Sunday Message – Today Jesus 142

02/03/08
<Matthew 26:57-27:26>
PENAL SUBSTITUTION OF LORD CHRIST FOR HIS BODY
• The greatest problem of men is that they cannot see God’s love and blessings in all things
• Men couldn’t see God since birth. Therefore, men will always have fear when they meet some
situations and this fear draws them away from God
• When a Saint meets a difficult problem, he shouldn’t try to resolve that problem. Instead, he
should discover God’s love in that problem and reconcile with God
• A lot of Saints will not react like this. They will start groaning and become fearful as soon as they
face a difficult situation
• In fact, our situation isn’t that bad. However, Satan will cause the Saints to be fearful when he
attacks them. This results in “self-fulfilling prophesy”
• E.g. When a mother always say that her child is useless, the child will grow up useless eventually
• We aren’t that minute among people. However, Satan will make us feel inferior. Thus, when we
withdraw ourselves, we will become more afraid of people and we will receive hurts from their
words
• All problems resulted from sins. Whenever a person sins, Satan’s accusation will come
immediately and make that person worry about being punished
• In fact, every human being will sin. The real problem is people do not know how to resolve sins
• Nobody will think of getting closer to God whenever he has sinned. Instead, people will run away
from God after sinning because of shame
• When men depart from God, they will become disheartened and lose hope, which result in them
sinning more. Others will seek religion after sinning. All these will only cause them to drift further
and further away from God
• Saints who can always see God’s love and can give thanks for anything will not meet “bad things”
so frequently. However, for some believers, the more they try to love God or be involved in
church’s ministries, the more “bad things” will come to them. There is a spiritual mystery for this
• Today, we will talk about how Jesus Christ was being judged
• Most people will only take Jesus Christ’s crucifixion as a very pitiful act. They never understand
the reason and significant for His crucifixion and death for us
• The Lord’s reason is for us to know that though we are weak and we still sin, we should not be
bound by guilt. Though we still have problems, we need not be fearful. People often become
fearful because of poverty, loneliness, illness etc
• The Lord knows that there are problems in us that we cannot resolve. Therefore, He has resolved
all of the problems for us on the Cross
• When the Lord was crucified, He was completely penniless in order to substitute our poverty so
that we need not be fearful of poverty. He became the most lonely person on earth to substitute
our fear of loneliness
• The Lord is a substitution for us. He has substituted our sadness, tribulations, fears, guilt, etc.
Thus, we need not be afraid anymore
• If we can rely on ourselves to live, why do we still need to go to church? We can jolly well go to
temples
• We still have agony and fears in us because we haven’t allowed the Lord to substitute us

Read <Matthew 26:57-68, 27:1-2, 27:11-26>

• v57 That place was just like Parliament and the Lord would be judged there
• v59 They needed false witnesses because the Lord is sinless
• v61 In fact, what the Lord had said was that He could rebuild the Holy Temple after they’d torn
it down
• v63 <Isaiah> already told us that, “yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb
to the slaughter”
• v64 The Lord meant to say that He was already victorious and He will come to judge all
people
• v68 They were insulting the Lord completely. However, the Lord didn’t open his mouth
because He faced all these on our behalf
• v11 The Lord could be so still because of His prayer at Gethsemane. He was firmed that He
would only follow God’s desire
• v14 Pilate didn’t know who was judging who already. Jesus Christ told him later that even his
authority came from Him
• v18 Pilate knew that the Lord was not guilty and thus he tried to think of ways to free the Lord
• v19 People who fear will always have bad dreams. God’s word will continue to be fulfilled
• v25 This was a very serious proclamation, which resulted in the death of tens and thousands
of Jews throughout history

