Category Archives: Crucifixion

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August 8, 2023

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Crucifixion, God, Jesus, Salvation

How is Jesus’ death on the cross loving and just?

The death of Jesus on the cross was unfair. Many view the Christian teaching that Jesus died for our sins as a barbaric relic of an ancient world awash in oppression, cruelty and blood. How could a loving God demand His Son suffer a death as terrible as crucifixion?

Death by crucifixion was a horrific torment designed to be as cruel and slow as possible. Before being nailed to the cross Jesus suffered a vicious scourging. His final hours were filled with intense pain and anguish beyond description. Few Americans can truly comprehend the brutality of Jesus’ death. The savagery of crucifixion is shocking.

The Bible says, “The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world” (1 John 4:14), “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16) and “But God demonstrates His own love toward us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) How could such a brutal death be an act of love?

The problem is not the violence of the cross, the problem is the failure to understand the true severity of sin. We cannot truly comprehend the wickedness of man’s treason against his Creator and Sovereign. The savagery of the cross reveals the heinousness of sin. One sin, seemingly no more severe than a child swiping a cookie from the cookie jar, plunged the entire world into the misery it now experiences. All the war, abuse, rape, assault, murder, suffering, poverty, starvation, disease and every other horror that fills this world is the direct result of Adam and Eve’s single act of disobedience in the Garden of Eden. When God cursed them He cursed all the world. Now all things groan in agony under the curse of sin.

The consequences of sin are severe because God is holy. God’s holiness involves absolute separation from all sin. God is also the only source of all good. When man’s sin separated him from God all creation drew back from the source of good. When even a little of God’s good favor is removed from His creation terrible things come upon the world. Sin removed creation from God’s blessing thereby bringing on all the terrors of being allowed to attempt life without Him.

Holiness also involves the proper response to all sin. The book of Habakkuk declares that God is too pure to overlook any evil. Isaiah 59:18 says, “According to their deeds, accordingly He will repay.” Job 34:11 says, “He repays man according to his work.” In Jeremiah 17:10 God says, “I the Lord search the heart. I test the mind, even to give every man according to his ways and according to the fruit of his doings.” Because God is the Holy Judge of all the earth (Genesis 18:25) He will always punish all sin with a judgment equal to its severity.

On the cross Jesus suffered God’s punishment for the sin of humanity. The cross must be horrible and the punishment of sin must be terrible because sin is an appalling rebellion against God. Romans 3:26 says that the cross shows how God can remain just and still justify sinners. God’s justice permits an innocent party to take the place of the guilty. The sinless Jesus willingly took the place of sinful men and was punished for all our sin. He bore the wrath of God as if He were guilty of all our iniquities. The cross shows God’s love because God the Son willingly suffered our punishment (2 Corinthians 5:21), God the Spirit willingly enabled Jesus to endure the cross (Hebrews 9:14) and God the Father willingly accepted the sacrifice of Jesus for the sin of mankind.

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November 8, 2022

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Crucifixion, Jesus, Salvation

Why did Jesus have to die on the cross?

Jesus died on the cross. This fact is as historically certain as any fact of history. Jesus was condemned by a hateful crowd of religious leaders who despised Him and His teachings. Instead of believing His claims to be their Messiah they demanded His death. Jesus was sentenced to death by an indifferent politician who found it convenient to bow to the wishes of a mob instead of doing what he knew to be just.

The political and personal reasons for Jesus’ crucifixion explain the motives of the individuals involved, but they do not explain it’s necessity. The “why” of Jesus’ death on the cross can only be explained theologically. Jesus died because of the sinfulness of men. The necessity of Jesus’ death is found at the intersection of God’s holiness and love.

God is holy. Consequently, He cannot have a friendly relationship with anything polluted by sin. Every person is a sinner. Man’s sin separates him from God. Sin is not an offense to God and rebellion against Him. God is holy. Consequently, He cannot allow sin to go unpunished. The punishment of sin is death. The only way for a sinful human to have a relationship with God is for the punishment of his sin to be paid. God cannot simply overlook sin. To do so would be unjust. The punishment of sin must be paid, but ne perosn is able to pay the penalty and restore himself to God.

The love of God responded to the helpless sinfulness of man by providing a payment for sin that is sufficient to satisfy the holy demands of God’s justice and reconcile the sinner to Him. “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlsating life.” (John 3:16) “God demonstrates His love toward us, in that while were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) Because God is love, God the Son willingly died to pay the penalty of our sin and restore us to friendship with God.

