“We must not be content with a vague general belief, that Christ’s sufferings on the cross were vicarious. We are intended to see this truth in every part of His passion.

We may follow Him all through, from the bar of Pilate, to the minute of His death, and see Him at every step as our mighty Substitute, our Representative, our Head, our Surety, our Proxy, the Divine Friend who undertook to stand in our stead, and by the priceless merit of His sufferings, to purchase our redemption.

—Was He scourged? It was that ‘through His stripes we might be healed.’

—Was He condemned, though innocent? It was that we might be acquitted though guilty.

—Did He wear a crown of thorns? It was that we might wear the crown of glory.

—Was He stripped of His raiment? It was that we might be clothed in everlasting righteousness.

—Was He mocked and reviled? It was that we might be honored and blessed.

— Was He reckoned a malefactor, and numbered among transgressors? It was that we might be reckoned innocent, and justified from all sin.

—Was He declared unable to save Himself? It was that He might be able to save others to the uttermost.

—Did He die at last, and that the most painful and disgraceful of deaths? It was that we might live forevermore, and be exalted to the highest glory.

Let us ponder these things well. They are worth remembering.”

–J.C. Ryle, Expository Thoughts on Matthew (Carlisle, PA: Banner of Truth, 1856/2012), 314. Ryle is commenting on Matthew 27:45-56.