Having looked at Chapter 1 previously, I had intended to move to Chapter 2 for today, but as I read the text again of Chapter 1, There was a very important subject that stood out to me and I felt we should contemplate it a little more. The title of my message is The Sinner's Substitute. My text is found in verse 12. And he said unto them, take me up and cast me forth into the sea. So shall the sea be calm unto you, for I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. So in making my way to my text, I'd like us to read through this chapter once again. And as we do, I want to briefly call to our remembrance Some of the wonderful truths and gospel pictures we saw. Just look at the main points. There are many, many pictures and types in this passage of the Lord Jesus Christ. So let's start at verse 1 there. Verse 1 of Jonah 1, Now the word of the Lord came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it, for their wickedness is come up before me. But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord, and went down to Jobba. And he found a ship going to Tarshish. So he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the Lord. Of course we see in this sense Jonah the sinner. Jonah the sinner. A sinner just like you and I. Human nature at its very best is always contrary to the things of the Lord. But the Lord sent out a great wind. into the sea and there was a mighty tempest in the sea. It said that the ship was likely to be broken. And we looked last time how that storm, that storm is a picture, isn't it? It's a picture of the wrath of God upon all sin, all sin. It pursues sin wherever it be found. Then the mariners, verse 5, were afraid and cried every man unto his God, lowercase g, and cast forth the wares that were in the ship into the sea to lighten it of them. But Jonah was gone down into the sides of the ship. and he lay and was fast asleep. So the mariners were in fear of their lives and they looked for Jonah. They looked for Jonah. Where'd they find him? They found him in a sleep, asleep in the sides of the ship. And perhaps of course you recall that time when the Lord was with his disciples on the sea of Galilee and in just the same manner the storm came up, didn't it? The storm came up and the disciples were in fear of their lives and they went and found the Lord Jesus and where was he? He was asleep in the ship. Just the same. What a beautiful parallel that is between Jonah and our Lord Jesus Christ. Just another confirmation that the life of Jonah here, the life of Jonah is a representation of him. Verse seven, and then they said, everyone to his fellow, come, let us cast lots that we may know for whose cause this evil is upon us. So they cast lots and the lot fell upon Jonah. Then said they unto him, Tell us, we pray thee, for whose cause this evil is upon us. What is thy occupation? Whence comest thou? What is thy country? And what people art thou? And he said unto them, I am a Hebrew, and I fear the Lord, the God of heaven, capital G, which hath made the sea and the dry land. Then were the men exceedingly afraid, and said unto him, Why hast thou done this? For the men knew that he fled from the presence of the Lord, because he told them. So now there is a fear, isn't there, a fear, because they were speaking of the true and living God, not the gods of their own imagination. Then said they unto him, What shall we do unto thee, that the sea may be calm unto us? For the sea was wrought, and was tempestuous. And he said unto them, Take me up, and cast me forth into the sea, so shall the sea be calm unto you. For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. So Jaina declares to these sinners, these sailors, the way of salvation. And so we see this theme of substitution, substitution. But there's always resistance. from the carnal will of man to the things of God. Verse 13, nevertheless, the men rode hard to bring it to land, but they could not. They could not. For the sea was wrought and was tempestuous against them. And so we see the futility, the absolute futility of the works of men against the wrath of God. They rode hard, didn't they? They rode hard, but they could not. They could not. That's the truth, isn't it? Work salvation, you cannot. There is no good work, no good work at all that you can do to merit yourself to God, to atone for your sins, or to escape the judgment of God. Wherefore, verse 14, they cried unto the Lord, and he said, We beseech thee, O Lord, we beseech thee, let us not perish for this man's life, and lay not upon us innocent blood. For thou, Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. That innocent blood is the spotless Lamb of God, isn't it? And you recall, of course, how he was handed over by the hands of wicked men to be crucified. They nod upon us, innocent blood, for thou, O Lord, hast done as it pleased thee. So they took up Jonah and cast him forth into the sea, and the sea ceased from her raging. After toiling in vain, they heeded what Jonah had said, didn't they? And so we see the wrath of God satisfied, which otherwise would have consumed them. I love that verse in Romans chapter 7. Chapter 5, I think it is. Chapter 5, for scarcely for a righteous man one will die, yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. But God commendeth his love toward us, toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. So the scriptures speak of believers having fellowship one with another. Fellowship in the gospel. We are a fellowship of believers. Those sailors were fellows in that ship, weren't they? Fellows in that ship. And that's what believers are. We are fellows in that ship. That ship. Fellows in that ship of salvation. We stay in that ship because we know that ship will be saved. We know that ship will be saved. The love of our savior is evident, isn't it? Even while we were yet sinners, we were enemies. We were hostile, rebellious. Even