1. Redemption by the sinless lamb

1) In the Old Testimony, there are lots of representations showing Jesus Christ’s redemption
• The emphasis of the Bible is that Jesus Christ is sinless. He is the lamb of God
• The whole Old Testimony wrote about how Jesus Christ would be judged, killed, buried and
resurrected. This is the reason for the existence of history
• The beginning of mankind’s history is on Adam and Eve. As soon as they’d sinned, God told
them immediately that the seed of the woman will save them and that He will break the head
of the serpent. God made a garment of skin for them personally to cover their shame
• Adam’s son, Abel, held on to the prayer and sacrifices of Adam and followed the Lord. He was
freed because he has seen God
• Cain worshipped for the sake of doing so. There was no blood in his sacrifices. Therefore,
sins remained in him. Such people will only face more problems as they worship more. In the
end, jealousy overcame him and led him in killing his brother
• This is the difference between one who knows the blood and one who doesn’t. Religion is
without blood
• Religious countries are full of battles, poverty, struggles and do not have peace
• The people there always shake hands with one another but will go into wars very quickly.
When Christianity becomes a religion, similar problems will arise
• Battles, nations fighting against nations and people fighting against people are all results of
religions
• When we come to church for worship service, do we come to fulfill the ritual or do we receive
God’s love from it?
• Religions = without the precious blood of Jesus Christ. Without seeing God, a person will not
have joy even after worshipping. He will not understand God’s perfect will, after worshipping
• Some people will not pray after worshipping. Instead, they think that the Preacher’s message
is meant for the people beside him only
• God’s desire is on our hearts, not on our offerings
• What will we gain after worshipping? A lot of believers are like this; they remain motionless
even after worshipping God. To them, praying is the most boring thing they can do
• Each time when we come into God’s temple, we must see that the Lord has represented us
 • The Lord has taken up everything on our behalf. There is a reason for our pains. Thus, we
need to see God in the midst of our pains
• Why do we need to compare with others? God has already given us the most precious
identity as His children; why are we still sad?
• Substitution by the Lord doesn’t mean that since God has already taken up everything for us,
we need not ponder about it anymore and that we can do whatever we want
• The meaning of the Lord being judged, killed and buried on our behalf is that He had
substituted my entire life. Therefore, we should let God take over our whole life and not half
heartedly
• God also wants to substitute our cravings, the lust of our eyes and our boastfulness. Thus, we
must go into God’s plan and sovereignty. Otherwise, the evil thoughts will continue to dwell in
my minds and cause us to sin again
• When men cannot achieve the ideal things according to his plan, he will stay away from God
and sin eventually
• God wants to resolve all the sins in us. Men’s sins are clearly visible in front of God, Satan
and angels
• Men always wanted only to resolve the surfaced problems and not the fundamental problems
• When men depart from God, Satan would accuse them day and night. Therefore, breathing is
also a sin for those who don’t breathe. This is why men have no peace no matter what they
do

2) The judgment of Jesus Christ has proven that He is God’s lamb

(1) Didn’t speak a word; didn’t answer <Acts 8:32; Isaiah 53:7>
• When the Lord faced judgment for His people, He didn’t speak a word or give an answer
• Why didn’t the Lord speak? If our child broke the window of our neighbor and that
neighbor came over to scold us; what can we say, since it’s really our child’s fault?
• The Lord kept quiet when Satan accused us in front of God. Not only did the Lord keep
quiet then to substitute us, He will substitute us for eternity
• He is the Christ. He is really the savior who substitutes us
(2) The righteous one who has no sin <Matthew 26:24>
• He is the righteous one who has no sin. Only the sinless can replaced those with sins.
Sinners were beaten for their own sins
• There is no ideology of “substitution” in religions. Their ideology is always, one has to
“reap what he has sown” (i.e. you have to answer for your sins)
• Thus, they cannot accept such a “cheap” deal
(3) Admits that He is “son of God, Christ, king of the Jews”
• Why must Jesus definitely be the Christ and the king of the Jews?
• Because, He is the one replacing Israel and God’s people. To be a substitute, one must
be the representative. He represented us in being tortured and accused. Only then, the
result / use of the Cross can be on us
(4) “In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One
and coming on the clouds of heaven”
• What the Lord meant was that regardless how prosperous or powerful a person is, he has
absolute no way to triumph over the heavenly kingdom, over God’s people and over God
• Everything they did then was permitted by God
• It is necessary for Christians to face some tribulations. However, when tribulations arise,
do not hand ourselves over to fear. We must face tribulation with the perspective of
absolute victory. The things we lose today would be gained back tomorrow and what we
gained would be even better
• God will not let us face problems without a purpose
 • E.g. A dad will never take away the money of his son, causing the son to suffer and
pretend to be a “good person” by returning the money back to the child later
• God allows us to face tribulations so that we will gain more in return thereafter
• We must reconcile with God. In other words, there’s God’s perfect will and love in the
tribulations we face and we must discover them. Our tribulations will be blessings to
others and we are able to glorify God when we are submissive

