My mind and heart simultaneously explode when I think about the divine plan, commonly referred to as the covenant of redemption. In this arrangement or agreement we have the Son willingly accepting the assignment of being the Redeemer. In a fictional but devotional series of paragraphs, John Flavel contemplates something of this Trinitarian conversation.
My Son, here is a company of poor miserable souls, that have utterly undone themselves, and now lie open to my justice! Justice demands satisfaction for them, or will satisfy itself in the eternal ruin of them: What shall be done for these souls?
And thus Christ returns. O my Father, such is my love to, and pity for them, that rather than they shall perish eternally, I will be responsible for them as their Surety; bring in all thy bills, that I may see what they owe thee; Lord, bring them all in, that there may be no after-reckonings with them; at my hand shalt thou require it. I will rather choose to suffer they wrath than they should suffer it: upon me, my Father, upon me be all their debt.
But, my son, if thou undertake for them, thou must reckon to pay the last mite, expect no abatements; if I spare them, I will not spare thee.
Content, Father, let it be so; charge it all upon me, I am able to discharge it: and though it prove a kind of undoing to me, though it impoverish all my riches, empty all my treasures…yet I am content to undertake it.” (Flavel, Works Volume 1) p.61
Consider the magnitude of this. There was and is no one else who could bear this task. Only Christ is able. It is only Jesus who is qualified to bear the task of being the Redeemer. Only Christ could substitute himself as the one to bear the sins of man. Only Christ could fully bear and therefore satisfy all of the requirements of God’s wrath. It would be Christ, and Christ alone who could offer himself through the eternal spirit (Heb. 9.14) and provide eternal redemption (Heb. 9.12).
What’s more, he was willing! Not only was Jesus qualified to take the mantle, he was willing. Oh, how this drips with love from another land! This is truly heaven’s love invading earth! Christ loved us when we were unlovely (Rom. 5.6-11). His entire incarnation was motivated by a unique and pure love for God and love for the lost. Oh, how this melts our hearts!
When you consider this love, think also of the fact that no one truly knows what was required like Christ. Therefore, he loves most and best of all. How so? Well, no one knows the depths of God’s holiness and righteousness like Christ. He knows what is required. He knows this by virtue of his divine omniscience but also his human experience. He, after all, is the one to say, “I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.” (Jn. 17.4) In other words, “I have magnified your name Father; I have considered your holiness and not wavered a moment. Everything I have done is perfectly adorning of your holiness.”
He also knows it by virtue of his experience. He was made sin for us (2 Cor. 5.21). This means not that he became a sinner but that he was treated in such a way that sin deserves. He grasped the fully fermented, foaming, foreboding cup of divine wrath and drank it to the dregs! Christ Jesus knows the extant of what our sin deserves because he guzzled the cup of wrath due it! As Spurgeon said, “He drank damnation dry!” Hallelujah what a Savior! Do you see the magnitude of our beloved Jesus?! He knows the depths of your sin because he suffered for it completely.
When you consider the cross of Christ do not let yourself make it impersonal. God forbid it! This is very personal. The high priest would wear the names of the twelve tribes of Isreal on his breastplate. The high priest of the new covenant had a billion Jacobs carved on his breastplate! This transaction was not professional, stale, cold, or indifferent. Never. It was absolutely personal, intimate, intentional, and overflowing in love. This is why Paul could say, “He loved me and gave himself up for me…” (Gal. 2.20) Paul’s talk makes it sound like he is the only person on the planet when he speaks of his Master. And so it is for the believer and Christ. He loved you and gave himself up for you. It is personal, don’t you ever forget it. And don’t you ever get over it!