Why did Jesus die? Historically, we could say it was because the Roman Empire perceived him as a threat or the religious leaders in Jerusalem feared he would ignite an unwinnable revolution. Even so, the bible offers a number of theological answers that go far beyond the immediate circumstances of his crucifixion. In this lecture you’ll learn about the eight main biblical reasons why Jesus died. Then we’ll cover the sometimes controversial subjects of substitution and propitiation.
—— Notes ——
Definitions at-one-ment: bringing together God and humanity through the death of Christ
justify: to make just, right; to declare free from blame
reconcile: reestablish a close relationship between those who are not unified
sanctify: to make holy (pertains to how you live)
1. He died for our sins 1 Cor 15.3-4 Christ died for our sins in accordance w/ the scriptures
was Paul the first person to understand the theological significance of the cross?
no, b/c he delivered to the Corinthians what he received himself (from others!)
so, who first gave the cross a meaning and when?
Jesus explained the meaning of his broken body and poured out blood at the last supper (Mat 26.28; cp. Lk 22.19)
but Jesus also firmly believed that the OT explained the meaning (Luk 24.25-27, 44-48) a fact to which Peter likewise testified (1 Pet 1.11)
does anyone know the two primary OT texts that point to the cross? Psalm 22
Isaiah 52/53
also the typology of the Levitical sacrificial system (especially the Day of Atonement) as explained in Hebrews
also Passover celebration no coincidence that the Last Supper was actually a Seder meal!
a number of other texts also[1]
1 Cor 11.23-26 communion memorializes his death (bread is body which is broken for us)
2 Cor 5.17-21: if anyone is in Christ he is a new creation. God reconciled us to himself through Christ, not counting our trespasses against us. For our sake God made Jesus to be sin so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.
Rom 3.23-26: We are justified by grace (as a gift) through the redemption in Christ Jesus whom God put forward as propitiation by his blood. In this God demonstrated his righteousness because he had passed over previously committed sin and in such a way God is righteous and the one who makes those who have faith in Jesus righteous (justified) as well.
more on propitiation
1 Jn 2.2: Jesus Christ the righteous is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world
1 Jn 4.10 God sent his son to propitiate for our sins. Is he then the source and the recipient?
Heb 2.17 Chris is the high priest making propitiation for the sins of the people
Heb 7.27 he offered himself as the final sacrifice
? ??????? BDAG 1. appeasement necessitated by sin, expiation (??? ????, Arg. 39; Plut., Fab. 18, 3; cp. Plut., Sol. 12, 5. In these cases we have the pl., prob. referring to the individual actions to be expiated. But also sg.: Plut., Mor. 560d, Camill. 7, 5; Lev 25:9; Ps 129:4; Philo, Leg. All. 3, 174) ??? ?. ???? for my expiation GJs 1:1; so perh. abstr. for concr. of Jesus as the ?. ???? ?. ???????? ???? 1J 2:2; 4:10. But mng. 2 has been popular.
2. instrument for appeasing, sacrifice to atone, sin-offering (Ezk 44:27 ???????????? ?. cp. Num 5:8; 2 Macc 3:33) s. above.—S. also lit. cited s.v. ?????????. DELG s.v. ????????? M-M. TW.
? ??????? LSJ a means of appeasing, in pl., Plu.Sol.12, Orph.A.39,554,etc.
atonement, sinoffering, LXXEz.44.27, 2 Ma.3.33, 1 Ep.Jo.2.2,4.10, Ph.1.121.
Rom 4.25: Jesus was handed over to death for our trespasses and was raised for our justification (i.e. to clear away our trespasses and makes us right with God)
Rom 5.6-11: Christ died for the ungodly. God proved his love because while we were sinners Christ died for us. Now we have been justified by his blood. Because of this we will be saved (through him) from the wrath of God. While we were still enemies, God reconciled us to himself through the death of his son.
