Seated facing you, across that holy bench, is God the
Father. He looks at Jesus, and smiles with radiance and love and fatherly
pride. You know His deepest delight is His Son. “This is My Beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased!” Then He glances at
you without speaking.
The Judge of all the earth is holding in His hand a stack of
papers, and you can see that they are a list of many, many sins. With dismay you realize
this is a personal list – an exhaustive description of all your sins.
The Father begins to read. “Lying.” The word hangs there,
like a rude noise in a still room. You immediately remember a half dozen times
where you lied just recently. You’re about to confess, when Jesus
speaks. “I did it.” “What?” the Father says. “You’re the liar?” Jesus nods.
The Judge returns to the paper. “Pride, and treating other
people with contempt.” Again you flash on many occasions when you've been
guilty. But again Jesus confesses. “That’s Me. I did it.” The Father seems to be looking at Jesus
differently.
He keeps reading – a whole string of things: lust, murder in your heart, cheating, anger to manipulate others, blasphemy, callousness toward the pain of
others, coveting and envy. You know in each case that you did all these things multiple
times.
But Jesus says, “Yes, that was Me. I did them all.”
A dark cloud seems to cross the Father’s face. He stares at
Jesus for a long minute. “You? You did all these things? I am of purer eyes
than to look upon sin. You disgust Me.” And even as He turns away from Jesus, He
pronounces sentence: “You’ll be punished to the full extent of the Law, even
unto death.”
Then the Father looks at you. His smile is radiant as He says, “My beloved child, in
whom I am well pleased.”
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21
