The Crucifixion
The crucifixion of Jesus of Nazareth stands as one of the most significant events in human history. While historical records confirm the Roman execution, the underlying purpose of this event continues to spark intense debate.
The Pharisees feared that the growing influence of Jesus could lead to a perceived coronation as a new king. This would trigger a Roman military response and potentially result in the destruction of their temple and nation (John 11:45-53 (ESV)). Therefore, they publicly crucified Jesus in an attempt to stop what they viewed as a rebellion. Despite the crucifixion of Jesus, the Romans destroyed the temple and the nation in 70 AD.
The State of Humanity
God originally created mankind to worship Him and to glorify His name (Psalm 86:9-10). However, according to Genesis 3 mankind choose to disobey God's commands with the consequences:
- It causes mankind to sin and fall short of glory (Romans 3:22-23)
- It caused separation between us and God (Isaiah 59:1-2)
- It spread death to all mankind (Romans 5:12)
Therefore, mankind is incapable to fulfill their purpose:
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ... chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him. In love He predestined us for adoption to Himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. -- Ephesians 1:3-6 (ESV)
The Solution to Save Humanity
Matthew recorded the following event:
Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink of it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. — Matthew 26:26-28 (ESV)
This covenant of Christ is also confirmed by Mark (Mark 14:22-24), Luke (Luke 22:17-20) and Paul (1 Corinthians 11:23-26). It forms the foundation of Christianity.
The consequences of sin were not cancelled. Instead, the hope of resurrection after death was made possible.
Two Perspectives on the Crucifixion
There are two primary perspectives through which to view the crucifixion:
- From the perspective of God: God established an Everlasting Covenant (Isaiah 61:8-9) that promises He would resurrect believers after death, just as He did with Jesus.
- From the perspective of Jesus: He gave the ultimate sacrifice by giving up his body and blood (1 Peter 1:18-19) to make the covenant of God possible.
These two perspectives are complementary rather than contradictory.
The Ultimate Sacrifice of Jesus
Some interpretations suggest that Jesus made a bargain with the devil by paying with his blood. This reasoning is often based on specific scriptures:
Jesus called them and said... "the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." — Matthew 20:28 (ESV); Mark 10:45
By definition, a "ransom" is:
the purchasing money for manumitting slaves, a ransom, the price of ransoming; especially the sacrifice by which expiation is effected, an offering of expiation. — Strong's Concordance
Jesus did not come to pay a debt to the devil. There was no negotiation or transaction with God. Instead, Jesus presented Himself as a sacrifice to God to free humanity from the enslavement of sin (Romans 6:16-23).
Jesus did not come to pay debt to the devil, neither was there any sort of negotiation or transaction with God. Instead, the focus is on the liberation of the captive. The sacrifice of Jesus serves as the means to release humanity from the power of sin and death (Romans 6:16-23).
Peter used sacrificial language to describe this "ransom":
You were ransomed from the futile ways inherited from your forefathers, not with perishable things such as silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of a lamb without blemish or spot. — 1 Peter 1:18-19 (ESV)
John also described the sacrifice of Jesus as a "propitiation," which refers to an offering that turns away wrath:
He (Jesus Christ) is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.
...
In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
— 1 John 2:2, 4:9-10 (ESV)
There are many scriptures that state that God forgave sins before the crucifixion (Isaiah 43:25; Daniel 9:19; Matthew 6:14-15). Jesus himself proclaimed that people were forgiven during his ministry (Mark 2:6-12; Matthew 9:2-8). This raises the question of why the sacrifice was necessary if God could simply forgive?
The Everlasting Covenant of God
The second perspective is that the crucifixion was necessary for God to establish a new covenant with mankind to restore righteousness. A covenant involves responsibilities for both parties. According to the "Everlasting Covenant" of Isaiah 55:6-7, God expects people to:
- Turn (repent) from sin.
- Forsake wicked habits and unrighteous plans.
- Call upon Him.
- Seek the presence of the LORD.
While many churches focus primarily on repentance, the remaining conditions are equally important. Believers should continuously seek to live in righteousness to glorify God.
Paul taught on this transformation:
We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin.
Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. For the death he died he died to sin, once for all, but the life he lives he lives to God.
So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
— 1 Corinthians 15:6-11 (ESV)
He further explained the benefits of this reconciliation:
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person (though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die) but
- God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
- Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
- For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life.
- More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
— Romans 5:6-11 (ESV)
The Meaning of Reconciliation to God
The Greek word translated as "reconciliation" is katallássō:
2644 katallássō (from 2596 /katá, "down to an exact point," intensifying 236 /allássō, "to change") — properly, decisively change, as when two parties reconcile when coming ("changing") to the same position.
