TEXT: Luke 23:1-25

SUBJECT: Luke #89: The Just for the Unjust

Substitution is one of the major themes of the Old Testament. If you read that part of the Bible, it won’t be long until you come across it, until you find one thing taking the place of another.

The first Substitution is made shortly after Adam and Eve fell into sin. God made them in His own image, put them in a Garden paradise, and gave them eternal life, a life they would keep as long as they did not eat the forbidden fruit. In the day you eat thereof—they were warned—you will surely die. Well, of course, they soon ate the fruit, but then a funny thing happened: they didn’t die. You don’t find dead bodies in Eden, but what you find is a couple, formerly naked, now full clothed. What are they wearing? Not the fig leaf aprons they sew earlier than day, but garments of skin—animal skins, the fur or hide of some unlucky beast who died in the place of the first sinners. Substitution.

Centuries later, another Substitution occurred. Abraham is an old man with a young son. The boy was born to him and his wife when they were well past the years of child bearing. He was miracle baby, a son the Lord had promised him many years before. But one night, as Abraham lay in bed, God spoke to him: Take your son, your only son, the son you love, and offer him to Me on Mount Moriah as a burnt offering. The father tosses and turns all night, but when the sun comes up, he and the boy are off to Mount Moriah. As they make the steep climb, the boy wonders where the sacrifice is—they have the wood and fire, but where’s the offering?

Abraham’s reply is a riddle—The Lord will provide Himself a sacrifice. They build an altar and the father puts his son on it. He draws the knife to cut his throat—and God stops him with a word from heaven: Abraham, do not lay your hand on the lad or do anything to him: for now I know you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me. Relieved, the dear man unties his son and lifts him off the altar. But what’s this he hears? There’s a ram caught in the bushes just behind them. Abraham pulls it free and offers it to the Lord in place of his son. Substitution.

Two or three generations later, Abraham’s family moved into Egypt and were given a royal welcome. But the welcome did not last. A king rose in Egypt who did not know Joseph and reduced his honored guests to bondage. In slavery they stayed, for many years crying to the Lord, but without an answer. Until God’s good time. He sent Moses to save His People from captivity, but the work wasn’t easy. The king was a cruel, stubborn, and deceitful man. As the plagues fell on him, he begged relief and promised to let the people go. But the moment they were lifted, he hardened his heart and would not let them go.

God had had enough of him! The proud king’s will must be broken and it would be broken. On New Year’s Eve, the Angel of Death marched through Egypt—killing the first born son in every family—from the son of the farmhand to the son of Pharaoh himself, no family was spared. Except the families up in Goshen—the Hebrews lost no one. Because a few days before God had given them a ritual to perform: each family was to take a spotless lamb, cut it’s throat, and drain its blood into a bowl. The lamb would be roasted and eaten that night, but before dinner they would take the blood and smear it up and across the doorway.

When the Angel saw that blood, he would Pass over that family and seek his prey somewhere else. The sons were saved. By Substitution.

Substitution was woven into the life of Israel and into the heart of every observant Jew. Two holidays a year were built around it: Passover and the Day of Atonement. But it wasn’t limited to special days, but every day—twice a day—sacrifices were made in the Tabernacle and then in the Temple. When a woman had a baby, she and her husband would offer a sacrifice for her cleansing. When the baby was a boy, he was presented in the Temple, and always with a sacrifice. If a man touched a dead body or any unclean thing, he would offer a sacrifice.

And then, of course, there were sacrifices tied to personal sin—the burnt offering, the sin offering, the trespass offering, and the peace offering. All men are guilty before God and without the shedding of blood, there is no remission.

Though the sacrifice of Isaac was not the same as the Passover, the Day of Atonement was not the same as the Burnt Offering, and so on, all the Substitutions had one thing in common: the innocent took the place of the guilty. The guilty never died for the guilty; the guilty never died for the innocent; the innocent never died for the innocent. But always: the innocent for the guilty. Peter says the just for the unjust.

THE TOPIC

This is what today’s story is about: Substitution. On the morning of His crucifixion, the Lord is tried three times by three judges: none of them finds Him guilty, yet they all agree: He must die.

They can’t say why He must be crucified, but crucified He must be! It’s as though an Invisible Hand is behind them all, pushing them to a secret destiny. There is such a Hand! Though everyone is acting of his own will, they are also being guided. Weeks later, a church would bless God for the Invisible Hand,

Though Pilate and Herod, the Jews and the Romans are to be blamed for killing the Lord Jesus, God is to be praised for it! At the same time, the Crucifixion is the most appalling event in history and also the most glorious. Man’s darkest day is God’s finest hour.

The Lord is first tried by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor of Judea. Pilate’s office was in Caesarea, but because the Jews often rioted at the Passover, he spent the holidays in Jerusalem.

