“For He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not also with Him freely give us all things!” Oh, what a powerfully precious promise! In this Good Friday, 2009 message, we explore this promise in our house church.

Teaching Notes:

The Greatest Gift Ever Given

Romans 8:32

Intro: one of most precious promises. Speaks of a gift given by God. Greatest gift ever given. — the Lord Jesus Christ in substitutionary sufferings on behalf of guilty sinners. Help meditate on greatest of gifts

1. The Value Of The Gift:

His Own Son: value lies in how precious to giver. God gave not gold, silver, planets, stars. Easy to reproduce. Gave most precious thing had. Dearer than angel – son by creation; or saint – son by grace; Christ was son by nature. Col.1:13 – Beloved; Is.42:1 – 1 in whom soul delights. Son from eternity; co-equal, co-eternal, co-essential. God of very God. Chiefest prize. Father’s heart filled w/ fathomless oceans of eternal affection fixed on His Son. He infinitely more dear than we can imagine. Yet Father gave Son to endure infinite sufferings.

2. The Cost of the Gift:

Did Not Spare but Delivered Up: gift free to us, but infinitely costly to Father. Cost pain & sorrow. Usually think of Christ’s pain. Here see Father’s. Didn’t spare – hold back pain & suffering.

What didn’t God spare?

Emotional Suffering: spitting, plucking of beard, ridicule & mocking as comical king, lies & slander of false witnesses, betrayal of intimate friend (Judas), denial of Peter, forsook by rest of disciples.

Physical Sufferings: Crucifixion: goes back to the 500ís B.C. Invented by Persians. Darius crucified 3,000 Babylonians. Alexander the Great crucified 2,000 citizens of Tyre in vengeance over way they treated him, and put them up on crosses around the shore for everyone to see. Romans came to power in 63 B.C. and perfected crucifixion as a fine art of torture. Historians say that Roman General Titus used so many crosses to crucify the Jews that they ran out of lumber. Romans always crucified them in public places, along highways and on hills so that everyone would see the result of rebellion against Rome. Crucifixion began with scourging: braided leather thongs with bits of metal or sheep bone embedded in them were used to lash the victim from bottom of neck to back of knees. His arms were tied to pole, in a slumped position. 2 lictors hit him with alternating blows. Don’t know how many lashes. Bone and metal rip into the flesh, laying bare muscles, sinews, and bone. There is horrific pain, blood loss, and circulatory shock. Afterwards they put a robe on him. Would agitate and irritate his open wounds. Jammed crown of thorns on head, hit him in head with stick, spit on him. Then ripped robe back off him. Again, intense pain, and blood loss. Add to all of that, lack of sleep, food, water ñ then crucifixion. Victims carried cross-piece across back of neck and shoulders, their arms tied to it. Jesus received help because He wasn’t moving fast enough. Arriving at place of crucifixion they would be offered the sedation that Jesus refused, then they would be thrown to the ground on their backs. The cross-piece would then be pulled unto their shoulders, and their arms were nailed to the cross-pieces. Archaeologists have found the remains of crucified victims from as early as the 1st century. The nails were tapered iron spikes, 5-7 inches long, about Ωî in diameter square. They were driven through the wrists, rather than the palms of the hands so they could carry the weight of the slumping of the body. The impaled victim was then lifted up, and the crosspiece was attached to the horizontal. The feet were then nailed with 1 nail, one foot upon the other, so that the victim could push up to breathe to inhale and exhale, and pull up on the wounds to do the same. Whether pulling with the wrists or pushing with the feet, they would be pulling and pushing against the wound. The slumping position and the bent knees was so severe that you couldn’t breathe in that position. The soldiers could bring death in minutes by breaking the legs. The victim couldn’t push up and he would die in minutes, because he couldn’t breathe. To survive, the victim would push up and pull up on the wounds. Insects would burrow into the wounds, the eyes, ears, nose. Birds of prey would tear at the open sites. Each effort of the person on the cross would mean he would have to pull or push himself up which would then rub the open back wounds up the course of the rugged cross, and then back down again, ripping and shredding those wounds further. The nails in the wrists would crush or sever the large sensory median nerve. When nerve is damaged or pierced the bolts of pain are relentless. The nails in the feet would likely pierce the nerves with the same results so you would have vicious relentless pain through your feet and hands. Think of the weight of the body pulling against all these agonizing torturous bolts of pain. It struggles to pull & push itself up, Breathing is shallow. You don’t get enough oxygen. What do you get? Titanic contractions, muscle cramps. Add to that dehydration, & congestive heart failure. One can’t even comprehend how painful all of it is. There is a word for it. Excruciating. That is the most extreme word we have in English to describe pain. Comes from Latin. Ex Cruciañ out of the cross.

