Carol Swenson
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What role does the death of Jesus play in God's plan for man?
The central theme of the Bible is that God is creating mankind in His own image. Mankind is to become members of God's family. Unfortunately Adam, by making a wrong choice, was cut off from God. Hence all mankind, because we are born in Adam, has also been cut off. Therefore, in Adam all men must die, If this story ended there, God's plan to create a God Family would have been thwarted and aborted. The good news is that another Adam, namely Jesus Christ, has reconciled man to God, so the plan of God to create a family remains intact. It is being accomplished through Christ. These are the two central truths around which all other truths revolve:
God is creating a family
It is being accomplished through Jesus Christ
Old Testament Israel was given physical symbols or types of God's plan to reconcile man to Himself and then to "bring many sons to glory." Hebrews 2:10. One of those types was the Passover, Exodus 12 and Leviticus 23. We all know the story of Israel in Egypt and how the Death Angel "passed over" the houses which had the blood of the Passover lamb on the door-post, hence, the first born children of Israel were spared. That event was typical of the greatest and most important event that has ever taken place in the history of mankind: the atoning sacrifice on the cross of our "Passover" (1Corinthians 5:7), Jesus Christ.
Many scholars spend a lot of time and effort on research in order to ascertain the exact time of the Passover and other events. That is not the purpose of this article. I am content to follow the example of Jesus and use the New Testament symbols of bread and wine on the beginning of the 14th day of the first month. My purpose here is to show the purpose and effect of the sacrifice (cross) of Christ relative to the plan of God. This sacrifice was the focal point of the Apostle Paul's ministry. He refused to glory or boast in anything else but the cross of Christ (Galatians 6:14). Therefore, since the sacrifice of Christ is the emphasis of the New Testament writers, we must likewise put as much emphasis on the cross (sacrifice) as they did.
Effect of the Cross on the Apostles
What is it that makes Christ's death the supreme sacrifice above all other human deaths? Many people have been martyred and suffered horrendous deaths, some that at least outwardly seem more excruciating than the death of the cross. Have you ever thought about why Christ's death on the cross made such a significant impact on the disciples and early Christians? The disciples spent approximately three years with Christ. They traveled together day and night. They witnessed His commitment and dedication to His Father and to the work He was sent to perform. They were taught personally by Him and heard Him preach to both large and small groups of people. They witnessed His tremendous miracles and His consistent, unwavering faith in the truth of God. In spite of all this, three years later at the "Last Supper" they were still a group of greedy, carnal, self-seeking men. It would be the death of their friend and Savior Jesus, however, that would completely transform them.
After the death of Jesus Christ the disciples abandoned their self-interest, selfish ambition and competition. They became willing to be spent and to die for their Savior and for the work of God. Why? Look at the early church. They "turned the world upside down" because of what the cross of Christ meant to them. Why did Paul say,
"I want to glory in nothing else but Jesus Christ and Him crucified"? (Galatians 6:14)
And,
"For I am determined not to know anything among you, save Jesus and Him crucified." (1Corinthians 2:2).
What was it about the death of Christ that made such a major impact on them and brought a total transformation in their personal resolve? I believe that if we find the answer to that question, the Body of Christ, the Ecclesia, will never be the same again. Like the early Church, we can be so totally transformed because of our profound understanding of the total sacrifice that Christ made that we can never again be casual or complacent about our relationship with Jesus Christ and His sacrifice on the cross.
Roman Cross or Jewish Tree?
A Pastor named Jack Sequeira once said,
"If we are to experience total Pentecostal [1st century Christianity] revival, we must remove the darkness that has enshrouded the cross of Christ since the dark ages. We must look at the cross as the disciples did, as the early Christians did, and as the New Testament writers did."
We must ask the question, "How did they look at the cross?" They did not see it through Roman eyes but through Jewish spectacles. The cross meant something very different to the Jews than to the Romans.
