Death

Discussion:

It’s an important question. Sometimes, because of the way the Christian story is told sometimes, people could easily get the idea that God the Father is a bit like a ‘heavenly bully’ who exploited his Son Jesus (the innocent bystander), forcing him into an agonising, torturous execution for the crimes of a no-good, rebellious world to enable the Father to achieve his secret agenda. But this seriously misrepresents the biblical story in three ways:

1. It is not a drama of three separate entities—only two are involved: God and sinful humans. The Father is God and Jesus is God—two persons but one entity. God is not grabbing a ‘third party’ outside himself to suffer the penalty. In fact, God is actually inflicting the penalty on himself! 2 Corinthians 5:19 says: “God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ…”
2. God did not exploit Jesus—“God is light; in him there is no darkness at all” (1 John 1:5). This means God is perfect and sinless and he is incapable of exploiting but, apart from that, Jesus himself never indicates he was exploited.
3. Jesus was not a disinterested bystander—Jesus was (and had always been) a wholehearted and willing participant in the crucifixion (Hebrews 10:5–9). Jesus ‘joyfully’ fulfilled his Father’s plans (see John 15:10–11) and laid down his life voluntarily, not under any sense of pressure (John 10:17–18). Jesus himself says in John 10:17–18, “I lay down my life in order to take it back again. No one is taking it from me; I lay it down of my own free will. I have the authority to lay it down, and I have the authority to take it back again” (ISV). As the second person of the Trinity, Jesus not only perfectly understood the plan of salvation—he was perfectly committed to it.

Discussion:

1. The penalty for sin includes spiritual, physical and eternal death.a. Spiritual death. When Adam and Eve sinned they experienced ‘spiritual separation’ from God—that’s why they were afraid of God (Genesis 3:10) and why they hid from God (Genesis 3:8). God highlighted that spiritual separation by asking (for the very first time), “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9).b. Physical death. Adam and Eve would return to dust (Genesis 3:19; 5:5).c. Eternal death. Our sin against an infinitely holy God means that he is infinitely offended. Because he is infinitely offended, we incur an infinite punishment. We are finite creatures (we are not God) so the only way we can pay an infinite penalty is to pay the penalty for an infinite amount of time. To experience physical death without first fixing the problem of ‘spiritual death’, results in separation from God forever, i.e. eternal death (Matthew 25:41, 46; Revelation 20:14; 21:8). There is no recovery from eternal death.
2. Jesus suffered spiritual, physical and eternal death when he paid the ransom price for sin.a. Jesus suffered ‘spiritual death’ (separation from God) on the cross. He cried out “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus’ question reveals two things:i. Jesus was experiencing separation from God. He uses the word ‘forsaken’, which means ‘abandoned’. Any other time in his life, he addressed God as “Father”, or “My Father” or “Abba Father” (such terms are used 191 times in the Gospels). At the beginning of his suffering on the cross, Jesus says, “Father, forgive them…” (Luke 23:34) and, at the end of his suffering on the cross, Jesus says, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). But here, at the most intense moment, Jesus (fully conscious) cries out to God because he cannot sense the Father’s loving presence—only the harsh justice of God.ii. Jesus did not deserve that separation. That’s why Jesus asked, “Why have you forsaken me?” He is personally innocent of any sin that would rightfully incur such a judgement (John 8:46). He knew he was the Father’s well-beloved Son (Matthew 3:17; 17:5). He knew God would not reject a good man—so he asks the question ‘Why?’b. Jesus suffered ‘physical death’ (separation of body and spirit) on the cross as a result of his spiritual death (see above). Jesus died physically—they certified death (John 19:33) and buried his body (Matthew 27:57–66; 1 Corinthians 15:3–4). Physical death occurs when the human spirit is separated from the human body (James 2:26). In a deliberate act of dying, Jesus committed his spirit into his Father’s hands (Luke 23:46) and then “breathed his last”. Jesus’ physical death was the result of his spirit leaving his body.c. Jesus suffered ‘eternal death’ (eternal separation from God) on the cross. An infinite being can experience an infinite punishment even though the suffering occurs in a finite amount of time (the time on the cross). Jesus was an infinite being (he was God) and so he suffered this infinite punishment (eternal death) on the cross.

Discussion:

1. Jesus paid the ransom price for all sin.a. Jesus paid the penalty for sin in full. After Jesus experienced the agonising separation from the Father that made him cry out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”, he then said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). The term was used in the Greek business world for officially cancelling a debt that had been paid in full (i.e. for the whole amount). Upon full payment, the Greek word tetelestai (meaning ‘it is finished’) was written across the invoice.b. Christians have all their sins forgiven. If all their sins are forgiven, it can be so only because Jesus paid for “all our sins” (Colossians 2:13).c. Christians “have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all”(Hebrews 10:10)
2. Jesus paid the ransom price for all people. Had Jesus died for only one person, he would not have had to suffer one bit less than he did. However, in dying for the sins of every single person in the world, Jesus did not have to suffer one bit more than he did. Jesus’ sacrifice for sin was the perfect payment for every person.There are many precise statements in the Bible that say Jesus’ one-time death was sufficient to remove all the sins of all people for all time. These include:a. Hebrews 2:9. “… [Jesus] suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone[i.e. for all people]”.b. Hebrews 9:26. Jesus “has appeared once for all [i.e. once for all sin, for all time and once for all people] at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself”.c. 1 John 2:2. Writing to those who were already Christians, John said… “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world [i.e. once for all sin, for all time and for all people]”.d. John 1:29. “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world [i.e. all people]!”

   e. 1 Peter 3:18. “Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous [i.e. all people because all people are unrighteous], to bring you to God.

   f. 1 Timothy 4:10. “God, who is the Savior of all people”.

3. Jesus paid the ransom price for all time. Jesus died for all people in the past, present and future. No sin has been left out. That’s why when someone becomes a Christian, they never need to fear again that the charge of sin will be brought against them (Romans 8:33–34)—even though Christians will commit many more sins in the future. According to Romans 8:38–39, nothing in the present and nothing in the future (including the sins of the present and the sins of the future) can ever condemn or separate a Christian from God’s love. Every single sin, even the future ones that haven’t yet been thought of, have been paid for by the death of Jesus.

The following prophecy from Isaiah 52:13–53:12 contains many precise predictions about the suffering and death of the Messiah, but because it is a long passage, it is not quoted here. Instead some of the more important verses have been selected. You may like to look up the entire passage yourself and read it through as a whole.