Great Themes of the Bible (continued)
(f) He was cut off by an untimely death. He was stricken to the death, to the grave, which He made with the wicked. For He was crucified between two thieves, as if He had been the worst of the three. And yet He was buried with the rich, for He was buried in the grave that belonged to Joseph, an honourable counsellor. Though He died with the wicked, and, according to the common course of dealing with criminals, should have been buried with them, in the place where He was crucified ; yet God had foretold (cf. Isa. liii), and providence so ordered it, that He should make His grave with the innocent, with the rich, as a mark of distinction put between Him and those who really deserve to die, even in His sufferings.
5. THE PurRPOsSE OF CHRIST'S SUFFERINGS
It was a very great mystery that so excellent a person should suffer such hard things; and it is natural to ask with amazement how it came about. What evil has He done? Those that saw Him hanging on the cross did not enquire into the merits of His cause. They took it for granted that He was guilty of everything laid to His charge.
He carried Himself under His sufferings so as to make it appear that He did not suffer as an evil-doer. For though He was oppressed and afflicted, yet ""He opened not His mouth"'. He freely offered Himself to suffer and die for us, and objected nothing against it. This quite takes away the scandal of the cross. He voluntarily submitted to it for great and holy ends. By His wisdom He could have evaded the sentence, and by His power have resisted the execution. But thus it was written, and thus it behoved Him to suffer. This commandment He received from the Father, and therefore He was led ''as a lamb to the slaughter", without any difficulty or reluctancy. He is the Lamb of God. And as the sheep is dumb before the shearers, nay, before the butchers, so He opened not His mouth. He made His own soul, His own life, an offering for our sin.
Yes, it was for our good and in our stead that Christ suffered. For it is certain we are all guilty before God. "All we like sheep have gone astray." We have gone astray like sheep that are apt to wander and are unapt, when they are gone astray, to find the way home again. We are bent to backslide from God, but altogether unable of ourselves to return to Him. This is mentioned not only as our infelicity, that we go astray from the green