THIRD QUARTER 2022
SABBATH SCHOOL INSIGHT #13
SEPTEMBER 24, 2022
“CHRIST IN THE CRUCIBLE”

 

It is in studying when Jesus was in the crucible of crucifixion that we learn understandably “the faith of Jesus.” The faith of Jesus is believing, not only in the absence of feelings, but against them. Both His faith and His feelings are presented in the memory text for this week from Matthew 27:46 (NKJV):

 

“Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’ ” Matthew here quotes Psalm 22:1, the Golgotha Psalm. In the second half of the first verse of Psalm 21 we read the words of Jesus as He prayed to His heavenly Father, “Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning?” The KJV puts it this way: “Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring?” Certainly Jesus “groaned.” But much more. It was like the roar of a wounded lion. Jesus cried out in mental anguish as well as physical pain; the mental agony was greater than the throbbing physical sensations.

 

John Flavel (1627–1691), a later English Reformer, wrote the following insight as the meaning of the words used by Matthew:

 

“This verse contains the fourth memorable saying of Christ upon the cross; words able to rend the hardest heart in the world: it is the voice of the Son of God in an agony: His sufferings were great, very great before, but never in that extremity as now; when this heaven rending and heart melting outcry brake from Him upon the cross, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?

 

Here is an observable variation of the language in which this astonishing complaint was uttered; for He speaks both Hebrew and Syriac [Syrian] in one breath, Eli, Eli, lama are all Hebrew, sabachthani is a Syriac word . . .” John Flavel, The Fountain of Life, p. 407

 

Perhaps you have heard someone with whom English is a second language, while in great agony reverted back to his or her mother tongue. This is what Jesus experienced. The faith of Jesus spoke first, and it spoke twice in the words “Eli, Eli, lama.” His feelings gave utterance following His faith and spoke once as expressed in the word “sabachthani.”

 

It is this faith, “the faith of Jesus” that God’s Remnant people will have the privilege of exercising under severely trying conditions in the closing scenes of earth’s history. Here is a weighty thought from Mrs. White:

 

“The sins of Israel must go to judgment beforehand. Every sin must be confessed at the sanctuary, then the work will move. It must be done now. The remnant in the time of trouble will cry, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me?” Spalding and Magan Collection, pp. 2-3.

 

How can we be ready for the time of trouble? By studying the life of Christ and by faith putting into practice the lessons learned. From the time of His birth into the fallen human race until Calvary, both evil angels and men attempted to end His life. In the trials of His life Jesus “grew and became strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him.” Luke 2:40.

 

He learned the obedience of faith through suffering. “Though He was a Son, yet He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.” Hebrews 5:8.

 

Christ suffered not only as a man; He suffered as God. It was the divine-human sufferings of Jesus that saves us.

 

Jesus needed grace and received it daily.

 “Christ during His life on earth sought His Father daily for fresh supplies of needed grace; and from this communion with God He went forth to strengthen and bless others.” The Acts of the Apostles, p. 56.

 

Jesus realized to the fullest extent of what it meant to be made sin itself, “that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” 2 Corinthians 5:31. He was bearing our guilt, our condemnation, and the equivalent of the second death. It was all for us, the entire human race.

 

I will close this “Insight” with a few choice statements from Mrs. White on the atonement of suffering, merits, and holiness of Christ for our salvation.

 

“He needed no atonement of suffering for Himself; all His sufferings were for us; all His merits and holiness were open to fallen man, presented as a gift.” FLB 102.

 

“The sinner can be justified only through faith in the atonement made through God's dear Son, Who became a sacrifice for the sins of the guilty world. No one can be justified by any works of his own. He can be delivered from the guilt of sin, from the condemnation of the law, from the penalty of transgression, only by virtue of the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Faith is the only condition upon which justification can be obtained, and faith includes not only belief but trust.” 1SM 389.

 

“Jesus is our atoning sacrifice. We can make no atonement for ourselves; but by faith we can accept the atonement that has been made. ‘For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God’ (1 Peter 3:18). ‘Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot’ (1 Peter 1:18, 19). It was through infinite sacrifice and inexpressible suffering that our Redeemer placed redemption within our reach.

 

“Justice demanded the sufferings of a man. Christ, equal with God, gave the sufferings of a God. He needed no atonement. His suffering was not for any sin He had committed; it was for man -- all for man; and His free pardon is accessible to all. The suffering of Christ was in correspondence with His spotless purity; His depth of agony, proportionate to the dignity and grandeur of His character. Never can we comprehend the intense anguish of the spotless Lamb of God, until we realize how deep is the pit from which we have been rescued, how grievous is the sin of which mankind is guilty, and by faith grasp the full and entire pardon.” The Review and Herald, Sept. 21, 1886.

 

“We should never forget that we have been redeemed by suffering. It is the precious blood of Christ that makes atonement for us.” 5T 88.

 

“He needed no atonement. His suffering was not for any sin He had committed; it was for man--all for man; and His free pardon is accessible to all. The suffering of Christ was in correspondence with His spotless purity; His depth of agony, proportionate to the dignity and grandeur of His character.” RH, September 21, 1886.

 

“The word of God is a great simplifier of life's complicated pursuits. To every earnest seeker, it imparts a divine wisdom. We should never forget that we have been redeemed by suffering. It is the precious blood of Christ that makes atonement for us. By toil and sacrifice and peril, by losses of worldly goods, and in agony of soul, the gospel has been borne to the world. God calls young men in the vigor and strength of their youth, to share with Him self-denial, sacrifice, and suffering. If they accept the call, He will make them His instruments to save souls for whom He died. But He would have them count the cost, and enter upon their work with a full knowledge of the conditions upon which they serve a crucified Redeemer.” 5T 86-87.

 

~Pastor Jerry Finneman