God’s system of justice permits a substitute to be punished in place of the offender provided the substitute meets certain standards of perfection. This is not the case in American justice, but it is true of Divine justice. When Adam and Eve sinned God provided a substitute to cover their sin. He then promised a greater substitute who would conquer sin. Jesus is the perfect sacrifice promised as the substitute for sinful men. His death satisfies God’s justice and makes it possible for sinners to be reconciled to God. “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21) “You, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death.” (Colossians 1:21-22)

Jesus had to die on the cross if sinful men were to be saved from the death they deserved. Through His death Jesus met the demands of justice. His death on the cross made it possible for sinners to be forgiven. If Jesus had not died, no one could be saved. Because He died, all will be saved who receive Him by faith. He promises forgiveness freely to any who will rely entirely on Him to take away their sin and restore them to God. Have you turned to Jesus for salvation? Will you?

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January 8, 2020

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Crucifixion, Jesus

Did the crucifixion cut short Jesus’ ministry?

In a recent conversation someone mentioned that the death of Jesus seemed to be such a waste. This individual wondered that if Jesus was such a great teacher, who taught people to love one another and who did kind deeds for others, wouldn’t God’s plan have been better served by Jesus remaining alive?

Many people understand Jesus’ life and ministry to be all about teaching people to love one another. The author of “The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy”, Douglas Adams, said, “(Jesus) had been nailed to a tree for saying how great it would be to be nice to people for a change.” But what if Jesus was doing something other than trying to convince people to be nice to one another? What if Jesus’ crucifixion was not the interruption of Jesus’ ministry but its purpose? The death of Jesus was not a failure in God’s plan. Jesus’ death was the plan.

A few days before His crucifixion, knowing that His betrayal and death were near, Jesus said, “Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour.” (John 12:27) Jesus came into this world to die. When He was arrested in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus told His disciples that He could call down twelve legions of angels to deliver Him from the hands of the Roman soldiers, “But how shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?” (Matthew 26:54) The death of Jesus was no accident, no failure in His Divine plan. It was the plan all along.

Jesus did not come to earth to show mankind how to be more loving. Jesus said, “For the Son of Man is come to seek and to save that which is lost.” (Luke 19:10) “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:28) “I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.” (Luke 5:32) The angel told Joseph that when Mary had given birth, “Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall save His people from their sins.” The apostle Paul said, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15)

Jesus became a man that He might save men from sin. The problem of humanity is not unkindness, hate or poor education. The problem of humanity is sin. Mankind’s sin can not be corrected by a valiant effort to be better or by a great example of love. The problem of the world is a deep seated one that can never be rooted out by any person’s effort.

The death of the Son of God for our sin shows how terrible the problem of sin is. God graciously provided a means by which a substitute could take the place of the sinner. The wages of sin is still death, but God made a way for an innocent victim to die in the place of the guilty. Jesus was the innocent One who died in the place of the guilty. Christ’s death was the plan all along because His death is the only way the sin of men can be taken away.

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May 5, 2017

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Crucifixion, God, Jesus

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Did God die on the cross?

Jesus is God. Jesus died on the cross. Did God die on the cross? At times pastors, theologians and the average Christian all say that God died on the cross. This statement is both entirely accurate and entirely inaccurate. In one sense it can be said that God died on the cross. In another, equally important sense, God did not die on the cross.

Understanding what happened on the cross requires an understanding of the Trinity and the hypostatic union. The Bible teaches that God is one God who is Three. God the Father is God. God the Son is God. God the Spirit is God. These three are distinct but not separate. The Father is not the Son. The Son is not the Spirit. God the Son, the second person of the Trinity, became fully human without giving up any part of His deity. Jesus is fully God and fully man. When Jesus died on the cross the God-man died.

Saying God died on the cross becomes a kind of short hand for saying, Jesus, God the Son, died on the cross. When understood this way the statement “God died on the cross” is a helpful way to describe the magnitude of God’s sacrifice for our salvation.

In several important ways God did not die on the cross. Because God is a Trinity and because of the unique nature of the incarnation God the Son endured things that the Father and Spirit did not. God the Father did not hang on the cross. God the Spirit was not buried in a tomb. Only God the Son suffered these things. If the phrase means anything more than God the Son died on the cross it is inaccurate. God did not die on the cross.

If death is a cessation of existence, a loss of ability, or a conclusion of consciousness, then God did not die on the cross. Not only did God the Father and God the Spirit not cease to exist on the cross, neither did God the Son. The Divine portion of the second person of the Trinity did not stop functioning on the cross. No member of the Godhead can cease existing. God the Son is as eternal as the Father and the Spirit. His eternal essence did not dissolve on the cross. He remained fully God and His deity did not cease with the end of His physical life.