2644 /katallássō ("decisively changed, reconciled") is applied to marriage partners (1 Corinthians 7:11), but usually in the redemptive sense of a sinner reconciling to the LORD.
2644 (katallássō) was originally used for the exchange of coins; "properly, to change, exchange (especially of money); hence, of persons, to change from enmity to friendship, to reconcile"
Forgiveness is necessary for reconciliation, but reconciliation goes further. It moves a relationship from enmity to friendship or from divorce to marriage. The purpose of the new covenant is to restore righteousness, making intimate fellowship with God possible. This relationship is often compared to a marriage.
The Significance of the Crucifixion
The necessity of the crucifixion is rooted in the contrast between Adam and Jesus Christ:
And it is needed for this reason:
just as
- through one man sin entered the world (Romans 5:12) and
- death through sin, and
- so death spread to all humankind for all sinned (for sin was in the world before the law, but sin is not charged to one's account when there is no law).
Nevertheless, death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those who did not sin in a similar way to the transgression of Adam, who is a type of the Coming One. But the free gift is not like the transgression.
| Adam | Jesus Christ |
|---|---|
| For if many died through the transgression of one man, we can be much more certain that | the grace of God and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflowed to the many. |
| And the gift is not like what came through the one who sinned. For on the one hand, judgment came from one transgression resulting in condemnation, | but on the other hand, the free gift came after many transgressions resulting in righteousness. |
| For if by the transgression of the one man, death reigned through that one man, | we can be much more certain that those who receive the overflow of grace and the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the one man* -- Jesus Christ. |
| So then, just as through one transgression the result was condemnation for all people, | so also through one righteous act the result was righteousness that brings life for all people. |
| For just as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, | so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous. |
— Romans 5:12-19 (REV)
The result of the transgression of Adam was condemnation and death. God addressed this condemnation through the death of His Son, which enabled the alternative outcome of righteousness and eternal life.
For the death that he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life that he lives, he lives to God.
— Romans 6:10 (NKJV)
God did not cancel the reign of death that Adam established. Instead, He provided an alternative. Humanity still has the option to choose their master and destiny.
Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey?
| Sin | God |
|---|---|
| either of sin (trespass), which leads to death, | or of obedience (compliance), which leads to righteousness |
| But thanks be to God, that you who were once slaves of sin | have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed, and, having been set free from sin, have become slaves of righteousness (I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations). |
| For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, | so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification. |
| For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. | But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. |
| For the wages of sin is death, | but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. |
— Romans 6:16-23 (ESV)
Jesus was sacrificed to establish a blood covenant. Without this covenant, humanity would be required to "pay" for their own sins with their own blood.
The Nature of Salvation
The goal of the crucifixion is not salvation in itself, but the reconciliation of humanity with God. However, salvation is a result of being reconciled to God.
Slaves are to submit to their own masters in all things, doing what is wanted without being argumentative, not pilfering, but showing complete faithfulness in that which is good, so that in all things they make the doctrine of God our Savior attractive. For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly lusts and to live sensibly and righteously and godly in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope and appearing of our great God and Savior's glory — Jesus Christ, who gave himself up for us in order to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for himself a special people, zealous for good works. — Titus 2:9-14 (REV)
The Ultimate Purpose of the Crucifixion
God does more than just establish peace. He also adopts believers as His children and makes them heirs to His promises.
Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us — for it is written,
“Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree” — Deuteronomy 21:23
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We also, when we were children, were enslaved to the elementary principles of the world. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God. Formerly, when you did not know God, you were enslaved to those that by nature are not gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how can you turn back again to the weak and worthless elementary beggarly or poor principles of the world, whose slaves you want to be once more? — Galatians 3:13, 4:3-9 (ESV)
Believers are transferred from darkness into the kingdom of Christ.
May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, Who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light. He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. — Colossians 1:11-14 (ESV)
This redemption is made possible through the blood of Jesus.
In love He (God our Father) predestined us for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace, with which He has blessed us in the beloved: In him we have redemption through his (the beloved's) blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace. — Ephesians 1:7 (ESV)
Conclusion
The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is the central event through which God reconciles humanity to Himself. This act provides a divine solution to the state of humanity by establishing an everlasting covenant. Through the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus, believers are freed from the enslavement of sin and granted salvation. Ultimately, the crucifixion enables the adoption of believers as sons and heirs to the kingdom of God.