Christ was Slain for the Sins of the World

Nov. 28, 2015

3 Nephi 11:14

Whenever people do wrong, we think they need to be punished, that we cannot and should not be punished for them. We actually don't want to be punished in their behalf because they did wrong and therefore they deserve to pay the penalty. It is true that "We believe that men will be punished for their own sins and not for Adam's transgression." However, in the case of Christ and His atonement, He did suffer for the wrongs and sins of others, not for just a few people, but for the sins of ALL people--those who have lived in the past, those who do live in the present, and those  will yet  be born and live in the future. Jesus was slain for every individual and specific sin.

When we commit one sin, it hurts. Christ, being sinless, hurt and felt the pain of ALL sins, and this thought staggers the imagination. Our finite minds cannot think deeply enough or stretch widely enough to even begin to comprehend the suffering of Jesus.

Jesus said, (D&C 19:16-19)

 16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

“Coming to understand this great gift (the Atonement) is an individual pursuit for each child of God.”M. Russell Ballard

“The Atonement and the Value of One Soul” Ensign, May 2004, 84

JESUS CHRIST: REPENTANCE MADE POSSIBLE

The Suffering of Jesus

"Glory be to the Father"

16 For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent;

17 But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I;

18 Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—

19 Nevertheless, glory be to the Father, and I partook and finished my preparations unto the children of men.

--Doctrine and Covenants 19:16-19

Jesus suffered for all, giving us the opportunity and freedom to repent if we choose to do so; otherwise, we must suffer as He suffered. One of the sufferings we will experience if we don’t repent is that His Spirit will withdraw from us. Jesus’ suffering was so great that it caused Him to tremble because of pain, to bleed at every pore. He suffered both body and spirit to fulfill the will of the Father and bring about the Father’s desire of providing a Savior for all.

Jesus is that Savior who glorified the Father from the beginning. We to can glorify God by repenting and following our Savior in righteousness; herein, is peace and happiness and joy.

JESUS CHRIST: THE SUFFERINGS OF

Jesus Christ Suffered Death in the Flesh

The Lord your Redeemer suffered death in the flesh; wherefore he suffered the pain of all men, that all men might repent and come unto him.

--Doctrine and Covenants 18:11

Jesus, our Redeemer, suffered pain and agony in the flesh, mind, and His spirit. He experienced excruciating pain and torment and affliction for all people and things, giving us the chance to repent, to change our ways and come closer to Him, to become His sons and daughters. He suffered torment from those who hated Him and persecuted Him, from those who scourged and crucified Him, from those who betrayed Him. Even those who didn’t believe Him or believe in Him, this caused great mental trauma in His soul. Jesus loves all people, regardless of their actions, although He doesn’t like one’s evil actions. Jesus is the great I AM.

Jesus Christ: A Man of Sorrows

Isaiah 53:4

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Jesus, our Redeemer, suffered in the flesh. HE suffered the pain of all. He bore our griefs and sorrows. He experienced and felt all our pain and suffering and guilt. He knows what we are going through in this lifetime. He knows how we feel when we are sick, are disappointed, get hurt, feel inadequate, sin. He experienced all these things in Gethsemane and on the Cross. He was stricken and smitten and afflicted in every possible manner, beyond our comprehension.

Jesus experienced pain, afflictions, and temptations of  every kind. He knows what cancer is like, what heart attacks are like, what brain damage is like, how it feels to be criticized. He experienced all these things and all other possible things we can’t even imagine. He is the Savior and Redeemer. It pleased the Father to bruise Him , to make Him the Savior of the world. He lives and loves everyone.  He died that all might live.

Christ's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane

Elder James E. Talmage taught: 

Christ’s agony in the garden is unfathomable by the finite mind, both as to intensity and cause. … He struggled and groaned under a burden such as no other being who has lived on earth might even con-ceive as possible. It was not physical pain, nor mental anguish alone, that caused him to suffer such torture as to produce an ex-trusion of blood from every pore; but a spiritual agony of soul such as only God was capable of expe-riencing. … In that hour of anguish Christ met and overcame all the horrors that Satan, ‘the prince of this world,’ could inflict. … In some manner, actual and terribly real though to man incomprehen-sible, the Savior took upon Him-self the burden of the sins of man-kind from Adam to the end of the world‖ (Jesus the Christ, 3rd ed. [1916], 613). 

The Pains, Afflictions, and Temptations of Jesus

Book of Mormon-Alma 7:11

And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

Jesus suffered pains, afflictions, and temptations of every kind. Jesus said, "Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations" (Luke 22:28). Through His atoning sacrifice, He knows what it is like to have cancer, a severe common cold, leukemia, dementia, Alzheimer's disease, toothache, hurt feelings, broken hearts, brain damage, heart attack, depression, stroke, leprosy, and all the other countless diseases that afflict mankind. In Gethsemane, He descended below all things, including the experiencing of every pain and disease and suffering and temptation. He knows what it is like to be tempted by Satan, and there isn’t anything He doesn’t know.

Jesus’ suffering, death, and resurrection constitute the Atonement. He is The Great Atoner. While hanging on the cross, the pains and sufferings of Gethsemane returned to Him. Yet, He never complained nor murmured against the Father. He accepted His role as The Great Atoner in perfect stride. He never forsook His responsibilities. He atoned out of His infinite love for His Father and all humankind.