Spiritual Sufferings: we can understand emotional and physical pain, but this is the worst part of His sufferings and we can’t comprehend it. This is the holy of holies, and we can’t come in. This is part of His sufferings Jesus dreaded. Mt.26:38. My soul is deeply grieved to the point of death. Sweat great drops of blood. What was He anticipating? 1. Separation from God My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me. Jesus had never known anything else from all eternity but loving fellowship with His Father. For a sinner to never know fellowship with God bad enough, but for One who has known nothing else to be cut off from God inconceivable to us. 2. Receive Wrath of God against Sin.  That is what means to be Propitiation. 2Cor.5:21 He made Him who knew no sin. All holy & just fury of Almighty God was let loose upon His Son so that sin could be atoned! Made sin, made curse, bore wrath. Consider eternal torments of hell for millions of people ñ boil all that down to 3 hours. That is what Jesus endured!

Did not spare: God did not hold back anything His justice demanded. Not 1 stroke, tear, groan, sigh, lash, minute, degree of pain. God spared the Ninevites, Lot, Us. But if spared Christ could not spare us. This is infinite cost of Father is gift of Christ.

3. The Design Of The Gift:

A. For us All: not a gamble. If I must give up a son to death, want to know beforehand what great sacrifice would produce. Not playing Russian roulette. Taking risk. Knew exactly what death would effect. Would save “us all.” Who? All of us. Vs.31; 28-29; 33. God’s elect. Design to obtain eternal redemption for elect.

B. What Is Their Character? He is spotless, pure & holy One! Holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners (Heb.7:26). All glorious, all-blessed One! What about us? Rom.3:9-18. Magnificence of gift shines all more brilliantly when see what worthless worms All-Glorious One sacrificed life for!

4. The Guarantee Of The Gift:

A. Argument from Greater to Lesser: if God did greater, harder… If willing to give greatest, best, dearest… Gave when we were enemies. If someone gives diamond won’t object to giving box to carry. If mother gives up child to adoption, won’t object if we ask for its clothes.

B. With Him: not just in addition, but in union to Him. Wealthy roman had son who broke heart & slave who he admired. Decided on deathbed to disinherit son & leave everything to slave, Marcellus. Drew up papers & called in son. “I have deeded everything to Marcellus, but you may choose 1 item from my estate. I’ll take Marcellus! when we take Christ, we take all! Eph.1:3,6,7.

C. All Things: all good & necessary things. Ps.84:10; 1Cor.3:22; Rom.8:28; Eph.1:11. Material: job, food, gas, car, house, friend, spouse. Spiritual: sanctifying, preserving, empowering, sustaining grace. John Flavel: “How is it imaginable that God should withhold, after this, spirituals or temporals, from His people? How shall he not call them effectually, justify them freely, sanctify them thoroughly, and glorify them eternally? How shall He not clothe them, feed them, protect and deliver them? Surely if He would not spare His own Son one stroke, one tear, one groan, one sigh, one circumstance of misery, it can never be imagined that ever He should after this, deny or withhold from His people, for whose sakes all this was suffered, any mercies, any comforts, any privilege, spiritual or temporal, which is good for them!”

Application:

1. Never Forget The Value, Cost & Design of the Gift!   what unspeakable grace! May you bow in adoration at His feet for such great mercy! Worship Him!

2. Never Doubt God To Provide All Things! Proved will give what is best by giving greatest One at cross. What do you need? If it is good, God will give it! Trust Him!

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