Sufferings of Christ, The

From: Doctrinal Definitions: A Handbook of Doctrinal Terms & Expressions in the New Testament By: Stanley Bruce Anstey

• 10 min. read • grade level: 9

The Apostle Peter tells us that the Old Testament Scriptures have two great themes concerning Christ—“the sufferings of Christ and the glory [glories] that should follow” (1 Peter 1:11¹¹Searching 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. (1 Peter 1:11)). Looking more closely at the sufferings of Christ, Scripture indicates that there are at least five different classes:

1) His Constitutional Sufferings

The Lord Jesus suffered because He was a holy Man. Being “God manifest in the flesh” (1 Tim. 3:16¹⁶And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up into glory. (1 Timothy 3:16)), the whole make-up or constitution of the Person of our Lord Jesus was that of infinite holiness. The angel which spoke to Mary just prior to His incarnation said, “That holy thing which shall be born unto thee shall be called the Son of God” (Luke 1:35³⁵And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. (Luke 1:35)). After His death and resurrection, the apostles prayed to God saying, “Thy holy Servant Jesus, whom Thou hast anointed ... ” (Acts 4:27²⁷For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (Acts 4:27)).

When the Lord condescended to enter this world, He came into a scene that was filled with sin and defilement. The whole world was polluted by sin—morally, spiritually, and physically. It was a scene that was totally foreign to His holy nature. Hence, being the holy Man that He was, He suffered from being in such an environment of corruption. Even though He came in contact with sin and sinners, He was never personally defiled by them—He remained “undefiled” (Heb. 7:26²⁶For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens; (Hebrews 7:26)). If Lot “vexed” his righteous soul by what he saw and heard in Sodom when he was so far from God morally (2 Peter 2:7-8⁷And delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked: ⁸(For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) (2 Peter 2:7‑8)), what must the Lord have suffered when He passed through such a world as this!

2) His Sympathetic Sufferings

Besides suffering from being in the presence of sin generally, the Lord Jesus also suffered on account of His deep love for people. Whatever people were suffering under as the fruit of sin in the world, He bore it with them sympathetically. This is evident in several ways:

A) The Lord suffered in regard to what sin had done to His creatures physically (in their bodies). When He saw people afflicted with some disease or sickness, His heart went out to them in their affliction. In perfect sympathy, He felt in His soul their maladies and suffered with them (Isa. 53:4⁴Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:4); Matt. 8:17¹⁷That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses. (Matthew 8:17)). An example of this was in the healing of the deaf and dumb man (Mark 7:31-37³¹And again, departing from the coasts of Tyre and Sidon, he came unto the sea of Galilee, through the midst of the coasts of Decapolis. ³²And they bring unto him one that was deaf, and had an impediment in his speech; and they beseech him to put his hand upon him. ³³And he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit, and touched his tongue; ³⁴And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened. ³⁵And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain. ³⁶And he charged them that they should tell no man: but the more he charged them, so much the more a great deal they published it; ³⁷And were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things well: he maketh both the deaf to hear, and the dumb to speak. (Mark 7:31‑37)). It says that the Lord “sighed”—indicating that He felt the grief the man was passing through in his affliction—and then He opened the man’s ears and loosed his tongue. J. N. Darby remarked that the Lord never healed a sick person without feeling the burden of that malady as the fruit of evil. Hence, it was not an easy thing for Him to stretch out His hand and say to a leper, “Be thou clean” (Mark 1:41⁴¹And Jesus, moved with compassion, put forth his hand, and touched him, and saith unto him, I will; be thou clean. (Mark 1:41)), because each time He healed a person, He bore the burden of that sorrow in His own soul. Thus, it has been rightly said that “He bore in His spirit that which He took away by His power.”

B) The Lord also suffered on account of what sin had done in people’s lives emotionally. While some may not have been stricken with sickness personally, yet the effects of those things in those whom they knew and loved, produced sorrow and suffering in them. The Lord sympathized with all such as well. An example of this is the case of Mary and Martha, when their brother had died (John 11). Sickness and death hadn’t touched them, but they were in great sorrow on account of it (vss. 31-33a). In sympathy with them in their trial, the Lord “groaned in spirit, and was troubled” (vs. 33b). He felt their situation deeply and “wept” at the grave of Lazarus (vs. 35).

