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BOUGHT WITH A PRICE

By George W. Sinquefield

1 Corinthians 6:19 (KJV)
¹⁹ What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? ²⁰ For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.

        In this sermon I shall use a lot of Scripture and I will quote from others who know more about the awful suffering and death of Jesus than I'll ever know. My one and only desire is that those who read this will come to understand what a tremendous price our Savior was willing to pay for us, and how much He loved lost humanity.

John 15:12 (KJV)
¹² This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. ¹³ Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

        The thing that should really stir our heart is that Jesus gave His life. He was not forced to do so.

John 10:17 through John 10:18 (KJV)
¹⁷ Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. ¹⁸ No man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again. This commandment have I received of my Father.

Gal. 1:3 through Gal. 1:5 (KJV)
³ Grace be to you and peace from God the Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, ⁴ Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father: ⁵ To whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Gal. 2:20 (KJV)
²⁰ I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.

1 Tim. 2:3 through 1 Tim. 2:6 (KJV)
³ For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour; ⁴ Who will have all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth. ⁵ For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; ⁶ Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

Titus 2:13 through Titus 2:14 (KJV)
¹³ Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ; ¹⁴ Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works.

        A. C. Archibald says, "If only we could visualize all that it has cost God to redeem us, we would be slow to sell ourselves for drink or lust or gold. When we have looked at the cross and have humbled ourselves to believe with all our hearts, we begin feebly to comprehend something of the agony of God when He suffered to the uttermost because He thought man was worth it. I never expect to be able with the limited mental endowment that is mine to comprehend the deep mysteries of the atonement, but if ever I can look at that cross, I think I can say, "That is proof of what He considers I am worth. There is the price He was willing to pay to prove it. I think I can hold myself above the cheap surrender to forces in life that would mar and spoil."

        Jesus is in the upper room with His disciples when He instituted the Lord's Supper.

Matt. 26:17 through Matt. 26:30 (KJV)
¹⁷ Now the first day of the feast of unleavened bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying unto him, Where wilt thou that we prepare for thee to eat the passover? ¹⁸ And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples. ¹⁹ And the disciples did as Jesus had appointed them; and they made ready the passover. ²⁰ Now when the even was come, he sat down with the twelve. ²¹ And as they did eat, he said, Verily I say unto you, that one of you shall betray me. ²² And they were exceeding sorrowful, and began every one of them to say unto him, Lord, is it I? ²³ And he answered and said, He that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, the same shall betray me. ²⁴ The Son of man goeth as it is written of him: but woe unto that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! it had been good for that man if he had not been born. ²⁵ Then Judas, which betrayed him, answered and said, Master, is it I? He said unto him, Thou hast said. ²⁶ And as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and blessed it, and brake it, and gave it to the disciples, and said, Take, eat; this is my body. ²⁷ And he took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; ²⁸ For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. ²⁹ But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. ³⁰ And when they had sung an hymn, they went out into the mount of Olives.

        In the garden Jesus leaves His disciples and goes alone to prayer. I suggest that you read this prayer over and over again, and you'll sense something of the agony Jesus endures before He ever reaches the cross.

Matt. 26:36 through Matt. 26:46 (KJV)
³⁶ Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. ³⁷ And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. ³⁸ Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. ³⁹ And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt. ⁴⁰ And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour? ⁴¹ Watch and pray, that ye enter not into temptation: the spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. ⁴² He went away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, thy will be done. ⁴³ And he came and found them asleep again: for their eyes were heavy. ⁴⁴ And he left them, and went away again, and prayed the third time, saying the same words. ⁴⁵ Then cometh he to his disciples, and saith unto them, Sleep on now, and take your rest: behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. ⁴⁶ Rise, let us be going: behold, he is at hand that doth betray me.

        Now Judas, one of the twelve, comes with "a great multitude with swords and clubs" to take Jesus and lead Him away to be tried.

Matt. 26:47 through Matt. 26:50 (KJV)
⁴⁷ And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast. ⁴⁹ And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him. ⁵⁰ And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him.

        Jesus is now before the high priest and the Jewish Sanhedrin.

Matt. 26:57 (KJV)
⁵⁷ And they that had laid hold on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders were assembled.

