Meditation: With Five Senses

All five of the human senses were involved in the suffering of Christ on the cross he suffered in his sight, hearing, sense of smell, taste, touch, and that's what I want to remind you, than to show you maybe pull some things together in a way that you haven't quite seen them in the same context before teaching God's people. God's word. This is the true pulpit with Don green Don's founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio.

I build today a look at how the various aspects of Christ's suffering on the cross can bring fresh insight for the believer on the subject of the Lord's supper done is titled today's message with five senses and it was originally presented to the congregation. Truth Community Church on communion Sunday, but it's timely and relevant for us anytime there is Don green valve in the true pulpit boy it's a communion Sunday. Truth Community Church and were going to celebrate communion here at the beginning of the service.

I think it's very important for us and would like to emphasize this. It's important for us to prepare our hearts for communion.

It is a holy time to remember the death of our Lord and it is not something that we should barge into without forethought, without setting aside the things of this world and preparing our hearts with the meditation of some kind on Christ before we partake of the elements together. Scripture tells us clearly that we are to examine ourselves before we take of the elements that that we are to reflect and to take it in a worthy manner and to be hurried in to be rushed, and it is something that is to take it in an unworthy manner. So we try to have a different kind of meditation of some kind before we come to the table.

We want to remember here is this Christ truly suffered for us on the cross he truly suffered in every aspect of his humanity. There was a genuine pain that was present in his suffering on the cross for us and yes each one of us has our own aspects of pain and difficulty in life, but we recognize that the suffering of Christ is supreme and we we subordinate our thoughts and our our issues in life when we come to the table and we set them aside in order to remember Christ and his supremacy in our affections, and the supremacy of his sufferings on our behalf and so this is not about sin this hour. This is about Christ and what he has done for us and when you look at Scripture you examine Scripture you see that all five of the human senses were involved in the suffering of Christ. He suffered in his sight he suffered in his hearing he suffered in his sense of smell. His sense of taste and in his physical touch all of that was incorporated into his suffering on the cross and that's what I want to just briefly remind you, than to show you maybe pull some things together in a way that you haven't quite seen them in the same context before Christ suffered with his physical size of the things that he saw caused sorrow to him. That's our first aspect evident as we consider the five senses of his suffering. First of all, we see that he suffered with his side, and I'd invite you to turn to the gospel of John chapter 19 we're just going to touch on these very briefly.

This is not a full-fledged message by any means but just a means of getting us to sympathetically view Christ as we remember him on the cross. It says in John chapter 19 verse 25 that standing by the cross of Jesus for his mother and his mother, sister, Mary the wife of Clovis and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus then saw his mother saw her with his physical site and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby. He said to his mother woman behold your son and then he said to the disciple, behold your mother from that hour the disciple took her into his own household. Jesus saw these ladies gathered around the cross, including his own mother, and it's very striking to me that our Lord himself saw fit to honor his mother and to care and provide for his mother even as he was hanging on the cross, suffering for the sins of the world and so he cares for her. He provides for her that transaction, so to speak that is taking place here is that he was pointing his mother to the disciple, John and John to his mother and says now that I am departing from this earth. John you take care of my mother and mother. You will be with John henceforth going forward, and he and he actually addresses her his woman there. But whatever you get the points he sees what's happening in front of them and with the full awareness he takes in the scene in front of him with his physical side and he responds to it accordingly and with a great sense of kindness and sympathy in and honoring of his mother in full compliance with the fifth commandment, even in his dying hour he provides for with his care with based on what he saw as he hung on the cross.

Secondly, Christ suffered in his hearing as well. He heard the words of accusation and rejection that were slung at him from vile malls while he hung on the cross. Mark chapter 15. If you would turn there with me. Mark chapter 15 in the verbal abuse was wretchedly intense for our Lord as he hung on the cross in Mark chapter 15 verse 27 says this, they crucified two robbers with him one on his right and one on his left and the Scripture was fulfilled which says and he was numbered with the transgressors and those passing by were hurling abuse at him, wagging their heads and saying half you who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save yourself and come down from the cross in the same way the chief priests also along with the scribes were mocking him among themselves and saying he saved others, he cannot save himself, let this Christ the King of Israel. Now, come down from the cross so that we may see and believe those who were crucified with him were also insulting him there.

He hung between heaven and earth, as it were. While earth rejected him and hurled its its violent rejection and its vile verbal abuse at him, mocking his claim to be the king of Israel, mocking his power to save and Christ responds in what manner he suffers as a lamb led to the slaughter. He suffers in silence, he hears it all but he does not revile in return, he had said earlier that he had the power to called 12 legions of angels down in his defense and he refused to do so. He had that power he had that authority as the son of God, and he he deferred he did not do that.

