The Death of Jesus
SEVEN THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW
There are many things that give significance to the death of Christ. Here are seven important aspects to his death. First, Jesus’ death was prophesied. The very first prophecy in the Bible is found in Genesis 3:15. God says to the Serpent, “I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” And so from that moment onward, Satan and man have always been in opposition. But the prophecy shows that one of Eve’s offspring (Jesus) would eventually crush his head. Jesus would eventually defeat the Devil, but in the process he would receive a mortal wound… this bruise to his heal. This first prophecy indicated that the Savior of mankind would have to die in order to defeat the powers of evil. This is later reflected again in the prophets. Isaiah 53:8 says that the messiah would be, “cut off out of the land of the living.” Jesus’s death was a fulfillment of prophecy and it indicated that he was in fact the Messiah.
Second, Jesus’ death was tragic. The Lord said in Jeremiah 7:25-26, “From the day that your fathers came out of the land of Egypt to this day, I have persistently sent all my servants the prophets to them, day after day. Yet they did not listen to me or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck. They did worse than their fathers.” Over and over again the pattern repeated throughout history. God would send his messengers to speak on his behalf and the messenger would be ignored, ridiculed, or even killed. Jesus describes this in a parable (Lk 20:9-18) about the owner of a vineyard who repeatedly sent servants to check on the tenants. The story culminates with the death of the owner’s son. This pattern of rejection eventually led to the rejection of Jesus himself. Jesus reminded the listeners of the parable that the psalmist wrote of the stone that the builders rejected becoming the capstone. Jesus’ death was a tragic moment in human history, and at the same time the cornerstone of Christianity itself. But the tragedy is not only that Israel, God’s people, rejected Christ, but that we too rejected Christ. The creation rejected the creator. All of us, by our sin, have rejected God. And it was our sin that put him there. There has been an unfortunate attitude of antisemitism brought on by the blaming of 1st century Jews for the death of Christ, but we all together bear that shame.
Third, Jesus’ death was voluntary. Jesus willingly laid down his life. In John 10:11 Jesus said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” Jesus said that he was going to lay down his life. He predicted what would happen and he planned to fulfill it. After Peter’s confession that Jesus was the Christ, the book of Mark reaches a turning point. Mark 8:31 says, “And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Jesus’ path was clear to him and he spoke of it plainly. At any point in the process he could have cleared himself of the charges brought against him. He had numerous opportunities to turn back. In John 10:17-18 Jesus said, “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.” At every point in the process, it was Jesus’ own choice to lay down his life.
Fourth, Jesus’ death was the will of God. As Jesus prayed in the garden he said, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Mt 26:39). Not only did Jesus lay down his life voluntarily, but he did so to fulfill the will of the Father. Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him.” God’s plan was that Jesus would eventually die. We already saw that God prophesied this in Genesis 3, but it was actually God’s plan from long before the fall of man. Ephesians 1:4 says, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless.” If God chose us to be blameless before creation itself, then God had already made a plan for sending Jesus.
Fifth, Jesus’ death was necessary. Romans 3:23 tells us that everyone has sinned. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death.” Hebrews 9:22 says, “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sins.” Therefore all of us have sinned and deserve death. The only way we can be forgiven is to shed blood on our behalf. Thus God provided the sacrificial system for his people. There were two problems though. First, could any animal truly equal the weight and value of human life? Hebrews 10:4 says, “it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.” Those sacrifices were still necessary, but only temporary and imperfect. What we needed was a perfect sacrifice once and for all. Jesus accomplished this, “not by means of the blood of goats and calves but by means of his own blood” (Hebrews 9:12). Revelation 1:5 tells us that Jesus, “has freed us from our sins by his blood.” His death was the necessary means of his blood being shed for us for the forgiveness of our sins. Isaiah 53:11 describes God’s response to the death of Jesus saying, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.” Jesus’ death fulfilled the requirements of the law and satisfied that wrath of God on humankind.
Sixth, Jesus’ death was beautiful. Isaiah described Jesus saying he had, “no beauty that we should desire him.” And as Jesus was on the cross, it’s hard to imagine a more horrifying scene in human history. And yet his death was completely meaningful and therefore beautiful because of the love demonstrated on the cross. In John 15:12 Jesus said, “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.” Jesus laid down his life while we were still sinners. He had made us his friends even though we were enemies of God. There has never been and never will be a greater act of love than when Jesus laid down his life for us on the cross. In Matthew 22 Jesus to a prophecy about his rejection (by means of his death on the cross) which says “this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Psalm 118:22-23). The image of Jesus’ death on the cross is both tragic and at the same time marvelous and beautiful.
Seventh, Jesus’ death was final. Jesus on the cross said, “it is finished” (Jn 19:30). Jesus’ death on the cross accomplished in a single moment the forgiveness of our sins past, present and future. Hebrews 7:27 says, “He has no need, like those high priests, to offer sacrifices daily, first for his own sins and then for those of the people, since he did this once for all when he offered up himself.” What Jesus accomplished, he accomplished once for all. There is no need for another sacrifice or additional work or penance. His death was sufficient and complete.