3) God’s lamb represented all God’s people who were called and completed the work of
redemption
• The Lord has represented all God’s people. He replaced Barabbas (a notorious prisoner)
symbolically
• When the Lord was crucified, there were two robbers beside Him. These two robbers
represent two types of people. One who don’t believe but mock Jesus Christ even when
dying; and the other is one who needs the Lord
• Before the Lord was crucified, He was beaten and suffered all kinds of tortures. The Lord had
taken over the wounds, fears and sufferings we’d today
• Do we have illness, shortages or loneliness? We need not be afraid. We need not be afraid if
we really know the result of the Cross. Because then, the Lord will not let those things that
make us fearful come true
• If a person really knows how to allow his sufferings to be judged, buried and died with the
Lord, he will save an era

2. Without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness <Hebrews 9:22>

1) Must understand the bondage that comes from “the law of sins, death and curses”
• What is our understanding of sins? Sins are really terrifying. Sins are just like cancerous cells.
They will continue to torture us till we die
• Before men sinned, Satan had sinned first. He was already judged. The result of sin is death
(eternal death)
• All those who belongs to Satan, all those who are still under his rule, all those whose
destinies have yet to be changed; they are still in sins. Therefore, evil thoughts, fears,
accusation will come upon them anytime
• God told Adam and Eve that they would surely die if they ate the fruit. This is eternal death.
Hell was created for sins
• Sinners who cannot see God will definitely be fearful because sins cause one to be afraid.
The things that one fears will happen; and when it happens, one will suffer. As a result, he will
end up sinning more. This is a vicious cycle
• After Satan had deceived Adam and Eve, God cursed Satan and everything that is under
Satan’s control <Gen 3:14>
• <Eph 2:1-3> Those who don’t know God submit to the evil spirit
• When we observe those families, countries, or nations that haven’t accept Christ’s gospel, we
will see traces (idols) of the serpent, dragon, and Satan in them. Satan, the demon, rules
them. Thus, all of them will worship idols
• Things like fortune telling, geomancy will definitely occur in places where the demon rules
• The Chinese ideology comes from the ideology of “tai-chi” and “ying yang”. They always say
that there must be a balance between ‘ying’ and ‘yang’. Fortune telling and geomancy were
formed when one puts “ying yang” into things like date of birth, etc
• Will the people who believe in this receive power? Yes! Fortunetellers say that all people have
13,000 fortunes. Those who believe in this will be bound by all these fortunes
• People who do not know God will get involved in all these things in one way or the other,
especially those celebrities or those in the royal families
 • When the celebrities who believe in these things get rich and famous, they can’t help but to
continue believing in them
• Though they appear to have a good life outwardly, they are full of problems in their lives and
they have lots of secrets