History of Cross
Let's notice a few facts about the Roman cross. This device was invented approximately 600 B.C. by the Phoenicians (modern day Lebanese). They worshipped many deities and one of their gods was the earth. Because of their "earth god," when they executed a criminal they did not want his body to touch the earth when he died because they believed it would pollute or desecrate their "god." They invented the cross so that the criminal would die above the earth. Later, the Egyptians borrowed the idea of crucifixion from the Phoenicians and the Romans adopted it from the Egyptians. The Romans refined it and used it to execute their runaway slaves who were numerous during the time of Christ. They also used it to execute their worst criminals.
Dying by crucifixion was a slow, excruciating death. The records of Roman historians Cicero and Celsus testify to this death by torture. I have heard sermons by well known preachers who accurately describe the terrible pain that results from hanging on the cross. Not only does Gangrene set in on the hands and feet, but the body is exposed to the extreme temperatures of cold at night and hot in the daytime. It usually takes three to seven days for the crucified person to die. Death ultimately comes by suffocation. One cannot exhale without raising the body. The body has to be hoisted up on the cross to enable breathing, and every time one does this the dreadful jolts of pain shoot through their body. This is only part of the true and sickening account of the awful pain of the cross. Both Christ and the thieves hung around Him experienced this agony. Yet, what made Christ's death on the cross, which incidentally lasted only about six hours, the supreme sacrifice?
Real Truth of the Cross hidden
Why are we making such a big issue over this matter? The only thing we can emphasize is the agony endured, which was not unique to Christ. In fact, the thieves on the cross suffered longer than Christ, plus they had the added pain of their legs being broken while they were still alive. During the Jewish revolt in 70 A.D. the Romans were crucifying somewhere between 50 to 70 Jews per day. What is there about the crucifixion of Christ that makes it so unique?
Let us go to the Bible and see how the Jews looked at the cross. This information will help us to understand why the death of Christ was very different. Notice John's record of the crucifixion in John 19. We find that Pilate, the Roman Procurator to Judea, knew that as far as the Roman law was concerned Jesus did not merit crucifixion. He was neither a runaway slave or a criminal. However, he had Jesus captured in order to satisfy the Jews. "Then Jesus came forth, wearing the crown of thorns (which the Romans put on Him out of mockery), dressed in a purple robe." And Pilate said to the Jews, "Behold the man!" as if to say, "I think this is as much as he deserves." But Pilate did not realize the hostility and acrimony the Jews could harbor in their religious and pious hearts. Notice:
"When the chief priests therefore and officers saw Him, they cried out saying: 'Crucify Him. Crucify Him,"' and Pilate responded, "Take you Him and crucify Him: for I find no fault in him." (John 19:5-6).
What he was saying was simply that as far as Roman law is concerned this man does not deserve crucifixion. But the Jews had to give a reason in order to justify themselves, so they replied:
"We have a law, and by our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God." (John 19:7).
They were referring to the law of blasphemy. It was God who gave them that law through Moses. If Pilate had known more about the Jews, and if he had known the law, Christ may not have been crucified. The law not only condemns a blasphemer to death but also stipulates how that person should die.
Crucifixion not Jewish method of execution
The Jews did not execute by crucifixion. They detested this method of death. The law stated in Leviticus 24:16 that a blasphemer should be stoned to death by the congregation. The Jews were aware of that part of the law. So why did they insist on crucifixion? Did they think Pilate might not agree with their stoning Him? No! One reason was that it is the most painful, the most shameful and the most cruel death that man had ever devised and practiced. Then why, I ask again, did the Jews insist on crucifixion?
I want to make it very clear that the Jews knew what the law said in regard to how a blasphemer should die. In John 10:30 Jesus makes a statement that to the unbelieving Jews was blasphemy:
"I and my Father are one."
Now notice what the Jews did in verse 31,
"Then the Jews took up stones again to stone Him."
Look at the word "again". This was not the first time they had done it. In their thinking, they were obeying a law given by God. But why did they decide to cry out to Pilate "crucify Him, crucify Him"? Why were they adamant about it, especially when we realize that crucifixion is not the Jewish method of execution? There was a reason and it is essential that we know that reason.
The reason is found in Deuteronomy 21. The Jews did not want Jesus simply to die. They had something far worse for Him than merely dying on a Roman cross. They had Deuteronomy 21:22-23 in mind when they cried out "crucify Him." Notice:
"And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, (and blasphemy is one of them) and he be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; [for he that is hanged is accursed of God;]".