while we were yet sinners, he was our substitute. He stood as our substitute. What a picture Jonah is of our Lord. Jonah is cast into the sea of the wrath of God and he disappears beneath the water. That's a picture of death, isn't it? That's a picture of death. That's why baptism is such a powerful symbol, being plunged beneath the water. Pictures us being baptized into his death and then rising up out of the water. Pictures us being risen with him again, being raised with him. And having been cast into that sea, the justice of God is satisfied. There is a word in the scriptures called propitiation. That's another term you could use there. that the wrath of God has been propitiated against our sin. His fury has been exhausted. The wrath of God is abated. And then, what happens? There is peace. There is peace. That's why our Lord Jesus Christ is called the Prince of Peace. I've heard men say, I've made my peace with God. Have you heard that before? I've made my peace with God. I've heard men looking like they're knocking on death's door and they're still proud. I've made my peace with God. We don't make peace with God. God must make peace with us. He's the peacemaker. The Lord Jesus Christ is our peace. He is our peace. Verse 16, then the men feared the Lord exceedingly and offered a sacrifice under the Lord and made vows. And finally in verse 17, we see Jonah swallowed up for a specific time. Now the Lord had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights, exactly as the Lord had said of himself. So shall the mount some of man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. And so chapter two, when we move on to that, perhaps next week, Lord willing, speaks of the time of his affliction. And at the end of the chapter two, recall last week we saw how the Lord God speaks to that fish and vomits Jonah up onto dry land. That's a picture of resurrection, isn't it? You might recall how we contemplated those words Jonah declared in his affliction in verse 9 of chapter 2. Look at that verse. Jonah declares these words. He says, salvation is of the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord. Now we ought to take that statement and just run as far as you can with it. How much of salvation is of the Lord? Salvation is not 95% bubble ward and 5% man. It's not even 99.999% repeat, and the rest is up to you. There's no part of salvation that is up to us. Salvation is of the Lord, and that simply means he does it all, doesn't it? If he does it all, then he gets all the glory. That's the true gospel, and that's a good measure. It's a good measure. Any gospel that gives him all the glory will be the true gospel. If you get a message that gives some sort of glory to man in the scheme of salvation, then that is not a true gospel. I'm so thankful that salvation is in His hands. His hands and not mine. Because if salvation is in His hands, that's the salvation I can hang all my hope upon. Cast me forth into the sea, Jonah says. So shall the sea be calm unto you. For I know that for my sake this great tempest is upon you. What a great picture of substitution. Now what is, what is it? What's substitution? And possibly the simplest definition that I could come up with was Christ in my place. Christ in my place. God is looking to a saviour. He's looking to a substitute, isn't he? If God is looking to me for righteousness, I need Christ in my place. If God is looking to me for some penalty to pay for sins, I need Christ in my place. We understand the concept, don't we? It's a pretty simple concept. We've all watched a game of football. And if you watch that game, you'll know that there's things called a substitute. If a player is injured, incapacitated on the field, the coach goes, well, we send in a substitute. And that substitute takes the place of that one on the field, that one that's been injured, incapacitated, and he takes on all the responsibilities of that other. Now if there is a substitution, if there is a real transfer, both those people cannot be on the field at the same time. Salvation is a work of grace 100%. It cannot be touched by our filthy hands. If you insert something of yourself into that scheme of salvation, then that is not grace anymore, is it? If you play on that field, you want to play on that field the same time as a substitute, you'll be disqualified. It's no longer grace. And so the scriptures The scriptures are saturated, aren't they? Saturated with the theme of substitution. All the scriptures are written in some way to point us to the person and the work of the sacrifice that would put away sin forever. Here's the sinner's sacrifice. That sacrificial system, you might recall, involved the death of animals. They all pointed us, didn't they? They pointed us to that one sacrifice that would put away sin forever. The priests in that tabernacle in the time of the wanderings of the Israelites never entered the holy place without blood. Animal sacrifice was always offered for the sins of the people, again pointing to the precious blood of the Lamb of God who was to come. We see substitution from the very beginning, don't we? We know that story. Adam and Eve knew the commandment of God, a simple commandment of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden. God hath said ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. I encourage everyone to read that account of Genesis 3, because there we see our fall. That's where we see our fall, and if you get that wrong, you're wrong on it all. We sinned in Adam, and then we see the penalty for our rebellion, don't we, against God, the consequences. The consequences plainly stated. The scripture says the soul that sinneth, it shall die. the soul of the sinner that shall die. And after that fall, Abner and Eve went and hid themselves, you recall, hid themselves away from God. But here's the wonder of the gospel. What did the Lord do? We see