2) Only the redemption of Christ is able to set free everyone who were in bondage
• Only those who follow Jesus Christ can have their destinies changed
• The outcome that occurs to their families, countries and race when people believe and follow
religions, fortunes, geomancy, etc are clearly visible
• People will start to tear themselves apart when they can’t hold back their problems any
longer. This is why people commit suicide, which is the work of the evil spirit. People have
courage to jump off a building, but don’t have the courage to live on
• A lot of people say that China has a history of 5,000 or even 8,000 years whereas USA only
has a history of 200 years. However, when this country that has only 200 years of history hold
on to God (i.e. “In God, we trust”), their financial and military power are second to none.
• In contrast, a Country who has a history of few thousand years is so corrupted when she
doesn’t have God. This is the difference in destiny
• If a person doesn’t have his destiny changed, the more knowledgeable he is, the more bound
he would be by his knowledge
• When we want to evangelize to the Chinese, we must know more about fortune / destiny stuff
• What does it mean by to know Jesus Christ? Those who haven’t known Jesus Christ are still
encircling in that 13,000 fortunes
• When the Israelites were in Egypt, they could escape being killed on the Passover Day by
relying on the blood of the lamb
• People who didn’t come out from the Red Sea will surely die
• After a person has heard and believed in the Gospel, Satan will lose his control over that
person completely
• Satan has only gotten the authority of deception over Christians. A liar’s deception is effective
only when the listener has believed in the lies. When one realized that he was being
deceived, the liar will lose his strength immediately
• Satan’s deception is this: There’s god, but this god is very strict. He will judge and punish
people. Thus, you will have to pay for your sins
• Satan doesn’t have to oppress us. However, he always causes believers to think that their
salvation is earned through their good deeds
• A lot of Pastors have also asked the congregation to have “good testimonies”. This actually
stresses believers
• All religions talk about “you will reap what you sow”. Of course, we are not saying that having
good behaviors is unnecessary. However, more important is the blood of Jesus Christ must
be part of it
• Satan’s deception is this: men are created by God, but men are just another ordinary created
being. Men are only animals with higher wisdom. In other words, those who believed in these
sentences have the nature of animals in them
• Those who don’t know God or God’s purpose live like animals all their lives. They live only for
the sake of eating, sleeping, moving, having sex and dying

3) Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because
through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death
<Romans 8:1-2>
• Jesus Christ had died for us even when we were sinners. He didn’t die for us only after we
had become good people
 • When Jesus Christ died, the curtains in the Holy Temple split into two. This is the turning point
in mankind’s history where men can reach God directly
• Only those who know God will restore their noble identities. Men are not animals. Animals
only have souls and body but men also have spirit
• When a person knows God, his entire fortunes / destiny are changed. He is really noble
• Some people who don’t know God move and behave exactly like animals
• When will demons be defeated? Only after we’d listened and believed in the Gospel.
However, when men hand themselves over to fears, all his fears will become reality
• Paul said that “I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out” <Ro 7:18-25>
• Everyone knows that he must do good deeds and every Christians know that they need to
love and submit to God. However, people just couldn’t do it. And when they can’t do it, people
will give themselves to the world (go into drinking, gambling, smoking etc)

4) What is the law of the Holy Spirit? <Romans 5:1-8 ， 6:1-14 ， 7:6 ， 8:1-39 ， 9:15 ， 10:13-
17， 12:1-2>
• It was meant for the good of people when God first gives them law. However, Satan uses the
law to accuse and kill people
• The Gospel says that we are called, we are loved and we are blessed. Therefore, we aren’t
under law but under grace and love
• Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through
Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life sets me free from the law of sin and death <Ro 8:1-2>
• All men will sin. More importantly is how should we react after sinning? Satan’s accusation
will definitely come after men have sinned. When believers are accused, they will depart from
God and do not wish to pray. They are suffering and yet helpless. This will result in them
committing more sins
• Do we set our children free more or do we accuse them more?
• It is alright for children to be naughty sometimes. Who has never lied before at all? It is more
important that we must teach them not to entertain the feeling of accusation
• The law of sins and death will not able to set anyone free. Saints are no longer under this law.
Saints are under the law of life and Holy Spirit
• The law of the Holy Spirit comes from God; it comes from God’s unconditional love. God has
died for us regardless of our conditions. His love is unconditional
• From the Lord’s complete love, we will discover God’s perfect will and thus be willing to
submit to the Lord. We will receive greater blessings after that