Do you know what that bracketed statement meant to a Jew? If one had committed a crime worthy of death and the judge sentenced him to die, that man, as he was stoned, could still go down on his knees before he died and ask God to forgive him for what he had done. Then he would have forgiveness and hope. But if the judge said, "After you die you are to be hung on a tree," that meant to the Jew the irrevocable curse of God, which to us would be the unpardonable sin or the second death. They considered it to be "Good-bye" to life forever.
The unpardonable sin or the curse of God was good-bye to life forever, because in the curse God abandons the person. He who is the source of life, the source of security, the source of hope is gone. That is what Jews understood the curse to mean.
Why they called for Crucifixion
When they cried out "Crucify Him", they were not only asking for Christ to be killed--they were asking God to bring His curse down upon Him. This had to happen for the scripture to be fulfilled and for the debt for all sin to be paid.
The question is: Did God comply? Did God fulfill their request? Did He, bring His curse upon His Son? The answer is YES! Romans 8:32 states:
"God spared not His own Son..."
But God did not bring His wrath or curse upon Christ for blasphemy but for another reason. What is that reason? Let's notice how Paul explains it from a Jewish perspective. Galatians 3:10 says:
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse."
The phrase, "works of the law," in the New Testament is equivalent to our English word, "legalism". When you see this phrase it always means keeping the law in order to be saved; not as the evidence or fruits of salvation but as a means of salvation. Keep that in mind.
Paul is saying, "Anyone who is trying to earn salvation or eternal life by keeping the law is under the curse". Why? Because the law says:
"Cursed is everyone that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them." (Galatians 3:10).
In other words, if you want to be saved through the law you have to observe it in every detail and continually. If you ever miss on one point you come under the curse.
The fact is that "all have sinned" (Romans 3:23). There is not one single, solitary person who has kept the law perfectly, other than Christ. All Christians are sinners saved by grace. Notice carefully this next verse, found in Galatians 3:13:
"Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law being made a curse for us"
And it was God the Father who made Him a curse for us. He "spared not His own Son". Three times Jesus pleaded with the Father: "Father, if it is possible remove this cup from me." The cup Christ was referring to was not simply death on the cross. He hardly felt that pain compared to the anguish to which He was referring. It was the curse of God against your sins and mine that Christ pleaded God to remove. He knew what it meant to be cursed by God.
But God's will was to not remove that curse. Do you know why? It was because He loved us.
"He spared not His own Son but delivered Him up for us all. Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written: (now he quotes Deuteronomy 21-23) Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree." (Galatians 3:13).
Whenever you read in the New Testament about the cross being equated with the tree remember those Jews did not mean a stake. When the Jews mentioned that He hung on a tree they were not referring to whether it was a stake or two pieces of wood. That was not the issue. To them hanging on a cross was equivalent to hanging on a tree; the curse.
After the disciples witnessed what Christ did for us on the cross they were no longer timid about standing and preaching the gospel. Acts 5:30 they were taken by the Sanhedrin and punished, flogged and told to no longer preach in Jesus' name. But Peter said verse 29 "We ought to obey God rather than men," What a change! Here are the disciples ready to die for Christ. The same Peter who denied Christ before the crucifixion is now willing to die for Him. That is how much this event changed him. Note verse 30:
"The God of our Fathers raised up Jesus whom you slew and hanged on a tree."
Peter was saying, "You brought God's curse on Him, but God raised Him up because He did not commit blasphemy; He did experience the curse for our sins. Christ died that He may save us from our sins. He rose that we might be glorified."
Which Death did Christ cover?
Peter explains what he meant when he said He hung on a tree in 1Peter 2:24 :
"Who His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree."
Why did he use the word "tree" and not the "cross"? Because he was thinking about the curse and not simply the first or "sleep death" that everyone must die.
But some may argue, "How could Christ die the second death? He predicted His resurrection, and He actually rose the third day. How could He experience it?" First of all, the Bible says in Hebrews 2:9 :
"He tasted death for all men."
