God’s servant, Jesus, came to suffer as a substitute for our sins

I’m so happy to have the children here in service today. If you are under the age of 18 would you raise your hand? Awesome, put your hands down. If you’re under the age of 12, raise your hand. Awesome again. This next one is for kids and adults, if you have ever played on a basketball team or would like to, raise your hand. That’s great.

Believe it or not I used to play on a basketball team. That’s right. And a couple times I was even a starter. Do you know the difference between a starter and a sub? A starter is one of the 5 players who begins the game already on the court playing. A sub is a substitute, who when the time comes they get off the bench and replace one of the players in the game. It was fun being a sub because you or the coach got to yell out “Sub!” whenever it was time to go in.

If you’re not a basketball player, I’m sure you’ve had a substitute teacher at some point. Your regular teacher can’t be there for some reason and so a substitute comes in as a replacement. Now, I have to wonder if this is fair. If teachers are allowed to have a substitute, why can’t students have a substitute!? Wouldn’t that be great, to find a substitute student? When it’s time to take a test, you just stand up and yell “Sub!” and a new student comes and sits in your chair and takes the test for you. Or if you had to do homework, “Sub!”. 

Maybe we could make this a real thing and you could get substitutes for all kinds of things even at home. Your parents tell you it’s time to do chores and you yell out, “Sub!”. Eat your vegetables. “Sub!” You’re grounded. “Sub!”. Ok, don’t actually try any of those at home, you’re going to get me in trouble. Having someone who could take your place when you needed them sounds a bit too good to be true.

Now those were all silly examples of a time when you wished you could have a substitute, but what about a time that is serious. This is another question for kids and adults, and I don’t want you to raise your hands this time, but have you ever done something you know is wrong or you’ve said something you know is wrong and you have felt a huge weight of guilt. Maybe you went to your room, maybe you cried, maybe you thought, “I’m bad. I deserve to be punished. I hate what I’ve done and how this feels.” 

What if in that moment you could cry out, “Sub”? If anything seems too good to be true, certainly it is this. Someone taking your chores from you makes sense, but how could someone take away your sadness? How could a substitute take away the shame and guilt you feel from sin? How could a substitute take away the punishment you deserve?

Yet this is exactly what the Bible says Jesus did, when he came to earth as a baby.

Main Point - God’s servant, Jesus, came to suffer as a substitute for our sins

JESUS AS SUBSTITUTE

We often hear the story about how Jesus was born as a baby around Christmas time. And maybe you and your family have read a book or the Bible together already where it describes how Jesus was born. It tells of the angels and the shepherds and the stable and the wisemen. And we often read that Jesus is the greatest gift you could ever receive. 

That’s true, Jesus is a great gift. But he’s a great gift, because he’s a substitute. You see, Jesus is different from every other gift you might receive. I don’t know what kind of gifts you’re going to get tomorrow. Do you all know? Kids, do some of you think you already know what might be under your Christmas tree? I’m sure you’ve been thinking about those for a long time.

And what will these gifts do for you? They’ll probably make you happy for a little bit. You’ll get to play with a new toy or a new game. Maybe you’ll get some new clothes or shoes that you’ve wanted. Or maybe you’ll get what I’m sure is your favorite, new socks. Parents, if you don’t know what your kids want for Christmas, I’m here to tell you it’s socks. They all want socks. Lots of them!

Well, whatever gift you get, whether you’re a grown up or a kid, the gift is given to make you happy or give you comfort or to make life easier for you. But this is where Jesus is completely different from any other gift you might find under the Christmas tree. Jesus did not come as a gift to make you a little happier. He did not come as a gift to make you more comfortable or to make your life a bit easier.

Jesus came as a substitute. God saw our needs and from heaven he cried out “Sub!” and he sent Jesus in a manger. That’s more than a gift. He came to take our place.

But why did we need someone to take our place? Why have a substitute at all?

OUR SIN BEFORE GOD

In basketball, you need a substitute when you get too tired to play anymore or maybe you’re injured. In school, a substitute teacher shows up when your normal teacher is sick. Is that why Jesus comes as our substitute? Are we tired or sick?

We have quite a bigger problem than being tired or sick. As adults we know this very well, but kids know this too. Our bigger problem is that we sin. We know that we sin. From the time you’re a little 5 year old to the time you’re 95 years old, you know that you do things that are wrong. You know what is right to do, but you purposefully choose what is wrong. You can feel it in your heart. Maybe you try to ignore it. Maybe when someone points it out to you, you respond by getting angry at them. You can try all you like to pretend it’s not there, but you still know it’s true. It’s true for everyone. If there was a naughty and nice list, I assure you that we all belong on the naughty list. You can’t fool God and hide the wrong things you’ve done. He knows.

What’s worse is that we all know that sin deserves to be punished. When you do something wrong, you know that there should be consequences for it. We all try our absolute hardest to avoid those consequences and we make excuses and try to wriggle our way out of it. Again, this is true for adults as much as it’s true for children. But we know that we’ve done what is wrong and know it should be punished.

God knows this too. And when you sin against an enormous God, by ignoring or rejecting his laws, you earn an enormous punishment. And each of us has earned that enormous punishment. The Bible tells us that this punishment  is death and separation from God forever.

This is hard news, but praise God. He sent his substitute for us.

JESUS AS SUBSTITUTE FOR OUR SINS

Let me read to you some of the verses that we just heard read a moment ago.

Surely he has borne our griefs

    and carried our sorrows;...

But he was pierced for our transgressions;

    he was crushed for our iniquities;...

All we like sheep have gone astray;

    we have turned—every one—to his own way;

               and the Lord has laid on him

                   the iniquity of us all.

God saw us as sinners running from him and sinning against him and he still loved us and said I want to save them! And the only way to save us was to send a substitute to take the punishment that we earned. And Jesus, God’s Son, volunteered! He said, I’ll do it! I’ll be the substitute. He went willingly. He didn’t argue.

The Bible says this:

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

    yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

    so he opened not his mouth.

And God the Father agreed. This was a good plan. This will solve the problem. It says:

It was the will of the Lord to crush him;

 he has put him to grief;

A perfect substitute could not only take away their punishment, but he could replace it with reward! Again, the Bible says:

The righteous one, my servant, 

     shall make many to be accounted righteous,

 and he shall bear their iniquities

This could not be better news! Everything can be forgiven. Every punishment paid for. And you can receive the reward of someone who is perfectly righteous instead.

But how do we receive this substitute? How do I call out “Sub?”

CALL OUT TO THE NAME OF THE LORD 

You call out for a sub, by praying to God. Tell him that you’re tired. Tell him that you’re sick. And most importantly, tell him that you’re sinful. You cannot live life this way any longer. Your only hope is if Jesus Christ becomes your substitute. Ask him to be the one who takes your punishment for you. Ask him to give you the rewards of someone who is righteous. Repent of the sins you’ve been committing. Promise to run from them forever. Tell God he is in charge and your life belongs to him. That’s how you can be saved. That’s how you call out for a sub.

And friends, if you have done this, don’t try to step back in the game yourself. Don’t say “Thank you for being my sub, but I think I’ll take over again now and I will earn God’s favor on my own.” You cannot and will not ever be able to. Continue to pray that prayer of repentance each day. “God, I still need you. I trust that my sin is paid for and I’m asking Jesus to be the one who lives in my actions and words today. And I trust that you will accept me because of him.

God’s servant, Jesus, came to suffer as a substitute for our sins. He is more than a good gift. He does more than make us happier for a little bit or make us more comfortable. He is our substitute. When you see the little baby in the manger, think “That’s the substitute.” He’s the one who will both live and die in my place.