C) The Lord also suffered in connection with the sorrows of the Jewish remnant in a future day. Not only did He feel the sorrows of those who were around Him, but He also felt the sorrows of those who would suffer for their faithfulness in the coming Great Tribulation. At the time of the last supper, when Satan entered into Judas, “the son of perdition,” the thoughts of the Lord were projected into the future when the Jewish remnant would suffer for righteousness sake under the persecution of a future “son of perdition”—the Antichrist (2 Thess. 2:3-4³Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; ⁴Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshipped; so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:3‑4); Matt. 5:10-12¹⁰Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ¹¹Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. ¹²Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you. (Matthew 5:10‑12); Psa. 69:6-11⁶Let not them that wait on thee, O Lord God of hosts, be ashamed for my sake: let not those that seek thee be confounded for my sake, O God of Israel. ⁷Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame hath covered my face. ⁸I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children. ⁹For the zeal of thine house hath eaten me up; and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are fallen upon me. ¹⁰When I wept, and chastened my soul with fasting, that was to my reproach. ¹¹I made sackcloth also my garment; and I became a proverb to them. (Psalm 69:6‑11)). In that dark day, the Antichrist will lead the nation into apostasy and persecute the remnant of Jews for their faith and obedience (Matt. 24:21-22²¹For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²²And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened. (Matthew 24:21‑22); Psa. 10). In divine sympathy, the Lord entered into their lot and felt in His heart the sorrows of rejection that they will pass through in that day (John 13:18-21¹⁸I speak not of you all: I know whom I have chosen: but that the scripture may be fulfilled, He that eateth bread with me hath lifted up his heel against me. ¹⁹Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he. ²⁰Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that receiveth whomsoever I send receiveth me; and he that receiveth me receiveth him that sent me. ²¹When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:18‑21)).

D) The Lord also suffered sympathetically in regard to the chastening of the Jewish remnant in a coming day. As being a part and parcel with the nation that is guilty of the death of Christ—the Messiah of Israel—the remnant will experience the fruit of their national sin under the governmental dealings of God. Being part of the guilty nation, of necessity they must be chastened, yet in the chastening He lays upon them, He feels it with them in sympathy! (Isa. 63:9⁹In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. (Isaiah 63:9)) Having substituted Himself in Israel’s place before God (Isa. 49:1-5¹Listen, O isles, unto me; and hearken, ye people, from far; The Lord hath called me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother hath he made mention of my name. ²And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me, and made me a polished shaft; in his quiver hath he hid me; ³And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. ⁴Then I said, I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nought, and in vain: yet surely my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God. ⁵And now, saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord, and my God shall be my strength. (Isaiah 49:1‑5)), He felt the sin of Israel in the light of the holiness of God, though He Himself was never under the government of God.

3) His Anticipative Sufferings

The cross and its suffering were ever before our Lord. All through His pathway He had it before Him. He could say, “I have a baptism to be baptized with, and how am I straitened till it be accomplished!” (Luke 12:50⁵⁰But I have a baptism to be baptized with; and how am I straitened till it be accomplished! (Luke 12:50)) Several times the Lord took His disciples apart and told them that “He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day” (Matt. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:17-19²¹From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. (Matthew 16:21)
²²And while they abode in Galilee, Jesus said unto them, The Son of man shall be betrayed into the hands of men: ²³And they shall kill him, and the third day he shall be raised again. And they were exceeding sorry. (Matthew 17:22‑23)
¹⁷And Jesus going up to Jerusalem took the twelve disciples apart in the way, and said unto them, ¹⁸Behold, we go up to Jerusalem; and the Son of man shall be betrayed unto the chief priests and unto the scribes, and they shall condemn him to death, ¹⁹And shall deliver him to the Gentiles to mock, and to scourge, and to crucify him: and the third day he shall rise again. (Matthew 20:17‑19)). He spoke of Himself as “the corn [grain] of wheat” that would fall into the ground and die (John 12:24²⁴Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (John 12:24)). This led Him to say, “Now is My soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save Me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour” (John 12:27²⁷Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. (John 12:27)). He anticipated the cross and its sufferings, and it deeply troubled Him.

When He reached Gethsemane, the tempter came with all his power in an effort to terrify Him. Satan pressed upon His soul what it would mean to be rejected of men and forsaken of God. He could say, “The floods of Belial made Me afraid” (Psa. 18:4⁴The sorrows of death compassed me, and the floods of ungodly men made me afraid. (Psalm 18:4)). “Belial” is a reference to Satan (2 Cor. 6:15¹⁵And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? (2 Corinthians 6:15)). In Psalm 102 (“the Gethsemane Psalm”) we see the Lord anticipating suffering at the hand of God for sin. Being the omniscient Person that He was, He anticipated those sufferings of the cross completely, as no creature could. The result was that He fell on His face “in an agony [conflict]” and cried out to God, “O My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me” (Luke 22:42⁴²Saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done. (Luke 22:42); Matt. 26:39³⁹And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. (Matthew 26:39)). The Lord could have exercised His divine power and driven the devil away, but He remained in the place of an obedient and dependent Man, and “prayed more earnestly” (Luke 22:44⁴⁴And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:44)).

