The Discharge of the Substitute

Of all the bloody sacrifices for sin, only one is alive again forevermore! All the little lambs slain on the altar still lie in the grave, but Christ our Lamb lives forever!

Why? Because of all the sacrifices, only the Lord Jesus' sacrifice ever took away the sin of His people!

Indeed, it is necessary that an accomplished substitutionary sacrifice must conclude in the resurrection of the sacrifice. If the substitute truly satisfies and exhausts the judgment for sin, then that judgment must be finally concluded.

Otherwise, the sinner could never know that the judgment of his sin had been finally discharged by the substitute. Indeed, had Christ not risen from the grave, all the Saints would realize that their sins were still not fully atoned for, that their substitute had not finally accomplished their redemption.

So long as Christ's death continued, the satisfaction for sin had not been completed. But He arose because the judgment against us was finally and totally discharged. The penalty was concluded, the prisoner was set free!

Paul wrote that if Christ be not risen, then we are all dead in our sin. But Christ is risen, so we know our sin has been finally expunged by complete satisfaction of the judgment against Christ on our behalf.

The exhaustion of the judgment against us is not shown by Christ's body in the tomb, but rather by our sacrifice alive again at the resurrection!

His Resurrection was promised in the Lord's Table, for He promised that, though He would very shortly make a bloody sacrifice for sin, yet He would celebrate alive again with His people one day! He awaits our resurrection for that glorious reunion with His people!