        Jesus had claimed to be the Son of God and He was condemned for such. They said, "He has blasphemed."

Matt. 26:59 through Matt. 26:64 (KJV)
⁵⁹ Now the chief priests, and elders, and all the council, sought false witness against Jesus, to put him to death; ⁶⁰ But found none: yea, though many false witnesses came, yet found they none. At the last came two false witnesses, ⁶¹ And said, This fellow said, I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it in three days. ⁶² And the high priest arose, and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? ⁶³ But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. ⁶⁴ Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

        Jesus acknowledged that He was the Son of God and notice the effect it had on the high priest and the members of the Sanhedrin.

Matt. 26:65 through Matt. 26:68 (KJV)
⁶⁵ Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty of death. ⁶⁷ Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, ⁶⁸ Saying, Prophesy unto us, thou Christ, Who is he that smote thee?

        Rev. Peter Eldersveld of Christian Reformed Church said, "There is a scene in that trial which is almost incredible to us, a sorry picture of injustice and even brutality. Matthew's description is brief but realistic: "Then did they spit in His face, and buffeted Him; and others smote Him with the palms of their hands." Mark adds that they covered His face before they began to beat Him.

        It's hard to imagine that Jesus was actually abused that way. If you read the verse carefully, you will notice that the tense of the verb indicates repeated action. They did not strike Him just once, but they kept it up, blow upon blow, some of them with bare fists, and others with the palms of their hands. They literally "beat Him up," like common street fighters. And they spat in His face to demostrate their utter contempt for Him. They lost all control of themselves; they went wild with rage; all their pent-up passions of hate, all the frustrations of their mounting conflict with Him, all the fury of their wicked hearts suddenly burst out into the open and came down upon Him.

        Who were these men? Well, its hard to believe, but they were the religious leaders met in solemn session of the highest court. This was no mob of ruthless gangsters. These men were the chief priests, the rulers of the temple of God, supposedly intelligent and refined gentlemen. They served with the high priest, who wore the symbolic robes of the highest religious office in the land. They taught the law of God, they set the patterns of moral behavior which the common people were expected to follow."

        The situation was complicated by the political condition of the Jewish nation. Had the nation been independent, it would have sufficed that the Sanhedrin should condemn Him; but, since the Roman conquest, the power of the Sanhedrin had been abridged, and, ere sentence of death could be executed, it was necessary that the Roman governor's sanction should be obtained. Thus it came to pass that Jesus had to undergo two trials. He was in the first instance arreigned before the Sanhedrin, and then He was brought for sentence before the Roman governor.

Matt. 27:11 through Matt. 27:26 (KJV)
¹¹ And Jesus stood before the governor: and the governor asked him, saying, Art thou the King of the Jews? And Jesus said unto him, Thou sayest. ¹² And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he answered nothing. ¹³ Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? ¹⁴ And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marvelled greatly. ¹⁵ Now at that feast the governor was wont to release unto the people a prisoner, whom they would. ¹⁶ And they had then a notable prisoner, called Barabbas. ¹⁷ Therefore when they were gathered together, Pilate said unto them, Whom will ye that I release unto you? Barabbas, or Jesus which is called Christ? ¹⁸ For he knew that for envy they had delivered him. ¹⁹ When he was set down on the judgment seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have thou nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him. ²⁰ But the chief priests and elders persuaded the multitude that they should ask Barabbas, and destroy Jesus. ²¹ The governor answered and said unto them, Whether of the twain will ye that I release unto you? They said, Barabbas. ²² Pilate saith unto them, What shall I do then with Jesus which is called Christ? They all say unto him, Let him be crucified. ²³ And the governor said, Why, what evil hath he done? But they cried out the more, saying, Let him be crucified. ²⁴ When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multitude, saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it. ²⁵ Then answered all the people, and said, His blood be on us, and on our children. ²⁶ Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scouraged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

        Pilot, after having Jesus scouraged, delivered Him to be crucified. About 800 years before Christ, the prophet Isaiah forsaw and foretold His suffering in detail. It is a most amazingtly accurate picture of what actually happened 800 years later.