4) His Martyrdom Sufferings

The Lord suffered as a righteous Martyr at the hands of men in two ways—in His spirit and in His body (physically):

A) As a result of the Lord’s holy witness in this world, He suffered reproach in His soul and spirit. The love that caused Him to minister to men out of the storehouse of the grace of God brought forth more sorrow and suffering, for it drew out hatred and evil in men. The more He loved, the more He was hated (Psa. 109:5⁵And they have rewarded me evil for good, and hatred for my love. (Psalm 109:5)).

He felt the rejection of men and suffered in His spirit and was grieved at what sin had done in their hearts, hardening them with unbelief (Mark 3:2-5; 8:12²And they watched him, whether he would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse him. ³And he saith unto the man which had the withered hand, Stand forth. ⁴And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace. ⁵And when he had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts, he saith unto the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it out: and his hand was restored whole as the other. (Mark 3:2‑5)
¹²And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. (Mark 8:12)). He also deeply felt the betrayal of Judas (John 13:21²¹When Jesus had thus said, he was troubled in spirit, and testified, and said, Verily, verily, I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. (John 13:21); Psa. 41:9; 55:12-14⁹Yea, mine own familiar friend, in whom I trusted, which did eat of my bread, hath lifted up his heel against me. (Psalm 41:9)
¹²For it was not an enemy that reproached me; then I could have borne it: neither was it he that hated me that did magnify himself against me; then I would have hid myself from him: ¹³But it was thou, a man mine equal, my guide, and mine acquaintance. ¹⁴We took sweet counsel together, and walked unto the house of God in company. (Psalm 55:12‑14)) and the desertion of His only followers (John 16:32³²Behold, the hour cometh, yea, is now come, that ye shall be scattered, every man to his own, and shall leave me alone: and yet I am not alone, because the Father is with me. (John 16:32))—particularly the denial of Peter (Luke 22:61⁶¹And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. (Luke 22:61)). He also felt in His soul the deceit, the insults, and the scorn that were hurled at Him at His trial and crucifixion (Matt. 26:57-68; 27:27-44⁵⁷And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled. ⁵⁸But Peter followed him afar off unto the high priest's palace, and went in, and sat with the servants, to see the end. ⁵⁹Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; ⁶⁰But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, ⁶¹And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. ⁶²And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? ⁶³But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. ⁶⁴Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. ⁶⁵Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. ⁶⁷Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee? (Matthew 26:57‑68)
²⁷Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. ²⁸And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. ²⁹And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! ³⁰And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. ³¹And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. ³²And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. ³³And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, ³⁴They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. ³⁵And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. ³⁶And sitting down they watched him there; ³⁷And set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS. ³⁸Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. ³⁹And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, ⁴⁰And 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. ⁴¹Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, ⁴²He 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. ⁴³He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God. ⁴⁴The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth. (Matthew 27:27‑44); Psa. 22:6-8⁶But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. ⁷All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, saying, ⁸He trusted on the Lord that he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him. (Psalm 22:6‑8)). He also felt the violation of human decency when the soldiers stripped him and put Him on the cross (Psa. 22:17-18¹⁷I may tell all my bones: they look and stare upon me. ¹⁸They part my garments among them, and cast lots upon my vesture. (Psalm 22:17‑18)). To add to all this, He bore in His spirit the shame of misrepresentation. The people regarded Him as “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.” They saw Him as justly dying under the governmental judgment of God for daring to say that He was the Messiah. They saw Him as an impostor, but didn’t realize that He was indeed the Messiah who was dying for their sins! (Isa. 53:4-5⁴Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ⁵But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. (Isaiah 53:4‑5))

B) As a result of the Lord’s holy witness in this world, He also suffered physically at the hands of wicked men. In faithfulness and love, He testified of man’s evil, and it brought Him into open suffering (Psa. 40:9-10⁹I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest. ¹⁰I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation: I have not concealed thy lovingkindness and thy truth from the great congregation. (Psalm 40:9‑10)). He suffered contusions from the blows of a rod and from the palms of men’s hands (Mic. 5:1-2¹Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops: he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek. ²But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting. (Micah 5:1‑2); Matt. 26:67; 27:30⁶⁷Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, (Matthew 26:67)
³⁰And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. (Matthew 27:30)); lacerations from the scourging (Isa. 50:6⁶I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. (Isaiah 50:6); Matt. 27:26²⁶Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. (Matthew 27:26)); penetrations from the crown of thorns (Matt. 27:29-30²⁹And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! ³⁰And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. (Matthew 27:29‑30)); and perforations from the nails in His hands and feet (Psa. 22:16¹⁶For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet. (Psalm 22:16); Matt. 27:35³⁵And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. (Matthew 27:35)). Finally, He was “by wicked hands” “crucified and slain” (Acts 2:23; 3:13-15; 5:30; 7:52-53; 13:27-29²³Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: (Acts 2:23)
¹³The God of Abraham, and of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of our fathers, hath glorified his Son Jesus; whom ye delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when he was determined to let him go. ¹⁴But ye denied the Holy One and the Just, and desired a murderer to be granted unto you; ¹⁵And killed the Prince of life, whom God hath raised from the dead; whereof we are witnesses. (Acts 3:13‑15)
³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree. (Acts 5:30)
⁵²Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? and they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the Just One; of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers: ⁵³Who have received the law by the disposition of angels, and have not kept it. (Acts 7:52‑53)
²⁷For they that dwell at Jerusalem, and their rulers, because they knew him not, nor yet the voices of the prophets which are read every sabbath day, they have fulfilled them in condemning him. ²⁸And though they found no cause of death in him, yet desired they Pilate that he should be slain. ²⁹And when they had fulfilled all that was written of him, they took him down from the tree, and laid him in a sepulchre. (Acts 13:27‑29)).

