Communauté et discipulat

The Great Exchange (Isa. 61:1-3)

2013.03.31Rev. Eddie Byun

Jesus came to make a great exchange: he took our sin, fear, and death on the cross and gives us forgiveness, faith, and life in return, and this exchange is offered to us today within our lifetime.

Christ exchanges beauty for our ashes (vv. 1-3)

Isaiah 61 speaks of the Messiah who would come to make a great exchange for us. The Lord says, give me your ashes and I will give you beauty, give me your mourning and I will give you the oil of gladness, give me your faint spirit and I will give you a garment of praise. God's gift is always better than what we can give, so his offer of exchange is a very good deal. Easter, the day Jesus died and rose again, is the day this exchange was made.

Jesus took our sin to give us forgiveness

Matthew 26:28 says Jesus' blood was poured out for the forgiveness of sins. Sin means missing the mark of God's goodness and perfection, and it breaks our peace with God and disqualifies us from heaven. On the cross Jesus drank the poison of our sin and felt the full force of its destructive power. In return he gives us forgiveness, purity, a place in heaven, and hope. As 2 Corinthians 5:21 says, he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus took our fear to give us faith

The angel at the tomb told the women, do not be alarmed, and Jesus singled out Peter, who had denied him three times out of fear. Jesus prayed that Peter's faith would not fail and knew that Peter would return to him. Judas also failed, but he chose to give up on life, while Peter chose to surrender to the grace of God. Where there is fear, faith is paralyzed, yet God never lets go of us even when we let go of him. Jesus can be trusted to heal those who have hidden behind a shell of fear.

Jesus took our death to give us life

1 Peter 3:18 and Romans 6:10 unpack the exchange made on the cross, where Christ died for sins once for all and now lives to God. The death penalty was meant for us, yet Jesus turned death into a gateway to glory. Those who trust in him no longer face death as a doorway to damnation but as the way into eternity with him in paradise. He gives us life forevermore in exchange for our second death.

Jesus lifts us to safety through sacrificial love

A true story from the Midwest tells of an older brother who was buried in sand while his younger brother stood on his shoulders, and the older brother gave his life to lift the younger one to safety. This is a picture of the love Jesus showed on the cross. Left alone, we would be crushed by sin's power for all eternity, but Christ takes the crushing blow and lifts us up. Only Jesus can take away our sin, guilt, and shame, and he invites us to give him our sins, our trust, and our lives.

Apply to Life

  • Let us give our sins to Christ and receive the forgiveness he offers.
  • Let us bring our fear to Jesus and ask him to replace it with faith in his faithfulness.
  • Let us not harden our hearts but respond today to the God who is ready to receive us.
  • Let us stop hiding behind shells of hurt and trust the God whose arms are always open to us.

This summary was made automatically from the sermon's captions and may differ from the sermon.

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