This does not mean that Jesus’ death on the cross was purely physical or a solely human act. Jesus died as the God-man. Thus His eternal nature was involved in the suffering and death on the cross. Jesus Christ the Son of God died on the cross. He truly suffered all that death entails, physically and spiritually. God the Son did not cease to exist, even for a brief time, but God the Son endured death for the salvation of men.

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April 18, 2017

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Crucifixion, Jesus, Resurrection

Where was Jesus between His death and His resurrection?

The dead body of Jesus was taken off the cross and laid in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea. What happened to His soul? One of the more popular answers to this question is based on a cryptic statement in the book of 1 Peter.

1 Peter 3:18-20 says of Jesus, “Being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit: by which also he went and preached unto the spirits in prison; which sometime were disobedient when once the longsuffering of God waited in the days of Noah.” (1 Peter 3:18-20) These words have led many to conclude that Jesus’ spirit went into hell while His body was in the tomb. Unfortunately, what this verse is talking about is not at all clear. One author has said there are over 180 different interpretations of 1 Peter 3:19. A clear consensus about the meaning of the phrase “preached unto the spirits in prison” will probably never be reached on this earth.

The words of the Apostles Creed (not actually written by the apostles) imply that Jesus’ spirit went into hell.  “I believe in Jesus Christ  . . .  (He) was crucified, died and was buried, He descended to hell.” The apostles creed is believed to have been written 50 years after the death of the last apostle, but the earliest existing copies of this creed do not contain the phrase, “descended into hell”, leading many to conclude it was not originally in the apostles creed. Whether this phrase is original or not, it cannot be traced back to a direct teaching of the apostles.

A strong case can be made that Jesus went into heaven on the day of His crucifixion. At His death He said, “Father into thy hands I commend my spirit.” Knowing that Jesus is God’s beloved Son who pleased the Father in all things we can reasonably assume that at death He was taken directly into the presence of the Father. This is confirmed by Jesus’ promise to the believing thief, “Today thou shalt be with me in paradise.” Either Jesus was with the thief in heaven that very day or He erred in His promise. Since Jesus is God who cannot lie, the latter option is not possible. After His death Jesus went into heaven.  Being the Son of God His spirit was in no way restricted to heaven.

If Jesus did go into hell, though I don’t believe He did, He did not go for the purpose of paying for salvation. Jesus death on the cross did everything necessary to purchase our salvation. His work was finished and the payment fully paid before He died. This is why Jesus said, “It is finished”. Teaching that Jesus had to go to hell to finish the payment for sin diminishes the value of the cross and denies Jesus’ own words.

We don’t know exactly what Jesus’ spirit was doing in the days between His death and resurrection. What we do know is that Jesus died for our sins and rose again for our justification. He is alive now and forever to give salvation to those who turn to Him for forgiveness.

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April 1, 2015

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Crucifixion, Easter, Jesus

Who was responsible for Jesus’ death?

The death of Jesus was entirely the plan of God. His death was not at all plan B but the eternal plan of God. Jesus did not come to earth and tried but failed so He had to go to the cross. The cross was always the plan of God. Jesus is the “Lamb slain from before the foundation of the world.” As we think of this question, it is important to recognize that Jesus’ death on the cross was God’s plan.

Even though Jesus’ crucifixion was the eternal plan of God, there were those who nailed Jesus on the cross in disobedience to God. They were not accepting of God’s plan for salvation and striving to live in obedience to God. They were in rebellion against God. God holds those responsible who rebelled against Him and who in their rebellion conspired for Jesus’ destruction.

A huge body of people were directly involved in the conspiracy to kill Jesus. Judas Iscariot jumps to the forefront of the mind because of his betrayal. Judas was hired to betray Jesus by the ruling body of Israel, called the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin tried Jesus and condemned Him, but they had no authority to put Jesus to death. The Jews were under Roman domination and so could not legally execute a prisoner. Only Rome could do that. The Sanhedrin had Jesus taken to the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate, who attempted to pass the problem to the Roman governor of the next region over, Herod. Herod just wanted to see a magic trick. When Jesus refused to perform, Herod sent Him back to Pilate. Pilate knew the injustice of the Jews schemes to have Jesus crucified and sought to have Him released. The Jews became very agitated and Pilate finally agreed with their demands. He brought out a basin of water and washed his hands in front of the Jewish leaders telling them he was not responsible for what happened to Jesus.

