But have you ever wondered how Christ’s atonement for sins
could be fair? How can the death of one man
be a just substitute for the sins of a multitude
of people throughout time? And how is it that Jesus suffered for only hours on the cross, when without Christ,
the sinner is punished endlessly? How
can this be fair?
The truth that emerges from these questions
reaffirms our love and admiration for our Savior: His life is so worthy, so
valuable, that His suffering on the cross was more than enough to pay the
penalty for the sins of all God’s people throughout time. He is not just a good man, He is the God-man.
Divine justice is fully satisfied by
Christ's sacrifice. The reason is not that the Father is a “pushover,” as if He is willing
to accept a symbolic payment--a few hours on the cross by His Son. No, the
reason God’s justice is fully satisfied is that the suffering of Jesus is
infinitely precious. That's why Jesus could say It is finished (John 19:30) after His hours on the cross. That's the amount of time it took for the substitutionary atonement of the perfect God-man to be complete.
A single drop of Christ's blood is more precious than the sacrifice of a million martyrs. A single second of His suffering carries with it more righteousness than the religious efforts of all of humanity for a hundred centuries.
There is therefore
now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1) because
Jesus completely and finally turned away God’s wrath. We who are “in Him” are granted
eternal favor because the impact of His offering can never be undone. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those
who are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14).
It's no wonder that we think of the Savior as precious beyond words to explain. No wonder that He is described as the pearl of great price, whose overwhelming worth and beauty so captured the one who found it that he sold all he had to obtain it (Matthew 13:46).