Rom 5.15-16, 18-19, 21: comparison between Adam and Christ. As in Adam, one man, and his one sin many were subjected to sin and death so in Christ, one man, through one act of righteousness many are justified freely leading to eternal life.
Rom 14.15: Christ died for us
Col 2.13-14: he forgave all our trespasses by cancelling the record of debt, nailing it to the cross
Eph 5.2: he died as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God
1 Tim 2.6: Jesus game himself as a ransom for all
1 Pet 2.24: he bore our sins in his body on the tree
1 Jn 1.7-9: If we walk in the light then his blood goes on cleansing us. If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive our sins and cleanse us from all righteousness. not just past tense!
Heb 9.26-28: he put away sin by the sacrifice of himself, in which he bore the sins of many
2. He died to defeat evil Gal 1.4 he gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the PEA
1 Cor 2.8 rulers of this age did not understand or else they would not have crucified the Lord
1 Cor 5.7 passover lamb sacrificed (originally to protect from angel of death)
Col 1.13-14 he transferred us from the domain of darkness into the kingdom of his son
Col 2.15 through his death Jesus disarmed the rulers and made a public display of them
Heb 2.14-15 Jesus rendered powerless him who had the power of death
1 John 3.8 he came to destroy the works of the devil
Rev 12.11: The saints were able to conquer Satan and his minions by the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony.
3. His death provides us with an example 2 Cor 4.10-11: we carry about in our bodies the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may be made visible in our bodies
Eph 5.2: live in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God
Ph 2.4-8: follow the example of Christ who humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death on the cross.
Ph 3.10 share in his sufferings and become like him in his death (a desire to have shared experience, cf. Ignatius)
1 Pet 2.21-23: he suffered for you, leaving you an example to follow in his steps
1 Pet 4.13: We are to rejoice when we suffer because we are sharing in Christ’s sufferings.
Heb 12.1-2: look at how Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith, endured the cross, disregarding its shame for the joy that was set before him.
1 Jn 3.16 he laid down his life for us so we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers & sisters
1 Jn 4.10-11 if God so loved us to send his son as propitiation we also ought to love one another
4. His death frees us to live righteously (sanctification) 2 Cor 5.14-15 one has died for all therefore all have died. He died for all so that the living would no longer live for themselves but for him who died and was raised for them
Rom 6.2-11: all who have been baptized into Christ were baptized into his death which means that we were buried with him by baptism into his death, so that; just as Christ was raised we too might walk in newness of life. If we were united with him in death we will certainly be united with him in resurrection. Our old self was crucified with him so that our body of sin might be destroyed, which is why we are no longer slaves of sin. We have been freed. The death, Jesus died; he died to sin, once for all. We must consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Rom 8.3-4: What the Law could not do because of its weakness, God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh as an offering for sin. He condemned sin in the flesh so that we would not walk according to the flesh but according to the spirit.
1 Peter 1.18-19: we were ransomed from our futile ways with the precious blood of Christ (like a lamb without defect or blemish)
1 Pet 2.24: he died so we would die to sin and live to righteousness
1 Pet 4.1: Christ suffered in the flesh so we should arm ourselves for the same purpose because the one who has suffered in the flesh has finished with sin.
Heb 2.18: b/c he suffered when tempted he can help us when we are tempted
Heb 9.11-14: Jesus entered into the holy place (in heaven) not with animal blood but with his own blood which obtained eternal redemption. If the cleansing ritual consisting of the ashes of a heifer sanctified those who had been defiled (Numbers 19), how much more the blood of Christ? Through the eternal spirit he offered himself without blemish to God to purify our consciences from dead works to worship the living God.
Heb 10.10-15: The offering of the body of Jesus Christ has sanctified us once for all. Though the priest offers sacrifices day after day, those sacrifices don’t take away sins. However, Christ’s single sacrifice which he offered once for all has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified.
Heb 13.11-12: Just as the bodies of the animals whose blood was used in the sanctuary as a sacrifice for sin were burned outside the camp, so Jesus suffered outside the city gate in order to sanctify the people by his own blood.