When Pilate washed his hands and said, “I am innocent of the blood of this just person” the Jews willingly took the responsibility on themselves. They bear the responsibility for Jesus death. The Jews knew the promises of God. They knew the Word of God. They were waiting for their Messiah. They rejected God’s Word and God’s Savior and took on themselves the responsibility for their rebellion which sought Jesus’ crucifixion. When Pilate his hands before the Jews they said, “His blood be on us and on our children.” (Matthew 27:25) The Jews said they would take responsibility for Jesus crucifixion.

This is borne out later in the Bible. After Jesus death, burial, resurrection and return to heaven, the apostles of Jesus began to preach to the Jews. The apostles preached of salvation, forgiveness and judgment. They preached to the nation the judgment for their rejection and execution of Jesus God’s Messiah. In Acts 5 the apostles were called up on charges before the Sanhedrin, the same group that a few months earlier had condemned Jesus to death. As they stood before the rulers of Israel Peter declared to the of “Jesus, whom ye slew and hung on a tree.” Peter and the apostles, under the direction of the Holy Spirit repeatedly declared it was the Jews who were responsible for Jesus death.

Even though it was Pontius Pilate who gave permission for Jesus death and it was the Roman soldiers who did the scourging, who took Jesus to Golgotha, who drove the nails through His flesh and hung him up on the cross, the responsibility falls on those Jews and their leaders who rejected Jesus. Jesus came to His own people. He was a Jew, a descendant of King David. Jesus came to bring salvation. The salvation He brought was not the salvation the Jews were wanting. They wanted deliverance from Rome and Jesus was bringing deliverance from sin. The Jews of that generation rejected their Messiah and their’s is the responsibility for refusing their promised Savior.

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March 25, 2015

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Crucifixion, Easter, Jesus

Were the same people at Jesus triumphal entry and at his judgment?

Palm Sunday is the Sunday set aside by many church calendars the week before Easter to remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem. A few days before His crucifixion Jesus road into the city on the back of a donkey. As usual He was surrounded by a large crowd of followers. On this day the crowd was immense. Jerusalem was filling with hundreds of thousands of Jews from all around the Roman Empire coming to the city to celebrate the feast of Passover. Many of these Jews had heard of the miracles Jesus had done throughout Palestine. On top of that, word of Jesus’ recent raising Lazarus from the dead had spread throughout the city. As Jesus road into Jerusalem the immense crowds began to shout their praise to Him. “Hosanna; Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Blessed be the kingdom of our father David, that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest.” (Mark 11:9-10).

A few days later Jesus was betrayed by Judas, taken captive by the Jewish leaders, condemned as guilty of blasphemy and presented to Pontius Pilate for official execution. Pilate was reluctant to condemn Jesus to death, so he sent Jesus to Herod and upon Jesus’ return Pilate had Him scourged. When those things did not satisfy the Jews demands, Pilate attempted to force the Jews into choosing to have Jesus released by offering them a choice between Jesus and a vicious criminal named Barabbas. The Jews rejected all Pilate’s pleas. In the end a large crowd was standing in front of Pilate shouting, “Crucify him.”

One obvious difference between the two crowds is the presence of Jesus’ disciples and closest followers. In the triumphal entry Jesus’ disciples were present and taking the lead in shouting praise to Jesus. On the day of Jesus’ crucifixion, the disciples were nowhere to be found. The twelve closest to Jesus and possibly others of those most faithful to Him fled when Jesus was arrested. The crowd in the Praetorium was led and incited by the chief priests and other Jewish leaders. The leaders of the two crowds were very different and Jesus’ closest disciples did not stand before PIlate’s judgment hall.

If the same people were in both crowds is very hard to say. One would speculate at least some of the Pharisees and more curious would have been in both crowds, but the Bible doesn’t say this. The crowd in front of Pilate was much smaller than the tens of thousands who shouted praise to Jesus a few days earlier. Jerusalem at that time was filled with several hundred thousand people so it is not necessary for the same people to be in both crowds. However, there is no reason to absolutely say they were two different groups.

The shouts of praise to Jesus when He rode into the city on a donkey were not praises for Him as God’s Son the Savior from sin. The shouts were praises for Jesus as a conquering king coming to usher in a golden age for the Jewish people. The crowd was crying out for a king to drive out the Roman invaders and reestablish Israel as an autonomous nation. Jesus had no intention of overthrowing Rome. His purpose was to die for the sin of His people. Jesus’ purpose was rejected by the majority of Jews who heard and saw Him. They rejected His claim to be God. Even if they were not in the crowd shouting for His crucifixion most would have agreed with the demand that one they considered a blasphemer be put to death.