Hell's Haul (LD 16; Isa. 52:13-53:12)

Reformed & Expository Preaching

Christ enters history as the suffering servant to overcome the problem of sin. Sin’s problem is deeper than we can imagine. Sin’s depth and severity demand a redemption only Christ provides and overcomes. The problem of sin is a hellish problem.

Christ’s being fully God and fully man enables him to endure the eternal punishment of hell in a way we will never grasp. In Christ’s divine nature he is outside time and space; as man, he fully receives the full wrath of God as the offending creature. His cry from the cross, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” declares that is a moment of time he endured hell as the sin cursed creature. Christ committing his spirit into the father’s hand tells us that the two natures are still distinct as we are assured that Christ is really dead because his body is laid in a grave.

Christ living to make intercession means he is not left in the grave as a failed servant. This ongoing intercession emphasizes our dependence on Christ and the assurance that his work is complete, freeing us from attempting to earn redemption through our own efforts. However, even as redeemed Christians we are prone to wander. Praise be to God our perfect priest continues to intercede on our behalf and sustain us through this age.