Rev 7.14: people are mentioned who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
5. His death brings us into relationship with God 2 Cor 5.18: through Christ God reconciled us to himself
Col 1.20-22: through Christ God reconciled to himself all thing by making peace the through the blood of the cross
Eph 2.13-16: Gentiles have been brought near by the blood of Christ. In his flesh he brought together both groups by breaking down the dividing wall between us. He abolished the law so that he could reconcile both groups to himself through the cross
1 Pet 3.18: Christ suffered for sins once for all in order to bring us to God.
Heb 10.19: by the blood of Jesus we have confidence to enter the sanctuary by the new and living way. We enter beyond the curtain (that is, through his flesh).
6. His death fulfilled the law’s requirement will return to this in the last lecture (skip to next one)
Gal 2.21 if righteousness were through the law, Christ died for no purpose
1 Cor 15.56-57: sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law but through Jesus God has given us the victory
Rom 3.21-22: righteousness is available apart from the Law through faith in Christ.
Rom 3.28: a person is justified by faith apart from the works prescribed by the law
Rom 7.3-6: In the same way that when a spouse dies the other is freed to remarry we have (through Christ) died and so are no longer married to the law. This occurred so we could marry another—him who was raised from the dead—so that we would bear fruit to God. Now that we are freed from the law we are slaves, not of the law, but in the new life of the spirit.
Col 2.11-17 his death qualifies us to be God’s true people w/o keeping the law
Eph 2.13-16: Gentiles have been brought near by the blood of Christ. In his flesh he brought together both groups by breaking down the dividing wall between us. He abolished the law so that both groups could be reconciled to God in one body through the cross.
1 Peter 1.2: we have been “sprinkled with his blood” (does this refer to sprinkling of blood on people at the time of entering into old covenant?)
Heb 12.24: Jesus is the mediator of the new covenant, which was sprinkled with blood that speaks a better word than even the blood of Abel.
Heb 13.20: Jesus’ blood is the blood of the eternal covenant.
7. His death expresses God’s/Christ’s love John 3.16: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
Gal 2.19-20 the life I now live, I live in the son of God who loved me and gave himself for me
Rom 5.8: God shows his love for us b/c when we were still sinners, Christ died for us
Eph 2.4-7: b/c of God’s great love he made us alive together w/ Christ when we were dead in our trespasses
1 John 4.9-10: This is how God loved us: he sent his son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins
Rom 8.32: God gave up his own son for all of us
Rev 1.5 he loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood
8. He died so we could have eternal life 1 Th 5.10: Christ died for us so whether we are awake or asleep we will live with him
John 3.16: God so loved the world that he gave his only Son
Rev 1.5-6: Jesus Christ loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood in order to make us to be a kingdom of priests
Rev 5.9-10: Jesus, the Lamb of God, was slaughtered and with his blood he ransomed for God saints from every people group and made them to be a kingdom of priests who will reign upon the earth.
[1] Zch 13.7 (quoted in Mt 26.31; Mk 14.27); Zch 11.12-13 (quoted in Mt 27.9-10); Ps 22.8 (quoted in Mt 27.43); Ps 22.1 (quoted in Mt 27.46; Mk 15.34); Is 53.12 (quoted in Lk 22.37); Ps 31.5 (quoted in Lk 23.46); Ps 22.18 (quoted in Jn 19.34); Ex 12.46 or Nm 9.12 or Ps 34.20 (quoted in Jn 19.36); Zch 12.10 (quoted in Jn 19.37).
—— Links ——
more posts on atonement here
For the textbooks, check out the New Bible Dictionary and Greg Deuble’s They Never Told Me This in Church. Also, listen to an interview with Deuble here.
See other episodes in this Theology Class
Find more Restitutio classes here
More information about Converge 2019
Intro music: Jazzy Frenchy by bensound.com. Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License
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