Jesus Christ - God's monument  by Mark S. Camp

Matthew 27:45-50

Introduction: I would like to speak to you this morning on the
subject of "Jesus Christ - God's Monument." Those of us here
today who are true followers of Jesus Christ, have the ability
to comprehend and enjoy the resurrection of our Lord from the
grave. It is because he lives that we too shall live. Because
he has conquered death and its sting, we who trust in him shall
also overcome the final enemy of man. Because he now lives
interceding at the right hand of the Father for us, we can
persevere in the pursuit of holiness and godliness. Where he
is now, we too shall one day be. The resurrection of Jesus
from the tomb was the first-fruits of a promised harvest. The
resurrection offers us hope.

However, I do not believe that we can fully appreciate the
resurrection of Jesus, unless we first have a good
understanding of the intensity and depth of Christ's suffering
on Calvary's cross. If you are outside of Christ, you may not
understand why we who are Christians place so much stock in the
resurrection. The reason you cannot understand it is because
you do not comprehend and realize just what took place on
Gologtha's hill.

The best way I know of to describe Christ's work on Calvary, is
to say that Jesus Christ, the spotless Lamb of God, suffered in
a finite period of time what men were obligated to suffer for
an infinite period of time. It is on the cross, in the person
of Jesus of Nazareth, that we see "finite suffering for
infinite sin." More than that, as we gaze upon the cross where
hangs our Lord, we behold God's Monument.

Jesus Christ on the cross is not only a sacrifice, not only a
propitiation for the sins of his people, not only a redeemer,
but also a monument. There, suspended between heaven and
earth, Jesus becomes:

I. A Monument to God's Holiness

II. A Monument to God's Wrath

III. A Monument to God's Mercy

In order to set a background for the text we read earlier, I
would ask you to turn to a lengthy passage in the Old Testament
with me.

READ EXODUS 10:21 - 12:30

Now, I would like to give just a few gleanings, implications,
and interpretative points on this passage.

1. The plagues are typological. That is, they are
foreshadowings of future events or circumstances, and as all
types are, the plagues are redemptive in nature.

2. Humanly speaking, the 9th plague, the plague of darkness,
could have been the final plague. Ex. 10:24-29 give us the
impression that Pharoah will finally allow the Israelites to
leave the bondage of Egypt. But, God had not providentially
designed this to be so.

3. In the plagues, Egypt represented the totality of mankind
in a state of rebellion against the laws and will of God.
Because of sin, Egypt becomes an object of wrath and becomes a
curse.

4. Darkness (the 9th plague), totally covered and surrounded
the Egyptians. The darkness which God brought upon the land
left the Egyptians in a state of terror. Light was removed and
in the darkness there must have certainly been an overwhelming
feeling of alienation. In the beginning, God created light.
Man was to live in the light of the sun and in the light of the
moon. The light brought order out of chaos. When the light is
removed, chaos reigns again.

5. The darkness in Egypt lasted three (3) days.

6. The darkness served as a warning to a rebellious people.
It signified that the Creator was angry and that his wrath was
about to be poured forth. As a warning, it showed that the
heavy stroke of Jehovah's rod was about to fall.

7. The darkness, severe as it was, was not sufficient a vent
for God's wrath. Wicked men had rebelled and sinned against
God's sovereignty and against his righteousness. An atonement
of some type would be necessary.

8. The death of the firstborn of the Egyptians became the
penalty for high treason. Only the death penalty can
adequately be both punishment and atonement. Death would prove
to be punishment for the wicked, yet it would signify release
and redemption for the covenant people, the elect whom God had
chosen.

9. Egypt then, in the period of darkness, is a picture of
Christ as he hung upon the cross bearing God's wrath and
punishment for the sin prior to the release of the covenant
people.

MacKintosh has said, "All God's purposes from everlasting had
reference to Christ." How well we can see that pictured here
in this Old Testament passage.

Now, let us focus again upon the New Testament passage which we
read earlier. And as we do, I ask, "What do we glean from the
text?"

1. From the time Christ was nailed to the cross until noon
(the 6th hour), he hangs on the cross as a MONUMENT TO GOD'S
HOLINESS.

During this time, the state of man's sinful heart was shown by
the mocking and cursing of the crowd. Men and women paraded
past the cross, shaking their heads and spitting upon the Lord
Jesus. Here was Jesus, the perfect servant of the law, the
only sinless person to have ever lived since the fall, full of
purity, truth, and grace. Here is God himself, the lawgiver,
the creator and sustainer of the universe, hanging before his
creation. He is the ultimate form of holiness.

It is a picture of the way men and women, because of the total
depravity of their natures, have always scoffed at the holiness
of God and his law. People who are not holy hate holiness.

