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He had to meet God’s judgment sword upon Him, God’s

judgment upon Him, judgment upon sin. The Lord Jesus was

treated as if my sins were His own; the full judgment that my

sins deserved was upon Jesus. He was treated exactly as if

they were His, as if He had done them Himself, and everyone

who has trusted Him and everyone who knows Him as their

Sin-bearer can say,

‘Well, that is the Man, Jesus, who took that place, and every

sin that I committed He has

borne for me just as if it was His own sin. God treated Jesus

as if my sins were His’. Do you know Him as the One who

bore your sins in that way? He shed His precious blood. What

is the efficacy, what is the value, of that precious blood of

Jesus that flowed from His side? It is blood that is available to

cleanse from all sin. There is not a sin that marks this universe

that has ever been upon man, that cannot be wiped away by

the precious blood of Jesus. Do you know it? Has it washed

your sins away? Have you found that what was on you has

been washed away?

We have spoken of sins and I think we should see what the

prodigal son says about his sins.

He had turned away from his father. I know that the father is

sometimes rightly referred to as God the Father. Think of it,

that here was a man that had literally turned away from his

father. He had gone away, on a way that was contrary to the

will of his own father, but when he came back he said, “I have

sinned against heaven”. Do you realize that the sins that you

have committed are sins against heaven, that heaven is

affronted by the sins that you have committed, that heaven is

affected, heaven is distressed by the sins that you have

committed?

You may say that you have sinned against others. We find one

of the great men of the Old Testament committed the most