substitution, don't we? He went and killed an animal, and he shed its blood, and he took that skin, and he clothed him. He clothed him in his righteousness. He killed an animal. And soon after that, we see another picture of substitution, don't we? You see it in their children, Cain and Abel. In the offerings of Cain and Abel, Cain was a tiller of the ground, you might recall, and Abel was a tender of the flocks. And Cain brought the firstfruits of his garden as an offering to the Lord. And Abel brought the firstlings of his flock to the Lord. He brought a lamb, didn't he? He brought a lamb. And the scripture said the Lord had respect to Abel's offering, but he had no respect to Cain's offering. Why was that so? Why was that so? Why did the Lord not respect Cain's offering? Sure, they were good vegetables. Because Cain's offering represented the works of his hands, the works of the earth. But Abel's offering represented the work of the substitute, our substitute. In Hebrews 11 we read, By faith Abel offered unto God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by which he obtained witness that he was righteous. He was a sinner, but he was declared righteous. Why? Because his offering signified the one sacrifice that God would provide and would accept. And we have that wonderful story in Genesis chapter 22, which Angus touched on a few weeks ago. If you'd like to turn with me there, please, Genesis chapter 22. I know you visit it a lot, but I just think it's such a wonderful picture of substitution. Genesis chapter 22, where the Lord calls on Abraham, verse 2. Take thy son, thy only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains, which I will tell of thee. And Abraham said unto his young men, Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder and worship and come again to you. This task. It's unbelievable. This task is an awful thing for them to undertake, isn't it? But notice the hope and faith of Abraham. Abraham fully expects them to come back. He fully expects it because he had faith that God would provide. Him and the lad were going to come and return. Verse six, and Abraham took the wood of the burnt offering and laid it upon Isaac, his son, and he took the fire in his hand and a knife, and they both went of them together. Verse seven, and Isaac spake unto Abraham his father and said, my father, he said, here I am, my son. And he said, behold the fire and the wood, but where is the lamb for a burnt offering? And here are the words that fill me with wonder, absolute wonder, every time I read them. Verse eight, Abraham said, my son, God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. I love the wording of our translators in the King James Version. My son, God will provide himself a lamb. Not only will God provide the sacrifice, the sacrifice he provides is himself. God will provide himself a lamb for a burnt offering. And as you read on you'll see an angel of the Lord intervenes and Isaac is spared and there's a ram caught in the thicket and that becomes a sacrifice, a substitute. A substitute is provided, a substitute provided by God, a substitute that is God. And Abraham called that place Jehovah-Jireh, which can be translated, the Lord will provide. He provided, didn't he? He provided the substitute for them. And that's the key, isn't it, to knowing what God accepts, I think. Everything God requires, he provides. Everything God requires, he provides. What about faith? Everything God requires, He provides. He provides us faith. Faith is not of ourselves, it's not of works, as any man should boast. Everything God requires, He provides. And everything He provides, He accepts. If He provides it, He's not going to reject it. What is our offering? What is our offering? Our offering is Him, isn't it? When the Lord Jesus was baptized, that voice from heaven said, this is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. There would be no possibility of our Lord, the Lord our God, rejecting that offering. If He is our offering, that offering will be accepted. He is well pleased with that offering. Well pleased. So we need to remember too that these things were determined from long ago. Revelation declares Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. What a remarkable statement that is. Slain from the foundation of the world. provided from the foundation of the world. The Lord God gave us his son, his only begotten son. We didn't earn him. We didn't desire him. And when he came, we despised him. We rejected him and we nailed him to a tree, didn't we? And we mocked him as he died. God gave his son to be our savior in the covenant of grace before the world began. The Lord Jesus Christ voluntarily gave himself and he stood as our surety. Have you heard that word before? The Lord Jesus Christ is the surety of a better covenant, a better covenant, a better testament. The Lord Jesus Christ willingly became the surety of his people. That word surety is a legal term, a guarantor if you like. A surety takes on the responsibilities of another, including their debts, all their debts, he becomes responsible. And if that person cannot pay, the surety must pay because he's committed themselves to paying for it. And so when we think of the Lord Jesus Christ as the surety of his people, There is a twofold debt paid by our Lord. One of the debts is his obedience to the law. A debt that was paid by his perfect obedience under God, to the law of God. Every thought, every word, every deed, perfectly in conformity with the law of God. That's the first debt paid. The second debt as our sorority is a debt of punishment. The debt of punishment, remember what God said, don't eat that tree, lest you die, and we incurred that debt. That debt was upon us. The debt of punishment then became His, as the surety. because we fail to keep God's law at every point in any sense. And so he is both the sinner's substitute in