The Father’s Son came among us identifying himself fully with us. He did not stand over us aloof and menacing, but came alongside us as one of us. He came for salvation, but also for judgment. Jesus tells us that the Father has given all judgment to the Son. That means his judgment is the ultimate judgment of God against which there can be no appeal to a higher court.

We may now shrink in fear from all this as severe. Before we do, let us recall that the Judge is Jesus. Yes, the Judge is one who has identified with us fully in our need. He has himself been tempted and is therefore sympathetic towards us. Furthermore, he is the judge who has been judged for us. The Father handed over all judgment to him and yet he handed himself over to the false accusations of human judges so that he might bear within himself the ultimate judgment of God. The Judge is judged.

The Judge handed himself over to bear the condemnation that rested on the old humanity in Adam. The old humanity is condemned to death as the wages of sin. But Jesus tasted that death for us and in doing so brought about the death of the old humanity under the condemnation of death. He has made an end, a radical end, of the old humanity which opposes God. Having done so, he rises from death as the new man in new creation and we rise with him. We rise as the dearly loved children for whom there is now no condemnation.