It Was Not The Nails

1Pe 1:9  Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
1Pe 1:10  Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:
1Pe 1:11  Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.
1Pe 1:12  Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.

Things which the angels desire to look into

To the carnal, earthly, degraded mind of man — the mystery of the Person of Christ, of the cross, of the sufferings, blood-shedding, and death of Jesus, whereby He put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself — is foolishness. He sees no beauty, blessedness, or glory in the Person of the Son of God — nor any wisdom or grace in atoning blood and dying love.

But not so with these bright and pure beings! They see in the Person and work of Christ not only the depths of infinite wisdom in the contrivance of the whole plan of redemption, and of power in its execution and full accomplishment — but they see such lengths, breadths, depths, and heights of love as fill their minds with holy wonder, admiration and praise. They see in His incarnation, humiliation, sufferings, blood-shedding, and death — such unspeakable treasures of mercy and grace as ever fill their minds with wonder and admiration; and they long to understand the depths of such a love, but they cannot -- these wonders are for the bride alone. All lambs of the Living God should be ever seeking and inquiring into this heavenly mystery, that we may discover in it ever new and expanding treasures of the wisdom, grace, mercy, truth, and love of God. It is to our shame, my friends, that this vision of Eternal Love, in its sacrificial essence is not always before our eyes. Tonight I want to look into this scene of our Lord's offering of Himself, and share a few thoughts that He has laid on my heart.



Let your mind and spirit come with me now to view that day on the hill of Golgatha,
To see, by the eye of faith, as revealed  by the
power of God — our savior bound, scourged,
whipped, spit upon, mocked—and then, as the climax,
crucified between two thieves.

But what we see, is that this was the
smallest part of His sufferings— there were yet depths of
soul trouble and agony from the
hand of God as a consuming fire, in justice
and righteous indignation against rebellion, sin, and corruption; that our
Lord had to endure until He was poured
out like water, and His  heart, in the fires of
judgment became like wax, and melted within Him.


It was not the nails driven through His hands and feet — it was not the crown of thorns forced upon His brow — it was not the stripes which mangled His back — it was not the languor and faintness under which He suffered — nor the loss of blood that caused the Lord to die. It was not the mere bodily agony of the cross — it was not simply the pain of the nails driven through His hands and feet, as severe as this must have been -- It was not the being stretched upon the cross six hours, that constituted the chief part of the Redeemer's suffering.

No, far more severe, were the agonies of His
soul — the wrath of God in the Redeemer's heart was so much
more devastating than the nails that pierced His hands and feet,
or the thorns upon His head.

It was this load of imputed sin — the imputed sins of millions — a load unbearable for any other -- it was the tremendous pouring of the wrath of God into His innocent soul — it was the hiding of His Father's face, and the very fires of hell that sought to take hold of Him -- as prophesied in His Word:  Many bulls have compassed me: strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me with their mouths, as a ravening and a roaring lion.  I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint: my heart is like wax; it is melted in the midst of my bowels. Our suffering Savior drank the cup of the wrath of God to the very dregs — when the penalties for our rebellion were laid upon Him -- it pleased the Lord to bruise Him; as Isaiah wrote: He has put Him to grief: when You shall make His soul an offering for sin. This is what claimed our Savior's life: it was not the nails.

Uncounted thousands may have died in greater bodily agony than our Lord, for He only suffered in body for six hours. Martyrs have perished in the flames, in dungeons, at the hand of the executioner, and on crosses, as burning torches lining the roads of Rome. But of all the generations of men, none have ever felt what the Lord endured in His soul — for He had to suffer in His soul what the elect of God -- His lambs -- would have had to suffer in hell, if He had not paid the price for them; and this eternity of pain, is what He endured in those same six hours.


What is the body anyway? We all know that our body is not the chief seat of suffering.  It is the soul that feels, and rejoices, and mourns. All of our deepest agonies are of the soul. It was so with our Lord as well. It is true, His body was racked and torn — but it was the racking of His soul in which lay His chief agonies. And the greatest of all was the final stroke of God reserved for His last moments — the last drop of the cup in all its bitterness — which was hiding His face from His Son. Nothing else but this last bitter drop extorted the cry of suffering from His lips:

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

But when, to crown all the scene of suffering, the Father hid His face from Him — that was more than His  soul could bear.

In the words of Thomas Morton:
"What heart can conceive or tongue express what must have
been the feelings of the Redeemer's soul when He, the beloved
Son of God, who who had lain in the bosom of the Father from
all eternity, was by imputation, made a sinner—the deep wounds
of suffering love felt by the Son of God when His Father, His own
Father, hid His face from Him?"

That instinctively evoked from Him that plaintive cry — such a cry as earth had never before or since — a cry which made the sun to hide its face as if in sackcloth; caused the earth to shake; rending the veil, and tearing open the very graves as if the world could no longer hold its dead. And I guess that is the point: at the foot of the cross, is pardon and peace
for the guilty. Here is thorough justification for the
condemned. Here is salvation,
complete and everlasting, for all the redeemed family of
God. Here is a fountain, ever full and free. Here is
a robe, in which the Bride stands without blemish
and without spot before the throne of God. Here mercy is
magnified everlastingly. Here dying, sacrificial love displays itself in all its
breadth, and length, and depth, and height. Here, my friends, grace,
all-glorious, all-triumphant grace, reigns unto eternal life,
by Jesus Christ our Lord!

It says in His Word: Yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with lovingkindness have I drawn thee.  His death of sacrificial love gives weight to His words and a certainty to their promise.

There is no beginning to the love of Christ, for it existed  from eternity. Neither is there any end to that love. His love then, is as eternal as He is. What strength it is for those who live and walk in the love of Christ, to know that it is from everlasting to everlasting—that no incidents of time—no storms of sin or Satan—can ever change or alter that eternal love—but that it remains now and will remain the same to all eternity. The love of Christ to His people is eternal, unchanging, and unchangeable.
This eternal, unchanging character of the love of Christ gives us strength and power to stand upon—apart from our fluctuating feelings—our wavering frames—and the changes that always seem to come in our thoughts, hearts and lives. The love of Christ to us is not changing and changeable like ours to Him—but it abides forever, as He does. Jesus freely, fully, and unchangeably loves those who were given to Him by the Father in the councils of eternity—and presented to Him as His spouse and bride.
Christ's love to His bride was love at first sight. For when she was presented to Him by the Father that she might be His spouse—as soon as He beheld His chosen bride He fell in love with her—for He saw her not sunk and fallen—but in all her beauty as clothed in the fullness of that glory in which she will one day shine forth—when she sits down with Him at the marriage supper of the Lamb!
Nothing can quench or destroy the love of Christ! It will prevail over sin, death, and hell—yes, over every impediment and obstacle—until it achieves the final victory, and in all the blaze of His glory — it will fill heaven with its eternal magnificence.

So, my friends, keep this vision of His sacrifice ever before you, and do not shy away from it or forget it; for it is the highest and greatest glory of God and all creation; and it is life itself, life eternal unto all who believe. Amen.