the Rev. Henry Huenemann
For I say unto you, that this that is written must be fulfilled in me, And he was reckoned with transgressors (Luke 22:37).
Bible Reading
Luke 22:31-38:Devotional
What a strange thing! Christ, the Holy One of God, who could say to the Jews, Who of you convinceth me of sin? Reckoned among the evildoers! How did that come about? Who dared to regard him as a transgressor? True, the Jews strove hard to attach blame to him. But they did not succeed. Even Pilate, the heathen governor, found no fault in him. How then was He reckoned among the transgressors? My friends, it was God that reckoned him among the transgressors. He cast on him the iniquity of us all. Christ became our substitute, the man in our place. He took the place of the sinner before God and his holy law. He bore the punishment for sin, and fulfilled all righteousness. Now all who believe in Him shall be accounted righteous before God. Christ our righteousness. How simple! He took our sins, and bestows upon us his righteousness. And now transgressors, malefactors, criminals (and such we all are before God) may enter into the Paradise of God, through faith in him. Jesus was crucified between two evildoers. One believed, the other railed on him. The cross of Christ separated the two. So it is today. The cross makes separation between man and man. At the final judgement it will depend on what our attitude has been to the crucified Saviour. Where in that day will be your place, on his right hand, or on his left?
Prayer
O God, Thou art righteous and holy, and we are sinners, who have done wickedly, and have transgressed Thy holy law. We have deserved Thy divine wrath. But it has pleased Thee to show us Thy mercy in giving us a Saviour. We thank Thee for Jesus, who became our Substitute, the man in our place, who made full satisfaction for all of our transgressions, and obtained for us righteousness and life. We thank Thee that He was reckoned among evil doers, that we might be reckoned among Thy saints through faith in him. Thine alone be the glory. Amen.
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