Hello John:
The situation on the cross , to me, is symbolized in the one verse " In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer".
I want, on the one hand, to believe that God poured out His wrath on Christ for the sins of the world and on the other hand I want to believe that even then God held back, was under control, and even then held out a measure of wrath and showed a measure of mercy.
The penalty for sin has always and will always be death. So therefore . Christ paid with His life. The additional torture he endured on the cross if you look at it this way is beyond what God requires. The death on the cross was not a quick and efficient death. So did God pour out His wrath or hold back a measure.
I tend to believe, as I have all along, that God poured out His wrath, even going overboard and placing Christ in a torturous situation that was against the very nature of God,as, we like to believe......In Christ.gregor |