The satisfaction which the Lord offered by His secret sacrifice on the cross was exceedingly great and above what the debt of sin required. It not only freed us from guilt and condemnation, but also gave us a wealth of priceless goods. It made us worthy to ascend even to heaven and to become partakers and sharers in the kingdom of God. How can a man think that we were formerly enemies of God because of sin and slaves of the passions, filled with shame and disgrace? No one can comprehend the breadth and value of the Lord’s sacrifice. How great was the honor of death on the cross! The Savior condescended to be sold to His crucifiers for thirty pieces of silver. He became poor, dishonored, and sold for our sake. And here is the greatness. The dishonor which He bore was our gain. He died of His own free will, without wronging anyone either in His private or public life. By His death He became a source of grace even to His executioners.

Why all this simplification of the subject? The God-man died. The blood that was shed on the cross was the blood of the God-man. Is there anything more terrible and more precious than the death of the God-man? How great was the weight of our sin that He needed this death to satisfy divine justice? And how deep was the wound that He needed the powerful medicine flowing from the victim of the God-man on the cross to heal it? It was necessary that a man should be punished in order to destroy the power of sin. It was necessary that we should bear a punishment equal to the weight of the sin we committed in order to be freed from responsibility and crime. There was no man among mankind free from sin who could suffer for all, not even the whole human race, even if he died thousands of deaths, could do this work. What is the value of the death of a servant full of shame and corruption, a servant who shattered the royal image and greatly insulted the divine majesty? Therefore the sinless Master, the perfect man, bore many sufferings, accepted the wounds, died, defended the human race, freed our race from the responsibility of the great crime of sin, and gave to the slaves the freedom which He, as God and Master, did not need. All that has been said has been said to prove that true life is given to us through the death of the Savior.