He bore the accusations he bore the rejection in silence in order to fulfill the eternal plan of God by which God had appointed this hour to be for the redemption of the people of God. It's it's remarkable to see what I would ask you to do what I would encourage you to do as we prepare for communion here is to just realize that Christ suffered that rejection on behalf of you. If you are a believer in Christ and to realize that that he suffered this rejection at the hands of men in order that he might reconcile you to a holy God and in his suffering, we see something of the measure of his love displayed for us. He was willing to suffer for us. We all know the people that will love us while circumstances are good when times turn bad they'll abandon you fair weather friends is what they are sometimes called Christ was no fair weather friend.

When the storms rained down upon his own head, and he heard these words of accusation. He continued on until the work would be complete. Thirdly, we can say that he suffered also with his sense of smell. I won't dwell on this so much, but it says in Mark chapter 15 verse 19. You can look up the page, just a bit. There that they kept beating his head with a read and and spitting on him, and kneeling and bowing before him, and after they had mocked him, they took the purple robe off them and put his own garments on them and then they let them out to crucify him. As Christ was being prepared for crucifixion. He smelled the foul breath of those that were preparing him for crucifixion. He smelled their sputum. As it fell upon his cheek and he suffered in his and his sense of smell and the repulsive nature of the whole situation again. He silently bore that on our behalf.

So with his site he sees.

He sees the people around him. He sees what's happening. He suffers in his physical vision. He suffers in his physical hearing with the accusations in the rejection. He suffers with his sense of smell. He suffered also with his sense of taste. If you look at Matthew chapter 27 is taste his sense of taste was involved in his suffering as well.

Matthew chapter 27 versus 33 and 34 Matthew 27 versus 33 and 34 when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull. They gave him wine to drink mixed with Gaul and after tasting it, he was unwilling to drink. They sometimes they would give to the crucified person in sort of a sedative that would deaden the pain just a bit. Christ tasted that rejected any further because he wanted to fulfill the fullness of suffering on our behalf even even in his taste, his sense of taste was involved in the collective sufferings that he made for us and when we consider his sense of touch his sense of physical pain. We we don't need to dwell on that. His his hands were literally nailed to the cross is his feet were probably placed together in a spike driven through his ankles to to nail him to the cross.

So both hands and feet suspended by nails and thorns and suffering in that manner. Every one of his human senses was involved in the physical suffering that he did on our behalf. Now there's a lot that we can draw out of that there are's there is a spiritual significance that we should draw out of this. First of all let me just remind you that this is the holy, blameless son of God, of whom we speak. This is the one who is God incarnate God's love. This is love incarnate that we see suffering like this, the eternal son of God, the one who was without sin of his own. He who said he invited his enemies convict me of sin, which one of you convicts me of sin and they fall silent because he was utterly blameless and in the perfection of his wonderful character. The perfection of his attributes.

The wonder of his humility. Leaving heaven to come to earth and you just see the blessed nature of his character and the blessed nature of of his impeccable heart, and you see that he is suffering like that you realize that there is a cosmic significance to what is in play here and we remember this, we remember why he was suffering Christ was not suffering in order to give us an example, there was far more to the atonement than that he simply wasn't providing a a moral influence for us and say this is how you should live in and how you should obey God.

That is so inadequate of an understanding Christ was suffering like this physically because he was paying the price for your sin and for mine in Scripture makes this abundantly clear the suffering on the cross physically was displaying something of the far greater, more infinite spiritual suffering that he was undergoing on our behalf.

I would ask you to turn to the book of first Peter after Hebrews and James you'll find first Peter in your Bible. First Peter chapter 2 in verse 24 we say in verse 23 exit picks up on things that I said earlier, first Peter chapter 2 verses 23 and 24 while being reviled. Christ did not revile in return while suffering he uttered no threats but kept entrusting himself to him who judges righteously in all of this. There was no spirit of retaliation in crisis is that in itself is worthy of an entire message.

There is no spirit of retaliation. There was no response of anger on his behalf, and why was he doing this verse 24 he himself bore our sins in his body on the cross. This was a guilt offering to God, the Christ was making.

He offered his sinless life as a sacrifice to pay for the sins of his people to satisfy the justice and the wrath of God, you know, I fear. Sometimes that we get a little too familiar with the idea that were sinners and that the profundity of that doesn't often go as deeply into our hearts as it as it should, as a member of the human race.

You have a a fundamental problem of guilt that Christ was addressing there you were. You are guilty in Adam and Adam's sin is assigned to his posterity.

Your guilty in your own corruption and pollution of nature. Your guilty in your own violations of the law of God, and that guilt in that and those violations must be punished. There must be a consequence the justice of God demands a payment for the violation of his law what Scripture teaches us is is that as our substitute. Christ was paying for that sin and it was a consequence of suffering that he endured in order to do so.