3. Live a victorious life in Christ Jesus according to the law of life and Holy Spirit
1) Jesus Christ endured “the physical sufferings” for “the whole body” so that they can live a
blissful and victorious life
• How can we be victorious? By going through the physical sufferings and pains, Jesus Christ
has demonstrated that He had replaced us completely
• We become fearful or experience hurts again and again because Satan’s lies get into us
continuously
• If we do not know how to handle the problems we face, we will gradually become
disappointed with God, depart from Him and commit more sins

2) How can we enjoy the eternal blessings that resulted from “Christ suffered, die and
prepared for me”?
• The Lord’s method is this; we should not panic regardless of what problems we face because
the Lord already has solutions for them
 • We are already victorious and successful. We must use this perspective to look at problems.
This is why the Lord said, “Yes, it is as you say”
• We had already dead with Jesus Christ
• We are God’s children. An example: Our child did something wrong to the neighbor. The
neighbor came over to find fault with him. Even though what the neighbor said could be right,
the accuser will not have love or compassion towards our child. Even if we don’t dispute
whatever the neighbor was saying, our main objective is to first protect our child, be
compassionate towards him and make him a better person
• Therefore, no matter how weak, painful or hurt we are; when Satan uses something or an
event to accuse us, God will use the same thing or event to love us. As such, God is our
“Abba, Father”
• We’d already received assurance and know that God will never forsake us. Thus, we must
know God’s perfect will and be willing to submit to His will

3) More frightening than sinning is that we do not know how to “reconcile with God”
• Some things require us to submit to God immediately. E.g. not going to church or doing
anything that is directly opposing the Ten Commandments (idols worship, adultery etc). These
things must be resolved immediately
• We may have some habits that we simply cannot get rid or some emotions that we cannot
change. God will understand us and He has provided a way out for us, which is peace
offering
• Sometimes, we admit that we are in the wrong, but we just cannot help it
• God will be pleased with us when we admit our sins. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and
just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” <1John 1:9>
• God will cleanse us. When we get closer to God step by step, our sins and habits will be
resolved / changed
• There are some sins in which we will commit repeatedly. If that’s the case, we must
understand the heart of our Heavenly Father
• Sons will not feel embarrass towards their dads. Children will dare to do anything in front of
their fathers. Thus, we need not be afraid of going to God
• God hates sins forever. However, He loves sinners forever. Therefore, what God is doing is
to separate sinners from sins
• God is the most sanctified and righteous. God’s solution is for us to get close to Him. Even as
we sin, we need to continue with our prayers and go to church
• When God created us, He knew what our weaknesses are. As we continue to go to God, we
will leave our sins and be freed one day
• <Romans 8:31-39>
• The Lord needs to intercede for us day and night because He knows that we will fall and sin
daily
• A lot of people think that Paul was sanctified since birth. If not, he was sanctified the moment
he met God. These are not true. Paul becomes sanctified gradually as he continued to follow
God all his life
Sharing and Prayer Topics
1. At the moment one understands and believes the gospel of Jesus Christ, Satan’s
deception, lies and accusations lose their power: Have I had such experience? In what
areas does Satan deceive me? Before I heard the gospel, what was my life like?
2. What is the law of the Spirit of Life and the Holy Spirit? Do I know that I have received a
new life in the law of the Spirit of life and the Holy Spirit? Do I know the mysteries of how,
in all my conditions, to test and approve God’s good will and walk with God, to have a
positive view about myself and to love others? What is my procedure for all this?
3. How can I enjoy my whole life the eternal blessings that Lord Christ has prepared for me in
his suffering and death? Have I had a firm grasp of the secrets of “confirming,
maintaining, hoping and growing” outlined in 3(2) above? At present, am I completely
reconciled with God my Father?