Now, notice one more thing that we see when we look at the cross:
“The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!” John 1:29 (NIV)
Look at Jesus on the cross, and you will see Him taking all your sin away from you! All overeating, gluttony, laziness, every wicked thing you’ve ever done, said, thought, or imagined was put on Jesus, and He removed it from you!
Friend, think of it, your sin is no longer even yours. It was put on Jesus as if He did the sinning. By putting it on Jesus, God removed it from you!
This is what God was illustrating when, on the Day of Atonement, He instructed the priest to lay his hands on the head of a goat (the Scapegoat) and figuratively transfer all the sins of the Israelites to it. Then the goat was led out and away from the people far into the wilderness never to be seen again. The historian Josephus records that the people yelled at it, spit at it, kicked dust at it, and cursed it as it was being led away.
Do you realize your sin has not only been paid for but removed from you? “As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). East and West never meet, they are infinitely separated from each other, and this is God’s way of teaching you that you will never meet up with your sins again - ever!
Question 5. Please explain what it feels like to see Jesus taking your sins on Himself and removing them far from you forever.
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We will continue this line of study in the next lesson, but for now, let me summarize. As we look to the cross and consider Christ’s work, we see that Jesus has saved us from the wrath of God and removed our sins from us. This is the way God designed for your freedom: we are to look at the cross to see what is happening there and to believe the message of the gospel.
You can put faith in what you see at the cross, embracing the good news and rejoicing in Jesus Christ, and find freedom, or you can reject it and remain enslaved. There is no middle ground here, friend: “For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (1 Corinthians 1:18). I’m praying God enables you to receive with rejoicing and believe with delight.
This continual looking at the cross, believing the message of the gospel, both cuts our heart and heals it, both puts us to death and gives us new life. And this is what happens when someone believes the message of the cross, their heart is circumcised (Acts 2:37), their old self is crucified (Romans 6:6-7) and they are raised to new life with Christ (Romans 6:8-10).
Please take a moment and listen to this song before you go.
Bill writes, "What powerful message through this song...Forever etched upon my mind Is the look of Him who died The Lamb I crucified And now my life will sing the praise of pure atoning grace That looked on me and Gladly took my place..." Hallelujah... Glory to His name... Jesus my deliverer... Who loved me even to the Cross!