And so, here on the cross, in the hours before the darkness
comes, God displays the perfection of his holiness for all to
see. By the sovereign working of predestination, God has
ordained that before he expends his wrath against sin, he will
first erect a monument to his holiness.

2. At noon, the sun begins to fade. The light of day receeds
behind a veil of utter darkness. The darkness is heavy and
intense. The rabbis had often taught their people that
darkness could be expected as a bad sign, upon occasions of
great crimes or misfortune.

Soon, all light is gone and for three hours the Creator
withdraws his light from his creation. And, it is in this
three hour period that Christ hangs upon the cross as a

MONUMENT TO GOD'S WRATH.

The unblemished Lamb, now becomes the object or God's wrath and
anger. Make no mistake my friends, Christ is actually and
purposely put under the indignant wrath of a God who must react
against sin, for "The Lord is a jealous and avenging God; the
Lord takes vengeance and is filled with wrath. The Lord takes
vengeance on his foes and maintains wrath against his enemies."

You see, Christ is now becoming the sin substitute, the sin
sacrifice. The darkness signifies the intensity of Christ's
suffering. The light of God has been removed. Jesus, who knew
no sin, now became sin in order that God might pour out upon
his Son, what had been reserved for the wicked and ungodly
people that God had chosen to save.

The just one was now taking the place of the unjust. The sins
of every believer were thrust upon him. He was bearing our
sins in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. "O sacred head, now wounded, With Grief
and shame weighed down; Now scornfully surrounded with thorns,
Thine only crown."

The darkness signifies the legal aspect of Christ's suffering.
He becomes the scapegoat. The sins of the people have been
transferred to him, and he is taken out into the wilderness,
away from the camp, separated from the Holy of Holies.

A monument to God's wrath is not a pretty sight to behold.
Schilder has well said, "Human beings can make a cross; but
this is mere child's play when compared with the materials
which God now applies."

Hell is described as the place of outer darkness. It is a
place of separation and alienation from God. When Christ cries
out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?", he is
experiencing hell itself.

It is in this hell, in the darkness, as a monument to God's
wrath, that Jesus Christ receives in a finite period of time,
the punishment for an infinity of sins.

BUT! There is something to bear in mind. The darkness only
warns that the heavy stroke of Jehovah's rod is still to be
felt. An atonement is still necessary. The death of the
firstborn must still take place.

3. At three o'clock, the darkness begins to give way to light.
The Creator restores the natural order of things. Christ cries
out, "My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?"

A.T. Robertson has stated, "Nothing from Jesus so well
illustrates the depth of his suffering of soul as he felt
himself regarded as sin though sinless."

Shortly thereafter, Jesus cries out again, and then gives up
his spirit and dies.

The sacrifice is complete. The atonement has been made. The
light has been restored. Jesus now hangs on Calvary's cruel
cross, dead. He is now a MONUMENT TO GOD'S MERCY.

You say, how is this? How is he a monument to God's mercy?

The answer is this. Full atonement for sin has been made.

Redemption has been accomplished and applied. The covenant
people are now set free from their bondage. They have been
bought with a price. Someone else has paid the debt that you
and I owe. That is mercy!

The elect of God have been sitting in their homes awaiting the
coming of the death angel. Will it strike their house? No!
The Savior has died and his blood has been spilled over their
doorposts, and they are delivered from death.

Oh my friends, there ought to be shouts of praise and loud
hallelujahs coming from the homes of the covenant people. The
truths of this passage is why the elect of God will one day
surround his throne and sing:

Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
to receive power and wealth and wisdom
and strength and honor and glory and
praise.

Are you numbered among the covenant people this day? Have your
sins been paid for by the Savior? Do you stand here today
looking on ready to mock and jeer and spit upon the monument to
God's holiness? If so, then be prepared to suffer the awful
wrath of God which awaits you. But, my friend, remember, there
is also a monument to God's mercy which available for you to
behold and receive as your own.

Christian, rejoice! Lift your hearts and hands to God in
praise, and in thanksgiving to the Lord Jesus Christ who has
redeemed you. Sing in your heart with the redeemed of all the
ages:

When I survey the wondrous cross

on which the Prince of Glory died,

My richest gain I count but loss,

and pour contempt on all my pride.

Forbid it, Lord, that I should boast,

save in the death of Christ my God:

all the vain things that charm me most,

I sacrifice them to his blood.

See, from his head, his hands, his feet,

sorrow and love flow mingled down:

Did e'er such love and sorrow meet,

Or thorns compose so rich a crown?

Were the whole realm of nature mine,

that were a present far too small;

Love so amazing, so divine,

demands my soul, my life, my all.