Chapter 5—Guilt and Punishment Transferred to
Substitute
In dying upon the cross, He transferred the guilt from the person
of the transgressor to that of the divine Substitute, through faith in
Him as his personal Redeemer. The sins of a guilty world, which in
figure are represented as “red as crimson,” were imputed to the divine
Surety.—
Manuscript 84a, 1897
.
The holy Son of God has no sins or griefs of His own to bear:
He was bearing the griefs of others; for on Him was laid the iniquity
of us all. Through divine sympathy He connects Himself with man,
and as the representative of the race He submits to be treated as a
[463]
transgressor. He looks into the abyss of woe opened for us by our sins,
and proposes to bridge the gulf of man’s separation from God.—
Bible
Echo and Signs of the Times, August 1, 1892
.
He was overwhelmed with horror at the fearful work that sin had
wrought. His burden of guilt, because of man’s transgression of the
Father’s law, was so great that human nature was inadequate to bear
it. The sufferings of martyrs can bear no comparison with the agony
of Christ. The divine presence was with them in their sufferings; but
the Father’s face was hidden from His dear Son.—Ibid.
In the Garden of Gethsemane, Christ suffered in man’s stead, and
the human nature of the Son of God staggered under the terrible horror
of the guilt of sin....
The power that inflicted retributive justice upon man’s substitute
and surety, was the power that sustained and upheld the suffering One
under the tremendous weight of wrath that would have fallen upon a
sinful world. Christ was suffering the death that was pronounced upon
the transgressors of God’s law.—
Manuscript 35, 1895
.
What sustained the Son of God in His betrayal and trial? He saw
of the travail of His soul and was satisfied. He caught a view of
the expanse of eternity and saw the happiness of those who through
His humiliation should receive pardon and everlasting life. He was
wounded for their transgressions, bruised for their iniquities. The
43