He bore our sins in his body on the cross. Look at chapter 3 verse 18, there in first Peter word says Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that he might bring us to God, Christ on the cross received the. The imputed nature of our sins. God counted, Christ is guilty of the sins of all of his people and caused him to suffer, and the ultimate suffering was during the three hours of darkness is the wrath of God fell upon him and the universe went dark as well.

It might as well the sun might hide when the son of God is suffering in that way. And so this is the price of sin. Suffering is the price of sin and Christ gladly paid that for us in his body on the cross. And here's what I want you to see it is that in his suffering. In the in the miserable aspects of the physical suffering that weakens sort of see the external suffering and his five senses and then we see the, the suffering, the spiritual suffering that he did as he bore the wrath of God on our behalf.

We start to see something what we start to see is this, we start to see how dark and how ugly and how how repulsive your sin and my sin is in the sight of God, because it would took suffering like that in order to pay for sin like yours and like mind. The Puritan Thomas Watson said this, he said in the bloodiest sacrifice of Christ see the horrible nature of sin. Sin is ugly as it banished Adam out of paradise. Sin is ugly as it throws the angels into hell. But that which makes most of all sin appears so ugly.

Is this is that it made Christ veil his glory and lose his blood."

We see the ugliness of sin and the ugliness of the sufferings of Christ, and it's not simply to make us see the darkness.

It's make to with that. We discussed these things today is that we would see the glory of it.

The Christ in his love gladly suffered like that for sin as ugly as that in order to bring us to God in order to reconcile us in order to cleanse us and to wash us of all of our guilt so that we could stand blameless before holy God. This is a wonderful thing to remember and it's what we remember at the table today is suffering was the price of our salvation and in love. He gladly paid it in full. He paid it with all of his senses, and with all of his soul in order to purchase a complete and full salvation for us offered and given to us as a gift received by faith alone. What a wonderful Savior, we remember what a what a an episode of suffering that we remember as we partake of the cup. As we partake of the bread and remember our Lord Jesus Christ. We invite every true Christian here today to participate in the table. We only ask that you would confess and forsake any sins in your life that you know of, before you partake. If you're here and you know that you're not a Christian or your life has been one of darkness for a considerable period of time that you just not responded to the promptings of the spirit, we would ask you as a church would ask you in the name of Christ, to pass on the elements.

We should not mock and denigrate the elements that represent and symbolizes suffering for sin if were hardened in sin and pursuing it ourselves. This is for believers alone and this is for believers who want to forsake sin and if you are like that today. This is for you. This is a remembrance from Christ to you that he gladly paid that price on your behalf. You can draw near to him. Draw near to God with confidence through faith in him. That's Don Greene with a message titled, with five senses and you're listening to the truth pulpit. If you missed any part of today's message. Just click on the truth.

Pulpit.com. While you're there you can listen again to today's message or any of Dunn's teaching and please be sure to share this broadcast with your friends and loved ones again. That's the truth.

Pulpit.com will done.

Although this isn't the first time you've taught on the subject of communion. This particular lesson was unique in that you took the time to illustrate how Christ suffering on the cross offers us deed biblical insight into the significance of communion will bill many times on the truth pulpit.

We like to air the brief meditations that I do during a truth community church communion service. We like to take communion seriously at our church and so we take time to focus in one way or another on the person and work of Jesus Christ in biblical meditation before we take the elements. Today we have another one talking about the physical experience of Christ on the cross and I just wanted to remind us of what we are celebrating and remembering when we take communion just for quick little points.

First of all, communion reminds us of the holiness of God. God is high and he is holy.

He is perfectly righteous and he cannot look on evil with favor. That means that sinners need a mediator before him. If we are going to be able to have fellowship with him. The holiness of God demanded the sacrifice of Christ. Secondly, communion reminds us of the seriousness of the gospel. When you have sinned against a high and holy God.

It is a serious matter to realize that forgiveness is offered to you in Christ, and that offer of the gospel must be taken seriously and not lightly dismissed as though the blood of Christ was not worthy of your consideration. Thirdly, communion reminds us of course of the sacrifice of Christ, nothing less than a perfect human blood sacrifice could take away your sins. And when we take the bread and take the cup. It reminds us of the body and blood of Christ, who voluntarily lay down his life on our behalf so wonderful symbol you can see why it should be taken seriously because of what it represents. Then, finally, and this is a highlight for the redeemed soul communion reminds us of satisfied justice in the Lord Jesus Christ. All the demands of the law of God on your soul have been satisfied. His perfect life fulfills what the law requires his shed blood pays and washes away all of our sins.

And so, in those things.

Communion reminds us of all of the wonders of the person and work of Christ, and it brings us to a place of holy and humble joy in our hearts.

I'm glad you're with us today on the truth. Thanks Don and Fred, thank you for listening ideal right and we'll see you next time.

As Don Greene continues in his ministry of teaching God's word to God's people are on the truthful