First thing in the morning, Pilate got the expected knock on the door: the Jews were at it again. What is it this time? They’ve brought a prisoner to him and they want him to punish the man. What has he done? Three things:

• He has been perverting the nation.

• …Telling us not to pay our taxes.

• …Calling himself a king.

The first charge meant nothing to Pilate—he didn’t care about the religion and customs of Israel. But the other two were of great interest! Tax evasion was a serious crime in the Empire and contesting the rule of Caesar was even worse.

Pilate examined Him and found the charges untrue. In fact, He had taught the people to honor the king and to pay their taxes. As for being a king Himself, He said He was, but His kingdom did not contradict Caesar’s.

The verdict is in: I find no fault in this Man.

The accusers don’t like the decision and begin yelling out all His crimes—from Galilee to this place.

Galilee? If He’s from up there, then He’s not in Pilate’s jurisdiction. King Herod is the man to judge a Galilean—and as luck would have it—he’s in town.

This is Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great, the man who tried to kill the Lord when he was a little boy. What the father failed to do with hard work, the son would do without lifting a finger.

Herod is happy to meet the prisoner! He’s heard a lot about Him and now he gets to see the Man for himself. He’s been told the Man is quite the miracle worker and he wants to see a trick. But the Lord is no magician and will not accommodate the silly king.

This makes the king mad, so he turns Him over to the soldiers for a little fun and games. They put a royal cape on Him and offer Him mock worship.

The king’s verdict: not guilty. I have found no fault in this man—said Pilate—no, neither did Herod.

He is sent back to Pilate.

The governor is not a good man, but he recognizes a frame up when he sees one. And he wants no part of it. He tells the accusers that the Lord is innocent and that he’s letting Him go. Big words from a little man!

But the Rulers are not easily bluffed. They know they’ve got the people on their side and they can stir up a riot if they want to. They also know that Pilate knows all this and—whatever he says—he’ll do whatever it takes to keep the peace.

Pilate, feeling his weakness, offers a compromise: I will chastise Him and release Him. How about a good old beating and let it go at that?

No deal! Pilate says it over and over again, but the Rulers of Israel are tougher than he is, and in the end, he gives in.

But wait! Pilate has just had a brainstorm! Every year at Passover, he releases a prisoner. This year’s he got an especially wicked prisoner, a man named Barabbas. He was a killer, a thief, and a rebel. Pilate decides to offer him to the people alongside Jesus, knowing which one they’ll choose.

Which one will you have?

Barabbas!

The governor is thunderstruck! Maybe they didn’t hear him right. Which one will you have: this innocent Man or this murderer?

Barabbas!

Pilate tries to reason with them: Why, what evil has He done?

None at all. But crucify Him anyway!

Pilate gives in and they lead Him away to a place called Calvary, where they crucified Him.

Well, how about that? Three courts agree the Lord is not guilty and they also agree that He must be treated as if He were. Substitution. The innocent animals die in place of the guilty Adam and Eve. The innocent ram dies in place of the guilty boy. The innocent lamb dies in place of the guilty nation. The innocent doves die in place of the guilty mother. The innocent pigeon dies in place of the guilty son.

And now, the one Innocent Man dies for all the guilty ones. Substitution.

For centuries God was preparing the minds of Israel—and the whole world—to feel the power and the grace of what He would do. And now He has done it. Not with a lamb or a goat, not with a dove or a pigeon, but with His Only Begotten Son!

Jesus Christ died for sinners. Not to set us an example or to melt our hearts with love, but in our place. The just for the unjust. Substitution.

Do you know the Lord Jesus died for you? If you do, praise God! Unless He died for you, you will die for yourself! Unless He suffered the wrath and rejection of God for you, you must suffer them for yourself! Praise the Lord! Thank the Lord! And never forget what He did for you! The hymn got it right,

The wormwood and gall are yours by right. And His by choice. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed.

Do you know the Lord died for you? If so, give Him the credit for your salvation and don’t take any for yourself (not even a smidgen, a pinch you pretend not to have, but like to admire when you’re alone).

Do you not know Christ died for you? If not, what are you doing to find out? Some say they don’t know, but when asked what they’re doing they can only shrug and say, "Well, I should be doing more. Maybe". But this betrays an insincere heart. How do you find out if the Lord died in your place or not? You don’t study the Bible or read books of theology or pray about it or seek the advice of your pastor! What you do is believe in Christ.

That’s what I urge you to do. Right now with all your heart. Believe in Christ. Believe He died for you. Believe He was buried for you. Believe He rose for you. Believe He’s in heaven for you. Believe He’s coming back some day to get you. Believe and you will know for whom died Christ.