The Death of Jesus Christ by Peter Jeffery

For centuries the Cross has been the undisputed symbol of Christianity.  By the Cross, we don't mean a crucifix, a symbol of weakness and defeat; but an empty cross, a symbol of strength and victory.  The Cross is the place where Jesus died.  The death of the Savior is the key doctrine of Christianity.  It is significant that the four Gospel writers in the New Testament - in recording the thirty-three years of the life of Jesus - give almost a third of their space to the last week of His life.  Obviously, they considered his death, resurrection, and the events leading up to these as of primary importance. 
  • So what is the meaning of the Cross? 
  • What is the significance for us of the death of Jesus? 
To answer these questions, we will look at one verse from the Bible and try to understand what it means.  "For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God" (1 Peter 3:18).This verse tells us four things about the death of our Savior: 

1.  THE WONDER OF IT 

Christ died - this is the wonder of Calvary.  Crucifixion was common in the first century.  There was nothing unusual about it.  The wonder of this crucifixion was not the act but the person.  Christ died.  Christ is a Greek word.  The Hebrew equivalent is 'Messiah,' and the English translation would be 'The Anointed One.' It was a title for a very special person.  Another title of the same person was 'Emmanuel' which means 'God with us.' Christ is God.  God dies on the Cross.  This is the wonder of it.  The immortal dies. 

In the verse, which we are examining, Christ is also called 'The Righteous.' This is yet another title used in the New Testament for our Savior (Acts 3:14, 7:52, 22:14).  It speaks of the purity and sinlessness of Jesus.  No action and no word ever came from Him that was inconsistent with the requirements of God's law.  No thought and no desire ever entered His mind that was inconsistent with the spirit of God's law.  He left this world as He entered it - holy, harmless, sinless, undefiled.  But the character of Christ was not merely free from sin; it was distinguished with every possible moral excellence - love, mercy, truth, kindness, goodness, and compassion. 

So then, these two titles tell us the wonder of Calvary.  As He was the 'Righteous One,' death had no way of claiming Him.  Death is the wages of sin and as He had not sinned.  He did not deserve to die.  As the Christ, the living God, He had power over death as was demonstrated by the raising of Lazarus; therefore, death could not snatch Him away. 

2.  THE MEANING OF IT 

We are told two truths concerning the meaning of Christ's death.  It was for sins.  It was for the unrighteous.  It was punishment for sins and yet we have already seen that Christ did not sin.  So whose sin was He punished for? We are given the answer.  He was punished for the sins of the unrighteous.  When he died, He was acting on behalf of others.  Elsewhere in his epistle, Peter states this truth so clearly: 

"Jesus Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree..." (1 Peter 2:24). 

Indeed this is what the Bible is always repeating.  "He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities..." (Isaiah 53:5). 

"...Christ died for the ungodly..." (Romans 5:6). 

These verses declare the great Biblical doctrine of the substitutional death of Jesus atoning for sin.  But what does it all mean at a personal level? It means that my deceit, pride, envy, jealousy, and the rest of my sins, all of which condemn me to hell, Jesus takes upon Himself.  He takes my guilt and He is punished for me.  This is what the Bible teaches. 

Can it really be true? If someone is found guilty in one of our courts and sentenced to twenty years imprisonment, could someone volunteer to go to prison instead of the guilty one? No.  The law of the land requires the guilty, not the innocent to suffer.  In other words, the law does not recognize the punishment of a substitute.  And with this we all agree.

But God does recognize it and we ought to breathe a huge sigh of relief that it is so.  It is not fair that Jesus should die for us.  Fairness does not enter into it.  It is an act of God's love and grace.  It is all thoroughly undeserved and even unexpected.  It is not fair but it is perfectly just.  Justice is not perverted because the sin is punished.  The guilty one dies.  When Jesus takes our sin, He takes also our guilt.

The heart of the matter is this - God is Judge and we are the guilty ones.  The judge does not require the guilty to provide some innocent friend to suffer for them.  There are no innocents for all have sinned.  All are guilty.  The Judge says, "I will suffer instead of you.  I will pay the price.  I will die.  I will become man, as the sinless man, as the innocent Jesus, and I will die for guilty sinners." That is the meaning of Calvary. 

3.  THE SUCCESS OF IT

Christ died for sins once and for all.  It was a once and for all act.  It was not repeatable because it was 100% successful.  This man made one sacrifice for sin forever.  The success was assured because it was planned by the Omnipotent, Sovereign God.  Peter again made this abundantly clear in his sermon recorded in Acts 2:23 - "Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God...." When Jesus said on the Cross " It is finished," He meant that everything necessary for the fulfillment of God's loving purpose was about to be accomplished in His death.

4.  PURPOSE OF IT

The purpose of it was to bring you to God.  God's love made Calvary possible, but it was God's holiness that made it necessary.  The problem has always been human sin, which separates man from God.  Man, because of sin, is an enemy of God.  He is not welcome in the presence of God.  He is unacceptable, far away in nature, attitude, and behavior and in desire.  God and man are as different as holiness and sin.  They are completely incompatible and that will continue unless sin is dealt with, and the sinner changed.

Sin eventually would bring you to God, but only condemned and set for hell.  The aim of the Gospel is to bring man to God acceptable and righteous.  This is an immense task, and the only way to accomplish this is the way of the Cross.  By His death on the Cross Jesus dealt with: 

  • The guilt of our sin because He took it upon Himself. 
  • The wrath of God because He became the object of God's holy wrath for us appeasing divine justice. 
  • The sinful nature of man because the cross makes it possible for God to remain just and yet exonerate sinners (Romans 3:26). 
  • Faith in what Jesus has done credits us in spite of our sin with the righteousness of Jesus. 
All this is only possible because Chris died.  He brings us to God.  What about you? Have you understood the meaning of the Cross? Have you seen your own sin and guilt? Are you trusting in Christ's death to bring you to God? God still saves guilty sinners.  Will you not repent and turn from the way of sin? Come in faith to the Savior asking only for mercy and forgiveness, and you will know the joy of which Charles Wesley wrote: 

The reign of sin and death is o'er, 
And all may live from sin set free; 
Satan hath lost his mortal power; 
'Tis swallowed up in victory. 
Saved from the legal curse I am, 
My Savior hangs on yonder tree; 
See there the meek, expiring Lamb! 
'Tis finished! He expires for me. 
Accepted in the Well-beloved, 
And clothed in righteousness divine, 
I see the bar to heaven removed, 
And all Thy merits, Lord, are mine. 
Death, hell, and sin are now subdued; 
All grace is now to sinners given; 
And lo, I plead the atoning blood, 
And in Thy right I claim Thy heaven.

If you would like to receive further information or help concerning these matters, please contact Pastor Rich Goswiller.