Good morning Brothers and Sisters in Christ as well as young people and friends. You and I say that “we believe in Jesus Christ who was crucified”. That the Son of God was hung on cross. We believe that Jesus was hung on a tree. We can only imagine what a horrible death it was to be crucified. It is an ugly way to die. It is the kind of death that we would not wish on our worst enemy. We need not go into the exact details but suffice it to say, it involved unspeakable pain and suffering. Crucifixion is such a horrible way to die that even Roman law forbade the crucifixion of a Roman citizen. It was used by the Romans to execute only slaves and foreigners who were found guilty of a crime. The Jews did not normally crucify people. Capitol punishment was by stoning. Sometimes, after death they would hang the body on a tree or expose it impaled on a pole, but never overnight. For the law was clear on that point (Deuteronomy 21: 21-23). “ (21)And all the men of his city shall stone him with stones, that he die: so shall thou put evil away from among you: and all Israel shall hear, and fear. (22) And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: (23) His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day (for he that is hanged is accursed by God) that thy land be not defiled, which the Lord thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.” The Law was also clear in that if Jesus were guilty of the crime they accused him of, He should never have been crucified, but stoned. We read in Mat 26:65 and John 8:58 that He had been accused of blasphemy. The punishment for blasphemy according to Leviticus 24:16 was stoning. But that would not have satisfied the Jewish leaders. They demanded confirmation that Christ was a liar, and in fact not the Son of God. They demanded crucifixion, a symbol of rejection by God. And so Jesus was hung on that tree. But are we to believe that Christ was Cursed by God? Just the statement makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Even Paul in his first letter to the Corinthians disputes this as he writes in I Corinthians 12:3, “Wherefore I give you to understand that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Spirit.” But later Paul writes to the Galations “Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree” (Gal 3:13) Is the apostle contradicting himself? We know that being hung on a tree was a curse from God. Moses states this in the Law, and Isaiah foretells it also in chapter 53 starting at verse 9. (9) And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (10) Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. (11) He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (12) Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. But the apostle, well versed in scripture, is adamant that Christ was not cursed. I’m confused already. I guess to sort this all out we first need to define what it is to be accursed by God. Curse: A calling on God to send evil or injury down on some person or thing. A profane or blasphemous oath. Expressing hatred , anger, or vexation. To afflict, to harass or torment. (Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary) We find the first Biblical curse in Genesis 3:14. “And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all the cattle and above the beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of your life.” In this case a physical affliction. Cain was cursed from the earth in Genesis 4:11-14. “And now thou art cursed from the earth, which hath opened her mouth to receive thy brother’s blood from thy hand; When thou tillest the ground, it shall not henceforth yield unto thee her strength; a fugitive and a vagabond shalt thou be in the earth. And Cain said unto the Lord, My punishment is greater than I can bear. Behold, thou hast driven me out this day from the face of the earth; and from thy face I shall be hid.” Here we see actually two curses, the first an affliction in that Cain could no longer grow a crop, therefore he was relegated to wander the earth in search of sustenance and an abandonment by God. “and from thy face I shall be hid.” There are many more curses throughout the Bible, but by these I think that we can gather that a curse involved a judgment by God, and a punishment of some sort. Whenever we read in the new testament the cross being equated with the tree, we need to remember that the New Testament writers with the exception of Luke, were Jews. They understood the significance of the cross related as a tree. It is interesting to note the different translations of the words in these related passages. The word as written in Galations is actually Xulon, which means wood. The word in Greek for tree is dendron. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament the word Xulon is used in the Deuteronomy passage. The usual word for cross in the New Testament is stauros. See how Paul defines the cross not with Roman eyes, even though he was a roman citizen, but from a Jewish perspective. So Paul is saying to the Galations “Anyone who tries to enter the Kingdom by keeping the law is under the curse.” Why? Because the law says “Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.” In other words, if we want to enter the Kingdom through the law, we have to observe every detail and continually. If we err just once, we come under the curse. But the fact is that we have all sinned. There is not a single person alive or dead who has kept the law perfectly - not one except for Christ. We are sinners saved by grace. Why? because Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us. I Peter 2:24 states “Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed”. What did Peter mean by that phrase? He was thinking of Deuteronomy 21:23. Why did he use the word “tree” and not “cross”? It is apparent that he was thinking about the curse of our sins and not simply the death that everyone dies. Heb 2:16-18 describes the nature in which Christ came to this earth. Read with me that passage. Hebrews 2: 6-18 (16) “For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. (17) Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (18) For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succour them that are tempted”. Christ was created as being "like unto his brethren." He experienced everything to the full that the we must experience. When we read that Christ was "tempted in all points like as we are, yet without sin," (Heb 4-15) we must also understand that in this way He was made to be sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21). “For He (GOD) hath made Him (Christ) to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (Christ)”. In taking upon Himself our humanity, Christ became the representative for the human race. Christ was cursed by the law, not by God. The law came to us because of our iniquities. Adam was created in a very good state. In the garden there was no need for the law because we were with God, we were instructed at every point. But because Adam fell to temptation, and God knew that we would continue to do so, the law had to be defined. The law provided a way for us to return to that very good state. In reality, the Bible speaks of only two men, the first and second Adams. The first Adam was tempted and fell to temptation. The second Adam was tempted on the very same points and was victorious. Thereby, righteousness was revealed. Then God was with us once again. But because judgment had already been passed and the law had been defined, Christ had to live up to the law in every letter, after all he came not to abolish the law but to fulfill it. And that law required that we return to the dust from whence we came. Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. Therefore it was Christ’s flesh, the flesh that we share that was cursed by God. A curse we all share. But in His resurrection, Christ proves that by fulfilling the Law in every letter the second death is negated. Let us read the words of Paul in I Corinthians 15 (1) “Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand; (2) By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain. (3) For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; (4) And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures: (12) Now if Christ be preached that he rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? (13) But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: (14) And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. (15)Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that he raised up Christ: whom he raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. (16) For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: (17) And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. (18) Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. (19) If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable. (20) But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. (21) For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. (22) For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. So now we have this hope, this hope of life, eternity in the presence of God. A hope of returning to the state in which Adam was created, better in fact. Now many in the modern word misread this passage to mean that they are absolved of all their sins because Christ took them up; that because Christ died for them they would never have to die as long as they just believe on Him. But we know that this hope, this faith, is not enough. We will be judged. And faith alone cannot be judged. Our actions and our thoughts will be judged. But it is our faith that should govern our thoughts and actions. Upon Christ as our substitute and surety was laid the iniquity of us all. He was counted a transgressor, that He might redeem us from the condemnation of the law. The guilt of every descendant of Adam was pressing upon His heart. The wrath of God against sin, the terrible manifestation of His displeasure because of iniquity, filled the soul of His Son with consternation. All His life Christ had been publishing to a fallen world the good news of the Father's mercy and pardoning love. Salvation for the chief of sinners was His theme. But now on that cross, with the terrible weight of guilt He bears, He cannot see the Father's reconciling face. For God cannot look upon sin. The withdrawal of the divine countenance from the Savior in this hour of supreme anguish pierced His heart with a sorrow that can never be fully understood by man. So great was this agony that His physical pain was hardly felt. How can we compare to that. Christ redeemed us to God. How can we redeem ourselves to Christ. In Galgotha, the "place of the skull," His sweat came in great drops as blood. Sin was pressing the life from the Savior. It was not His own personal sin, but the sin of the world that broke the heart of the Son of God. We read in Isaiah 53 that He was "stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." On the cross, suspended between God and man, rejected by all. He cried out, "My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me?"– (Mark 15:34,Psalm 22:1 ) These were not empty words. He sang that Psalm because He felt it. He felt for the first time since His baptism separated from God. He experienced the torment that we as the unrepentant sinner might experience. The wages of sin is death. Christ died that death. He followed the law to the letter and did not warrant that first death. The death of the flesh. He had already conquered the flesh. Yet he died. He drank the cup to it’s bitter dregs (Isaiah 51:22) so that we will not have to drink it. Read with me that passage of Isaiah. “Thus saith thy El (or supreme God): Yaweh, and only Yaweh that pleadeth the cause of His people, Behold, I have taken out of thine hand the cup of trembling, even the dregs of the cup of My fury; thou shalt no more drink it again”. Christ died the equivalent of the second death for every man who chooses to glorify God. We do not need to die that terrible death of separation from the Father, though we can choose that end. Unfortunately there will be many who choose death rather than life. It’s a choice we each must make. Deuteronomy 30:19 states “I call Heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that thou and thy seed may live”. Therefore, let us choose life. Unlike the first death, if we die the second death it will be because we have chosen it. We will have spurned the death of Christ, crucifying Him afresh. What we experience will be no different than what Christ experienced on the Cross. The fire that snuffs out our lives will come as sweet relief from the knowledge of what we have done in our rejection of the Son of God. In all the history of the universe there has only been one real death— the death of Christ. He bore our flesh and that flesh was cursed. He bore our flesh and so the curse rested on Jesus when He hung on the wooden cross on Golgotha Hill. He was unclean. He bore the burden of our sins. It wasn’t only Pilate who sent him to the place of execution. It wasn’t merely the Jews who cried “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”. We say it aloud each time we choose to sin. And now as we prepare to partake of the emblems signifying His flesh striped and broken, His blood spilled on our behalf, let us remember the awesome gift imparted to us through His sacrifice and the grace of the Father. For He so loved us........
Given by Bro. Sol L. Gorrrell Wanatah Christadelphian Ecclesia 06/02/2002