Isa. 53:1 through Isa. 53:10 (KJV)
¹ Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? ² For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. ⁸ He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. ⁹ And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰ Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

        And one of the most painful lines in it is this one? "With His stripes we are healed." This was the prophecy of the senseless brutal scourging of Jesus. And it was literally fulfilled.

        Roman law prescribed just how it was to be done. The victim was bent over with his hands fastened to a low stake. Then the whip was brought down repeatedly upon his bare, tense back. But it was more than a whip; it had sever lashes, each one loaded with sharp hooks and lead weights, so that the beating would tear up the flesh adn plow deep furrows from which the blood flowed freely.

        It was a terrible thing, so terrible that although it was intended only as a preliminary to the crucifixion, it often resulted in the death of the prisoner right then and there. But Jesus survived it, and then still had to go to the cross.

        David Smith in "The Days of His Flesh" says, "The Romans were wont to scourge a criminal ere they crucified him. The scourge was a frightful instrument -- a whip with several thongs, each loaded with acorn-shaped balls of lead or sharp pieces of bone. Six lictors took the victim, stripped him, bound him to a post, and plied the cruel lash. Each stroke cut into the quivering flesh; the veins and sometimes the very entrails were laid bare, and often the teeth and eyes were knocked out. It is no wonder that not unfrequently the sufferer expired under the torture. The soldiers led Jesus away and scourge Him.

        Dr. Tom Malone of Pontiac, Michigan said to his people, "We read in the Bible that they scourged Jesus, and I wonder if it really grips our hearts. If you could see on this platform some malefactors, some criminal scourged, every man in his building would weep like a whipped child. Little children would scream and women would faint."

        Then the soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium for more shameful treatment.

Matt. 27:27 through Matt. 27:31 (KJV)
²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. ²⁸ And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. ⁹² And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! ³⁰ And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. ³¹ And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

        Then they took Him faint and bleeding, and compassed Him with mockery. Over His lacerated back they put Herod's purple robe; they plaited a crown of thorns and put it on His head; and in His right hand, by way of sceptre, they put a reed;then in mock homage they knelt before Him and saluted Him: "Hail! King of the Jews." And they spat upon His face, buffeted Him, and snatching the reed from His hand,smote Him on the head, at each stroke driving the thorns into His tortured brow.

        They spat in His face.

Matt. 27:30 (KJV)
³⁰ And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.

Matt. 26:67 (KJV)
⁶⁷ Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands,

        The face of Jesus was not only stained with tears; it was stained with spittal. Think of it! The face of the infinite Son of God, the face of Him who made the worlds, the face of Him who created man, the face of Him who never sinned, the face of the Son of God who never did wrong -- that face was stained with slimy spittle from wicked, human lips.

        They plucked out His beard.

Isa. 50:3 (KJV)
3 I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.

Isa. 50:6 (KJV)
⁶ I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.

        Spurgeon said, "Of whom else, let me ask, could you conceive the prophet to have spoken if you read the whole chapter? Of whom else could he say in the same breath, "I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." What a descent from the omnipotence which veils the heavens with clouds to the gracious condescension which does not veil its own face, but permits it to be spat upon! No other could thus have spoken of Himself but He who is both God and man. He must be divine: how else could He say, "Behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea, I make the rivers a wilderness?" And yet He must at the same time be a "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," for there is a strange depth of pathos in the words, "I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting." Whatever others may say, we believe that the speaker in this verse is Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews, the Son of God and the Son of man, oru Redeemer."

        They crucified Him.

Matt. 27:31 through Matt. 27:36 (KJV)
³¹ And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him. ³² And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross. ³³ And when they were come unto a place called Golgotha, that is to say, a place of a skull, ³⁴ They gave him vinegar to drink mingled with gall: and when he had tasted thereof, he would not drink. ³⁵ And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet, They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots. ³⁶ And sitting down they watched him there;

        Smith said, "Then the soldiers thus added mockery to the scouraging, they overstepped the limits of Roman usage. It was a superfluous barbarity. Yet Pilate did not restrain them. Perhaps he encouraged them; for he had an end in view. He hoped, says St. Augustine, that the Jews would be satisfied with scouraging and mockery, and refrain for very pity from putting Jesus to death. When the brutal sport was ended, he strode forth and said to the multitude: "Behold, the Man!" It was an appeal to their compassion.Surely the spectacle must soften them. The crowd apparently was unmoved.At all events they were silent; but the priests, very wild beast in their ferocity, shouted: "Crucify him! Crucify him!"