terms of righteousness and he is the sinner's substitute in death as well. And having paid both debts, the righteousness of the law is fulfilled. He didn't come to do away with the law. He came to fulfill the law. He fulfilled the law as our surety and as our substitute. Here's our surety. Everything he did, he did as an us. And everything he accomplished, he accomplished as an us. And I trust at this point you are seeing how substitution, substitution is always for a particular people. In the book of Leviticus we see how the scapegoat, do you remember the scapegoat? The scapegoat is used as a substitute. We still use that term today, don't we, when we talk to somebody that takes the blame for someone else's crime, goes to the scapegoat. And the priest would lay his hands on the scapegoat and confess the sins of the people upon that animal, and that animal was sent. Out into the wilderness, out into the wilderness, never to return. And the Lord God has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west. That scapegoat was only provided for the Israelites, was it not? It was not provided for the Ammonites or the Moabites or the Edomites or the Philistines. That offering was only made on behalf of the people. the people. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul says, Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. And the simple question we need to ask is, who is the hour? Who is the hour? If I'm to have an interest in this plan of salvation, in this wondrous, beautiful covenant, if I'm to have an interest, I want to know who the hour is. In 2 Corinthians 5, we see that, for he hath made him to be sin for us, us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. Who are the us? Well, the answer is actually in the verse, if you read it. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. The answer is in the verse, the us are those who are made righteous. They are made righteous. Made righteous as a direct result of his bearing our sins in his body on the tree. Where there is a substitution, there is always a transfer. If the Lord Jesus Christ is the substitute, there is a transfer, and when there is no transfer, there is no substitution. He doesn't substitute for those who he does not transfer for. There is no transfer when there is no substitution. In Acts chapter 20, we read that amazing verse that the church was purchased with his own blood. That's an amazing verse, isn't it? The church was purchased with his own blood. And my question is this, did he get what he paid for? get what he paid for. If God purchased the church with his own blood, then they're his, aren't they? They're his. They're his forever. He purchased them. He redeemed them. Redeemed them. He's the redeemer, isn't he? He redeemed them by paying a price for them. And the price was the precious blood of God. He loved them. He loved them. Who are they? Who are the loved ones? Is everyone loved of God? Is everyone loved of God? Did he give his life for everyone? If he gave his life for everyone, if he loves everyone, then what makes the difference? See, one of the things you might know is that any gospel that gives any credit to man in salvation is a false way. We've already read that salvation is of the Lord in its entirety. If God loves everyone, then who makes the difference? Who makes the difference in that equation? It has to be us, doesn't it then? There's no alternative. Ephesians 5, we have another answer to that question. Paul answers this question so wonderfully in the picture of marriage. The picture of marriage. Verse 25 of Ephesians 5 says, Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church and gave himself for it. He gave himself for the church. Is there any love more particular, more jealous, more exclusive than the love of a husband for his wife. Can you imagine a groom standing at the altar, pledging his vows to his bride, and he says, honey, I love you just like I love every other woman. That would not wash very well. The words of that groom would be an insult, would it not? And that pledge of love becomes meaningless. Love by its very nature must discriminate. It must discriminate. It must favor. Love has an object, doesn't it? The objects of his love. We're talking about the objects of God's love and care. And he sends a substitute for the objects of his love and care. That's just the nature of love, isn't it? It is exclusive. Such is the love of Christ for his bride that he gave his life for her. Friends, his eyes have been fixed on her from before the foundation of the world, and there's no possibility that she can be lost to him. He paid the price with his own blood, and if he paid the price with his own blood, we know that that offering is accepted. accepted by his father. Jeremiah says, The Lord hath appeared of old unto me, saying, Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love. Therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. So what does our Lord say concerning his substitution? I am the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. He calls them by name, doesn't he? And they know the shepherd's voice. They were redeemed by his blood. They are a purchased possession, made holy and without blame before him, chosen in him before the foundation of the world, and all of it according to the covenant of grace. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. The sinless, spotless lamb of God died for our sins. The Lord Jesus Christ didn't die for any of his own sins, did he? He died for our sins, our sins. He was cut off from the land of the living for our sakes. He died not for his own sins, he had none, he had none. And yet our sins were made his by divine imputation. He died not for his own transgressions, did he? transgressions. As Isaiah says, he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities. And yet with that said, here is a very important observation to that. We know that our sins were made his sins. We know this. But the Scriptures declare that God made him to be sin. But there is more to this imputation, isn't there? There is more to this transfer. The Lord Jesus Christ called those sins his own. Where is that found? We've known for a long time that the Psalms have no meaning except they be the words of the Lord Jesus Christ. They are Messianic Psalms. All the Psalms And in fact the cries of Jonah in Jonah chapter 2 include references to at least eight psalms, maybe more. The Lord willing we'll look at that another time. But listen to these words from Psalm 40. You can turn there if you wish. Verse 7 says, Then said I, Lo, I come. In the volume of the book it is written of me. Immediately we know this is the Lord speaking, don't we? I delight to do thy will, O God. Yea, thy law is within my heart. I have preached righteousness in the congregation. Lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart. I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation. I have not concealed thy loving-kindness and thy truth from the great congregation. No man can say these things, can they, except they be the God-man. Verse 11 says, withhold not thy tender mercies from me, O Lord. Let thy loving kindness and thy truth continually preserve me. And now listen to these words in verse 12. He says, for innumerable evils have compassed me about. Mine iniquities have taken hold of me. Mine iniquities have taken hold of me. That's what the Lord says, mine iniquities, so that I'm not able to look up, they are more than the hairs of mine head, therefore my heart faileth me. And he experienced, the Lord Jesus Christ experienced those sins in his own body, beginning in Gethsemane, where his sweat were, as it were, great drops of blood. That's when it came upon him. The affliction of our Lord is for another time. But in finishing, before I finish, I want to look at another amazing picture of substitution just quickly. If you would like to turn with me, if you will, to Mark chapter 15. Mark chapter 15. Verse 1, Mark chapter 15, and straightway in the morning the chief priests held a consultation with the elders and the scribes and the whole council and bound Jesus and carried him away and delivered him to Pilate. These religious leaders delivered him to Pilate. They delivered him to Pilate because they had no authority. They had no authority to take Jesus to themselves and do what they wanted to do under Roman rule, to put him to death. They were captives of the Romans and so they used Pilate to do what they could not do themselves. In verse 2, And Pilate asked him, Aren't thou the king of the Jews? And he answered and said unto him, Thou sayest it. And the chief priest accused him of many things, but he answered nothing. And Pilate asked him again, saying, Answerest thou nothing? Behold, how many things they witness against thee! But Jesus answered nothing, so that Pilate marvelled. Now at that feast he released unto them one prisoner, whomsoever they desired. That was the custom of the Roman government to release a prisoner Whomsoever they desired, the people's choice, if you like. Verse 7, and there was one named Barabbas, which lay bound with them, that had made insurrection with him, who had committed murder in the insurrection. Committed murder. And the multitude, crying aloud, began to desire him to do as he had ever done to them, to give them this prisoner exchange. But Pilate answered them, saying, Will you that I release unto you the king of the Jews? For he knew that the chief priests had delivered him for envy, for their own devious, wicked purposes. But the chief priest incited the people, and moved the people, that he should rather release Barabbas unto them. And Pilate answered and said unto them again, Will ye then that I shall do unto him whom ye call the king of the Jews? And they cried out again, Crucify him. Then Pilate said unto him, Why, what evil hath he done? And they cried out more exceedingly, Crucify him. And the scripture says, he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. Scripture says that? Scripture says they hated me without a cause. And so Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas under them and delivered Jesus when he had scourged him to be crucified. Barabbas is a picture of us, isn't it? This is a picture of us. We ought not ever think that we are innocent victims in all this. We rose up against God in insurrection and we are perfectly guilty as charged. We sought to overrule the authority of God and run our own way. The way it is, Isaiah says, all we have like sheep and gone our own way. We have turned everyone to his own way. Everyone has raised their fist in the face of God. Can you imagine yourself as Barabbas in that cell? Remember, this is a picture of us. He was on death row, awaiting that sentence, justly condemned. He knew full well that he was a transgressor and I trust that you know this is a description of us as well, that we've broken every law, broken every law and every precept and we fully deserve that sentence. That's the burden of everyone who knows something in their own sin. Barabbas, you think about it, he may have heard the cry of that crowd. Crucify him. Singing out, crucify him. He would not have known who they were talking about. The pilot released Barabbas under them and delivered Jesus, and so there's a transfer, isn't there? There's our substitution. An actual exchange, one for another. One goes free. Can you imagine the amazement of Barabbas when those guards came down to his cell and opened that cell door and he said, you're free. you are free and pronounce his release. We justly deserve to die, don't we? But Christ took our place. Is there anyone like the sinner's substitute? Is there anyone like our Saviour? May the Lord bless these words to us. Let's have a break and back with Psalm. Thank you.