5) His Atoning Sufferings

Lastly, and the greatest of all, the Lord suffered as the divine Sin-bearer. All of the other kinds of suffering which the Lord felt could not take away sins; this could only be done through His atoning sufferings which He endured in the last three hours on the cross (Matt. 27:45-46⁴⁵Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land unto the ninth hour. ⁴⁶And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:45‑46); Mark 15:33-34³³And when the sixth hour was come, there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. ³⁴And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Mark 15:33‑34); Luke 23:44-45⁴⁴And it was about the sixth hour, and there was a darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. ⁴⁵And the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was rent in the midst. (Luke 23:44‑45)). His martyrdom sufferings were what He suffered at the hands of wicked men (Psa. 69), but His atoning sufferings are what He suffered from the hand of God (Psa. 22).

To make atonement for sin and sins, the Lord endured and exhausted the righteous judgment of God. The Bible indicates that His great sacrifice settled the whole question of sin before God (Heb. 1:3; 9:26; 10:12³Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high; (Hebrews 1:3)
²⁶For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself. (Hebrews 9:26)
¹²But this man, after he had offered one sacrifice for sins for ever, sat down on the right hand of God; (Hebrews 10:12)). When the Lord made atonement for our souls, He was “forsaken” of God (Psa. 22:1¹<<To the chief Musician upon Aijeleth Shahar, A Psalm of David.>> My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my roaring? (Psalm 22:1)). Being “made sin” on the cross (2 Cor. 5:21²¹For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. (2 Corinthians 5:21)), God, who is holy and “of purer eyes to behold evil” (Hab. 1:13¹³Thou art of purer eyes than to behold evil, and canst not look on iniquity: wherefore lookest thou upon them that deal treacherously, and holdest thy tongue when the wicked devoureth the man that is more righteous than he? (Habakkuk 1:13)), could have no communion with Him. At that time, communion was broken between those two divine Persons. But, even while the Lord Jesus was forsaken of God, He was still the object of His Father’s complacency (satisfaction), for He was doing the will of God, and this was pleasing to Him (Isa. 53:10¹⁰Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. (Isaiah 53:10)).

There are two parts to Christ’s work in atonement on the cross: the first is the Godward side, which is called “propitiation” (Rom. 3:25²⁵Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; (Romans 3:25); Heb. 2:17¹⁷Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. (Hebrews 2:17); 1 John 2:2; 4:10²And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)
¹⁰Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)). It has rendered to God a full settlement for the outbreak of sin in the creation and for the sins of believers. Hence, Christ’s finished work on the cross has met the demand of God’s holy nature, and thus, by it, the claims of divine justice have been satisfied (Psa. 85:10¹⁰Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other. (Psalm 85:10)). The second part to Christ’s atoning work is manward—meeting the need of the believer’s guilt. This has been called substitution. To take away the sins and guilt of the believer, the believer needs to understand that the Lord took his place on the cross before God and bore his “sins in His own body on the tree” (1 Peter 2:24²⁴Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Peter 2:24)). The great result of resting in faith on the substitutionary work of Christ is that our conscience is “purged” (Heb. 9:14; 10:2, 17, 22¹⁴How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? (Hebrews 9:14)
²For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins. (Hebrews 10:2)
¹⁷And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. (Hebrews 10:17)
²²Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water. (Hebrews 10:22)).

The Bible says, “He shall see of the fruit of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied” (Isa. 53:11¹¹He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. (Isaiah 53:11)). The fruit of the atoning sufferings of Christ are too many to enumerate here. Every blessing that Israel, the Church, and the saints in the millennial kingdom day will enjoy are a result of that finished work. (See Atonement.)

Click here to show subject links in the text for more information.