ALPHA MAAMA (A.M.)

Tu‘apulelulu Novema 30, 2017

Angahala ‘a e tokotaha, afuhia kotoa

( All were affected by the sin of one )

Fehu‘i #19

‘Oku ‘i ai nai ha founga ‘oku malava ke tau hao ai mei he tauteá pea toe fakafoki kitautolu ki he hoifua ‘a e ‘Otuá ?

( Is there any way to escape punishment and be brought back into God's favor?)

‘Io, na‘e ‘osi fakakakato pe ‘e he ‘Otuá , ‘iate Ia pe, ‘a e ngaue ke fakafiemālie‘i ‘ene fakamaau totonú , ‘i he‘ene meesí  ‘ata‘atā pe, pea ne fai hotau fakaleleí  pea ne fakahaofi kitautolu mei he angahalá mo hono tauteá , ‘o fou ‘i he Fakamo‘uí .

( Yes, to satisfy his justice, God himself, out of mere mercy, reconciles us to himself and delivers us from sin and from the punishment for sin, by a Redeemer )

‘Aisea 53:10-11

Ka na‘e finangalo ‘a Sihova ke laiki ia; kuo ne tuku ke ne mahaki‘ia: Ka ke ka ‘atu hono laumālie ko e feilaulau-halaia, te ne sio ki hano hako, te ne fakalahi hono ngaahi ‘aho, pea ko e finangalo ‘o Sihova ‘e tu‘umālie ‘i hono nima. Te ne mamata ki he fua ‘o e mamahi ‘o hono laumālie, ‘o ne fiemālie: ko e me‘a ‘i he‘ene poto ‘e ngaohi ke angatonu ha tokolahi ‘e he‘eku Sevāniti faitotonu; pea te ne fafa ‘enau ngaahi hia.

ISAIAH 53:10-11

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

Commentary - MIKA EDMONDSON (cont…)

Perhaps the most startling aspect of Isaiah's language is that it "pleased" the Lord to make this exchange. Somehow, it actually pleased the Lord to hand his innocent Son over to be mocked, brutalized, and crucified. That's a nearly impossible truth to fathom until you realize why God was pleased by this. Certainly, God was not pleased by the sin of Judas who betrayed Jesus, the religious leaders who hated him, Pilate who unjustly sentenced him, or the misguided crowd who rejected him. But God was pleased by the active and passive (through suffering) obedience of his Son, who continued to trust God and love his people no matter the cost.

God was pleased to lay his judgment upon the Son in order to save his sinful people. God was pleased because, through the cross, the Son of God would be glorified, the people of God would be saved, the justice of God would be satisfied, and the love of God would be revealed. The cross was not a tragic accident. It was God's will, his plan to save his people through the work of the Redeemer and to reveal the immeasurable riches of his glorious grace.