What Was Jesus Doing On The Cross?

# 3 (He was) turning away the wrath of God 

The phrase ‘wrath of God’ is so dramatic isn’t it!? And so it should be – it describes the fierce anger of God against sinful people 

God’s wrath is directed against sinful Israel, the sinful Gentile nations and all sinful generations 

Psalm 78: 21 C.F Romans 2: 1-3: 20; Psalm 79: 6 C.F Romans 1: 18-32; Psalm 85: 5  

So, what is God so fiercely angry about? 

The Apostle Paul tells us, Romans 2: 8 ‘He will pour out His anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.’ 

At this point some people might say, “To be honest I do live for myself, and I don’t obey the truth and yes, I have done some bad things but isn’t it great that God is love and will forgive me, right!?” 

Wrong! 

Yes, God is love and God is kind, but God is also severe in judging sin, Romans 11: 22 ‘You should think about what God is like.  God is both kind and severe.’  EASY, NTFE 

The Lord says, Exodus 34: 7b ‘I do not excuse the guilty’ 

The Apostle Paul said that fallen Man(kind) is under the power of sin and guilty before God 

Romans 3: 9b ‘all people...’ - 18 

Romans 3: 19b ‘the entire world is guilty before God.’ 

So, if we are guilty before God and subject to His wrath – what are we to do!? 

How can sinful Man(kind) escape the wrath of God?  

Pastor John MacArthur said, “We must preach the truth, confront sin and call people to repentance and obedience to the Gospel – the Good News that achieves soul conversion and saves sinners from eternal wrath.” 

And what is the Gospel – what is the Good News? 

It is that on the cross, Jesus was turning away the wrath of God! 

The Old Testament gives us a terrific illustration of what it means to turn away the wrath of God 

In Numbers 25 the narrative tells us that Israel was camped in the wilderness on their 40-year journey to the Promised Land 

Some of the people began sinning against God with the Moabite women 

God's wrath was stirred up against Israel and the Lord had the guilty executed so that His wrath against Israel be turned away 

Numbers 25: 4 ‘The Lord issued the following command to Moses: “Seize all the ringleaders and execute them before the Lord in broad daylight, so His fierce anger will turn away from the people of Israel.”’ 

And just as this was happening one of the Israelite men took a Midianite woman into his tent. Phinehas went after them, Numbers 25: 6-11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar and grandson of Aaron the priest has turned my anger away from the Israelites”   

God’s wrath was turned away from Israel as the guilty were executed! 

What was Jesus doing on the cross? 

He was turning away the wrath of God 

In our fallen sinful condition, we are without excuse before God and fully deserving the fierce anger of His wrath, BUT in His great love for us, He sent His Son who was innocent of any sin to be executed on the cross so that His wrath be turned away from us   

Galatians 3: 13b ‘Christ took that punishment away from us, because God punished Him instead of us.’ EASY 

Dear friends, when this world comes to an end, God will pour out His full wrath upon those who continue to live for themselves, those who don’t obey the truth and those who continue to do wicked things 

Revelation 6:16-17 ‘And they cried to the mountains and the rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the One who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to survive?” 

Good question - “Who is able to survive?” 

The answer is of course that none will survive the wrath of God! 

God says that He will harvest the earth like grapes in harvest season and load them into the great winepress of His wrath 

Revelation 14: 19 ‘So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and loaded the grapes into the great winepress of God’s wrath’ 

Finally, earlier I quoted Pastor John MacArthur who said, “We must preach the truth, confront sin and call people to repentance and obedience to the Gospel – the Good News that achieves soul conversion and saves sinners from eternal wrath.” 

One of the greatest theologians who ever lived preached one of the greatest sermons ever preached called ‘Sinners in the hands of an angry God’ 

His name was Jonathan Edwards. 

(Let me read a summarized extract from my website www.revdotdavid.wordpress.com) 

Jonathan Edwards was a great American theologian, pastor and preacher born in 1703 and ordained as a Christian minister in 1727. Jonathan studied thirteen hours every day and usually read his sermons word for word and usually they were 2 hours long. People throughout his state of New England came to Christ in what is now called the Great Awakening and during that time new church facilities were built by the hundreds to cater for the thousands of new converts. But any great advance of the work of God encounters opposition and when Edwards desired to limit church membership to those truly born again, his own church threw him out. Edwards was then called to be the new president of Princeton University. After serving less than two months, he died of complications from a smallpox vaccination. 

Today Jonathan Edwards is still considered America’s greatest theologian and “Sinners in the hands of angry God” is considered the most famous sermon ever preached in American history. Jonathan Edwards delivered that message in 1741, hoping that it would awaken his audience to the horrific reality that awaited them should they continue without Christ. Many who heard it trembled and cried out for mercy, others fainted and 500 people came to Christ that day. An eyewitness described the congregation so moved that people moaned, shrieked, and cried out for salvation while Jonathan Edwards was still preaching.