It could not be the first death because believers who accept Christ still have to die the first death. Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:7-10 that Christ, through the cross, has abolished death. If He abolished death why do Christians die? Because He abolished only the second death, not the first death. Revelation 20:6 shows that those who have part in the first resurrection (e.g. believers), on such the second death has no power. Why? Because there was one who was willing to taste it and go through it for us.
The Kinosis Doctrine
Something we need to understand is what is called in theology "the kinosis doctrine," based on Philippians 2:6-8. When Christ became a man in the incarnation He had to give up not only His Divinity, but His divine prerogatives. In other words, Christ gave up His independent use of His divinity. Even His "God consciousness" had to be given up. Jesus discovered He was God only by revelation.
He was not God conscious as a baby. He had to grow up in knowledge. He had to grow up in everything because He had given up the independent use of His divinity and was made in all things like unto us (Hebrews 2:17). Because of this He was totally God dependent all through His earthly ministry. Jesus said in John 5:30,
"I can do nothing of myself."
In John 6:57, Jesus also stated:
"I live by the Father..."
See also John 8:28 and 14:10.
All these verses disclose clearly that Christ was totally God-dependent. Jesus did not make these statements just to appear humble and meek--they were true. Now read Romans 6:4; Acts 2:24,32; Ephesians 1:20. All of these texts clearly tell us that it was the Father who raised Christ from the dead. Christ was dependent on the Father for the resurrection because He had surrendered His "will" to the Father.
Forsaken of God
Do you know what the Father did on the cross? Christ cried out: "Father, Father why have You forsaken me?" What He meant was not "why are you leaving me for three days?" but, "Why have you abandoned me?" Do you know what that meant to Christ? It meant that the hope of the resurrection went with that abandonment. When the Father forsook Him, in terms of Christ's feelings and emotions, then the hope of the resurrection went with it. Jesus was now "treading the wine press alone". He could no longer look on the Father with hope and assurance as far as His feelings were concerned. He felt the agony of' God - abandonment - which is exactly what the wicked will feel when God's mercy no longer pleads with the conscience of guilty man.
There has been no other human being on earth who has really, fully, experienced the wrath of God as Christ did. He is the only man who has felt the fullness of God-abandonment, which is the equivalent of the second death. The issue He faced was not merely holding on to His will power and saying, "I'll hold on for a few hours or a few days". That is no sacrifice for a God who lives in eternity. The issue was losing life forever, never again to see His Father, never again to return to heaven. It meant to give up His glory, to give up His life. That was the issue. That is the curse of God. And that is what Christ endured in terms of His emotional experience.
As He hung there on the cross, Jesus had to make a choice. He could not save Himself and the world at the same time. And He did make the supreme choice. He chose to die eternally that you and I might live in His place. That is what transformed the disciples. They were so shocked! They had not understood such love before. It was the reality of Agape that turned the world upside down. The Word not only came down for thirty three years, but was willing to lose His life forever that they may live in His place, Rom 5:8,
"But God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.."
In Hebrews 2:9 we read,
"He tasted death for every man."
The Greek doesn't say every man. It goes beyond that. It actually says every thing. Jesus tasted death for every thing. When Adam sinned not only did the curse come on the human race but on the plants and animals and everything:
"And unto Adam he said, 'Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; thorns and thistles shall it bring forth to thee'." (Genesis 3:17-18).
When the Roman soldiers put the crown of thorns on Christ's head, they were doing it out of mockery. But God takes the foolish things of men and uses them for a purpose. Those thorns and thistles placed on Christ's head symbolized the curse of sin on the world and showed the sacrifice He made to also "heal" this earth when He sets up the Kingdom of God at His second appearing.
With this information God has freely given us about the supreme sacrifice which He and Jesus Christ made for us, what should be our response? Let Paul answer,
"And He died for all, that we who live (because of the cross) should not henceforth live for ourselves, but for Him who died for us and rose again." (2Corinthians 5:15).
It is my prayer that you and I will appreciate Jesus Christ to the point that we will give everything to Him. When we do this, God will use us to turn this world upside down with the power of the cross of Christ.
Ray Wooten
http://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-role-does-death-of-jesus-play-in-plan-of-god.html
Posts: 6787 | From: Colorado | Registered: Dec 2007
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