The Spurgeon Series 1857 & 1858. Charles H. Spurgeon

The sacrifice of Calvary was not a partial payment; it was not a partial exoneration, it was a complete and perfect payment, and it obtained a complete and perfect remittal of all the debts of all believers that have lived, do live, or shall live, to the very end of time. On that day when Christ hung on the cross, he did not leave a single farthing for us to pay as a satisfaction to God; he did not leave, from a thread even to a shoelatchet, that he had not satisfied. The whole of the demands of the law were paid down there and then by Jehovah Jesus, the great high priest of all his people. And blessed be his name, he paid it all at once too. So priceless was the ransom, so princely and munificent was the price demanded for our souls, one might have thought it would have been marvellous if Christ had paid it by instalments; some of it now, and some of it then. Kings’ ransoms have sometimes been paid partly at once, and partly in sums afterwards, to run on through the years. But not so our Saviour: once for all he gave himself a sacrifice; at once he counted down the price, and said, “It is finished,” leaving nothing for him to do, nor for us to accomplish. He did not drivel out a partial payment, and then declare that he would come again to die, or that he would again suffer, or that he would again obey; but down upon the nail, to the utmost farthing, the ransom of all people was paid, and a full receipt given to them, and Christ nailed that receipt to his cross, and said, “It is done, it is done; I have taken away the handwriting of ordinances, I have nailed it to the cross; who is he that shall condemn my people, or lay anything to their charge? for I have blotted out like a cloud their transgressions, and like a thick cloud their sins!”

      7. And when Christ paid all this ransom, will you just notice, that he did it all by himself! He was very particular about that. Simon, the Cyrenian, might bear the cross; but Simon, the Cyrenian, might not be nailed to it. That sacred circle of Calvary was kept for Christ alone. Two thieves were with him there; not righteous men, lest any should have said that the death of those two righteous men helped the Saviour. Two thieves hung there with him, that men might see that there was majesty in his misery, and that he could pardon men and show his sovereignty, even when he was dying. There were no righteous men to suffer; no disciples shared his death; Peter was not dragged there to be beheaded, John was not nailed to a cross side by side with him; he was left there alone. He says, “I have trodden the winepress alone; and of the people there was no one with me.” The whole of the tremendous debt was put upon his shoulders; the whole weight of the sins of all his people was placed upon him. Once he seemed to stagger under it: “Father, if it is possible.” But again he stood upright: “Nevertheless, not my will, but yours be done.” The whole of the punishment of his people was distilled into one cup; no mortal lip might give it so much as a solitary sip. When he put it to his own lips, it was so bitter, he almost spurned it. — “Let this cup pass from me.” But his love for his people was so strong, that he took the cup both his hands, and

      At one tremendous draught of love

      He drank damnation dry,

      for all his people. He drank it all, he endured all, he suffered all; so that now for ever there are no flames of hell for them, no racks of torment; they have no eternal woes; Christ has suffered all they ought to have suffered, and they must, they shall go free. The work was completely done by himself, without a helper.

      8. And note, again it was accepted. In truth, it was a goodly ransom. What could equal it? A soul “exceedingly sorrowful even to death”; a body torn with torture; a death of the most inhuman kind; and an agony of such a character, that tongue cannot speak of it, nor can even man’s mind imagine its horror. It was a goodly price. But say, was it accepted? There have been prices paid sometimes, or rather offered, which never were accepted by the party to whom they were offered, and therefore the slave did not go free. But this was accepted. I will show you the evidence. When Christ declared that he would pay the debt for all his people, God sent the officer to arrest him for it; he arrested him in the garden of Gethsemane, and seizing upon him, he dragged him to the bar of Pilate, to the bar of Herod, and to the judgment seat of Caiaphas; the payment was all made, and Christ was put into the grave. He was there, locked up in vile enforced confinement, until the acceptance would have been ratified in heaven. He slept there a portion of three days in his tomb. It was declared that the ratification was to be this: the surety was to go his way as soon as ever his suretyship engagements had been fulfilled. Now let your minds picture the buried Jesus. He is in the sepulchre. It is true he has paid all the debt, but the receipt is not yet been given; he slumbers in that narrow tomb. Fastened in with a seal upon a giant stone, he sleeps still in his grave; not yet has the acceptance been given from God; the angels have not yet come from heaven to say, “The deed is done, God has accepted your sacrifice.” Now is the crisis of this world; it hangs trembling in the balance. Will God accept the ransom, or will he not? We shall see. An angel comes from heaven with exceeding brightness; he rolls away the stone; and out comes the captive, with no manacles upon his hands, with the grave clothes left behind him; free, never more to suffer, never more to die. Now,

      If Jesus had not paid the debt,

      He ne’er had been at freedom set.

      If God had not accepted his sacrifice, he would have been in his tomb at this moment; he never would have risen from his grave. But his resurrection was a pledge of God’s accepting him. He said, “I have had a claim upon you to this hour; that claim is paid now; go your way.” And death gave up his royal captive, the stone was rolled into the garden, and the conqueror came forth, leading captivity captive.

      9. And, moreover, God gave a second proof of acceptance; for he took his only begotten Son to heaven, and set him at his right hand, far above all principalities and powers; and in it he meant to say to him, “Sit upon the throne, for you have done the mighty deed; all your works and all your miseries are accepted as the ransom for men.” Oh my beloved, think what a grand sight it must have been when Christ ascended into glory; what a noble certificate it must have been of his Father’s acceptance of him! Do you not think you see the scene on earth? It is very simple. A few disciples are standing upon a hill, and Christ mounts into the air in slow and solemn movement, as if an angel sped his way by gentle degrees, like mist or exhalation from the lake into the skies. Can you imagine what is going on up there? Can you for a moment conceive how, when the mighty conqueror entered the gates of heaven, the angels met him,

      They brought his chariot from on high,

      To bear him to his throne;

      Clapp’d their triumphant wings, and cried,

      ‘The glorious work is done!’

      Can you think how loud was the applause when he entered the gates of heavens? Can you conceive how they pressed on one another, to behold how he came conquering and red from the fight? Do you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the saints redeemed, come to behold the Saviour and the Lord? They had desired to see him, and now their eyes behold him in flesh and blood, the conqueror over death and hell! Do you think you see him, with hell at his chariot wheels, with death dragged as a captive through the royal streets of heaven? Oh, what a spectacle was there that day! No Roman warrior ever had such a triumph; no one ever saw such a majestic sight. The pomp of a whole universe, the royalty of entire creation, cherubim and seraphim and all created powers did swell the show; and God himself, the Everlasting One, crowned all, when he pressed his Son to his bosom, and said, “Well done, well done; you have finished the work which I gave you to do. Rest here for ever, my accepted one.” Ah, but he never would have had that triumph, if he had not paid all the debt. Unless his Father had accepted the ransom price, the ransomer would never been so honoured; but because it was accepted, therefore he did triumph so majestically. So far, then, concerning the ransom.

      10. II. And now, by the help of God’s Spirit, let me address myself to THE EFFECT OF THE RANSOM; being justified — “justified freely by his grace through the redemption.”

      11. Now, what is the meaning of justification? Divines will puzzle you, if you ask them. I must try the best I can to make justification plain and simple, even to the comprehension of a child. There is not such a thing as justification to be had on earth for mortal men, except in one way. Justification, you know, is a forensic term; it is employed always in a