt had been paid. through the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Now there's two applications of these truths I wanna make before I close and we move to the Lord's table. One is for the believer in Christ, and the other one for the one considering Christ. For the believer in Christ, 1 John 3,1 says this, see how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should be called children of God, and such we are. For this reason, the world does not know us because it did not know him. Good Friday service is not ritual. Good Friday service is not liturgy. Good Friday service is not tradition. Good Friday service is worship. And we come here to worship the Lord in spirit and in truth. And we come here thinking about what a price has been paid for our salvation. I come here tonight, all week long I'm thinking about what a price was paid for my salvation. What an amazing Savior I have. Look at the one who can forgive my sins and give me new life in Christ. What love was demonstrated by God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. How can we have experienced forgiveness of sin and ever act indifferent to Christ? Isn't it a time that we repent? Isn't it a time that we repent from our indifference Isn't it a time that we repent for all the shiny objects of this world that grab our attention and grab our devotion? Isn't it time that we contemplate Christ in a new way, recognizing His Lordship, His greatness, and at the same time, recognizing our unworthiness, but being made worthy. Not by us, not because we're here on Friday night. We're worthy because of the blood of Jesus Christ. Church, we need to think about do we believe what we say? And listen, I'm signing up as the first one. I'm not saying this is for you. I'm saying the weight of this has been on my heart. There's a lot of flippancy in the church of Jesus Christ right now. I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian, I'm a Christian. Everybody's a Christian. You wear a t-shirt, you're a Christian. You got a bumper sticker, you're a Christian. But do you know Christ? Have you been to the cross? Have you stood underneath the blood pouring down from the Lord Jesus Christ and cried, Jesus, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner. You might say your life is bad. You might say, I don't get everything I want. None of that's gonna matter on that great day. You know that, right? If we are the people of God, as John says right here in 1st John 3, see how great a love the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called children of God. If we are the children of God, then let us act like the children of God. Let's get rid of everything. Let's get rid of every sin that so easily entangles us. And as the writer of Hebrews says, let us fix our eyes on Jesus Christ, who for the joy set before Him, endured the cross, despised the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Father. Believe in my heart is that we've come back to Christ. And that he would be our number one affection, our number one joy, our number one priority, and everything else would be secondary. That's for the believer in Christ. To one considering Christ. Perhaps you're estranged from God right at this moment and you know it. And if you were to die tonight, Do you have absolutely 100% persuasion that you would be with the Lord? And is that based not that you're gonna stand before the Lord and say, well, Lord, I know I did some bad things, but I also did a lot of good things too. And I gave to the poor and I helped old ladies across the street. And I did all these other good stuff because if that is your defense, You're gonna hear, depart from me, ye worker of iniquity, for I know you not. And if your defense is, Lord, I did many great works. Hey, Lord, remember when I got saved at 14? Remember when I went to Awana? Remember when I did this, that, and the other thing? And the Lord is gonna say, nobody atone for your sins. You have not come to the cross in humility, in repentance, in trusting yourself completely and wholly to Christ. You have not been born again. And so you're wrapped in righteousness of yourself. You're in filthy rags. You're the one at the wedding feast that wasn't dressed that the king said, what are you doing here? How come you didn't dress in vestal robes? Cast them out. Listen, if we see anything from Good Friday, we see how God treats sin. against his only son. He turned away from his only son, the perfect spotless lamb of God who knew no sin. When Christ was charged with the offenses of the believers. Do you think you deserve more fairer treatment? than Jesus Christ? The Bible is crystal clear, the wages of sin is death. Eternal separation from God, judgment from God, and no chance of a reversal of the decision. There's no appeal process. But listen, you don't have to finish that way. Christ went to the cross and took upon himself the sins of mankind. so that if you come to Christ in repentance and faith, what does that mean? You turn from your ways and you turn to Christ and you entrust yourself completely and wholly to the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross and you cry to God and say, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I am a sinner, I turn, Father, save me and make you new. If you do that, you'll be saved. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shall be saved. And so tonight, you have that opportunity. If the Spirit of God has spoken to your heart, I'm not gonna embarrass anybody. If the Spirit of God has spoken to your heart, if you even have questions, will you do me a favor? Will you just approach me privately and say, Pastor, I have some questions. How do I know I can be saved? How do I know? You know, one thing about death, death has a non-discrimination policy. Black, white, red, orange, purple, they all die. Young, old, middle age, all die. And nobody gets a postcard in the mail saying your death is due, you know, May 26th or, you know, May 30th. Nobody says that. Word of God is clear, it is appointed unto men to die once, and then the judgment. Will you do that tonight? Bow with me in a word of prayer.