Substitution 2
And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. (1Co 11:23-26)
When Jesus was hanged on the cross, there were insulting comments and jeering by the thieves.
Then were there two
thieves crucified
with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that
passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying, Thou that
destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If
thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the
chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved
others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him
now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in
God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am
the Son of God. The thieves
also, which were crucified with him, cast
the same in his teeth. (Mt 27:38-44)
And a superscription
also was written over him in
letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If
thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked
him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same
condemnation? And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of
our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto
Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus
said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, To day shalt thou be with me in
paradise. (Lu 23:38-43)
Why the change of heart of the penitent thief? Because he heard the first saying of Jesus. . .
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots. (Lu 23:34)
The
work of the Holy Spirit...
Now the tricky part. Think deeply . . .
The
penitent thief > sin in him, but no sin on him . . . Why ?? Because
the sin of the thief 'transferred' to Jesus
For he has made him, who knew no sin [in him], to be sin for us; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2Co 5:21)
That is the spiritual
concept of substitutionary atonement.
A small boy who was consistently late coming home from school. His parents warned him one day that he must be home on time that afternoon and would received a meager dinner, but nevertheless he arrived later than ever. His mother met him at the door and said nothing. The boy looked at his plate. There was a slice of bread and a glass of water. He looked at his father's full plate and then at his father, but his father remained silent. The boy was crushed.
The father waited for the full impact to
sink in, then quietly took
the boy's plate and
placed it in front of himself. He took his own plate of meat and
potatoes, put it in front
of the boy, and smiled at his son. When that boy grew to be a man, he
said, "All my
life I've known what God is like by what my father did that
night."