        Smith also said, "It was a grim custom that a criminal should carry his cross to the place of execution; and they laid the ghastly gibbet on the shoulders of Jesus. It was also the custom that, as the criminal was led to the place of execution, he should be preceded by a herald carrying a board whereon his name and his offence were written, that all might know who he was wherefore he had been condemned.

        Enfeebled by fasting, excitement and brutal handling, Jesus staggered along beneath His burden as far as the city gate and there His strength failed and He fell. Simon of Cyrene, a north African, was compelled to bear the cross. The procession continued until the place of execution was reached.

        It was nine o'clock when they reached the place and addressed themselves to their brutal work. Crucifixion was a horrible punishment. Originally Oriental, the Romans had borrowed it from their enemies the Carthaginians, and they reserved it for slaves and provincials, accounting it a sacrilege that a Roman citizen should endure either the scourge or the cross."

        The crucified Him. Oh, what a price our dear Lord was willing to pay in order that we, you and I, might be redeemed from sin.

        Dr. Herschel Hobbs says, "Death on the cross, the most painful known to man, was abhorred by the Jews. Said they, "Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree." The Romans despised it also.. Cicero wrote, "Let the very name of the cross be far away not only from the body of a Roman citizen, but even from his thoughts, his eyes, his ears." It was punishment reserved for slaves, foreigners, and criminals of the lowest class.

        According to custom when Jesus arrived at Calvary the upright piece of the cross was placed in a hole in the ground, while the cross bar lay flat on the ground. Upon the latter Jesus was made to lie stark naked with arms out-stretched. First His arms and legs probably were jerked out of joint to render Him helpless. Then His hands were nailed to the cross bar. Raising Him to the upright pole, His feet were nailed to a little shelf used to support the weight of the body. There He hung for six hours! The lingering suffering of death on a cross was intense, especially in hot climates. Inflamation coupled with slow bleeding produced a fever which was aggravated by the heat of the sun, the swollen wounds and torn tendons resulted in excruciating pain. The head ached beyond description, and the mind became confused as the victim died a thousand deaths. Add to this the pure and sensitive nature of Jesus, and the worst agony is multiplied to infinity."

        Permit me to share a scholar's description of crucifixion that we may all be aware of Christ's agony, if that be possible. In the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. II, p. 761 Dr. Henry E. Dosker, expert on the subject writes as follows: "The suffering of death by crucifixion was intense, especially in hot climates. Sever local inflamation, coupled with an insignificant bleeding of the jagged wounds, produced traumatic fever, which was aggravated by the exposure to the heat of the sun, the strained position of the body and insufferable thirst. The wounds swelled about the rough nails and the torn and lacerated tendons and nerves caused excruciating agony. The arteries of the head and stomach were surcharged with blood and a terrific throbbing headache ensued. The mind was confused and filled with anxiety and dread foreboding. The victim of curcifixion literally died a thousand deaths. Tetanus not rarely supervened and the rigors of the attendinhg convulsions would tear at the wounds and add to the burden of pain, till at last the bodily forces were exhausted and the victim sank to unconsciousness and death.

Rom. 5:8 (KJV)
⁸ But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

        Christ died for us, Christ died for us. May we shout it over and over and over again. Let us sing about it and preach it through His Word. Christ died for us.

        The apostle Paul was motivated to great service for His Lord when he became convinced that Jesus died for him. He said, "The Son of God loved me and gave Himself for me." And, praise the Lord, we can all say the same. He gave Himself for me. He died to pay my sin debt. He died that I might live. He died that I might escape the flames of hell and live with Him forever in heaven. He died for me because He loved me.

1 Pet. 1:18 through 1 Pet. 1:19 (KJV)
¹⁸ Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; ¹⁹ But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot: