Born to die
The Christian faith proclaims the message that the Son of God became flesh at a predetermined time and place and lived among us. Jesus was such a remarkable personality that some even doubted his humanity itself. However, the Bible repeatedly emphasizes that he was God in the flesh—born of a woman—and was indeed human, thus resembling us in every respect, apart from our sinfulness. (Joh 1,14; Gal 4,4; Phil 2,7; Hebr 2,17)He was indeed human. The incarnation of Jesus Christ is usually celebrated with Christmas, even though it actually began with Mary's pregnancy, according to the traditional calendar on March 25th, the Feast of the Annunciation (formerly also called the Feast of the Incarnation or the Becoming Man of God).
Christ the crucified
However important the conception and birth of Jesus may be according to our faith, they are not the primary focus of the message of faith we carry into the world. When Paul preached in Corinth, he proclaimed a far more provocative message: that of the crucified Christ. (1Kor 1,23).
The Greco-Roman world knew many stories of deities born, but no one ever heard of a crucified one. It was grotesque - something akin to granting people salvation if they believed only in an executed criminal. But how should it be possible to be saved by a criminal?
But that was precisely the crucial point – the Son of God suffered a shameful death on the cross like a criminal and only then regained his glory through the resurrection. Peter declared to the Sanhedrin: “The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead… God exalted him to his right hand as Prince and Savior, to give repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.” (Apg 5,30-31)Jesus rose from the dead and was lifted up to heaven so that our sins might be forgiven.
Peter, however, did not neglect to address the embarrassing part of the story: "...whom you hanged on the tree and killed." The term "tree" undoubtedly reminded the Jewish religious leaders of the words in 5Mo 21,23 remembers: "... a hanged man is cursed by God."
Oh dear! Why did Peter have to bring this up? He wasn't trying to sidestep the socio-political issue, but rather consciously included this aspect. His message wasn't just that Jesus died, but also that he died in this dishonorable way. This wasn't just part of the message; it was its central point. When Paul preached in Corinth, he wanted the central concern of his message to be understood not merely as the death of Christ, but as his death on the cross. (1Kor 1,23).
In Galatia, he quite obviously used a particularly vivid way of expressing himself: "... to whom Jesus Christ was painted as the crucified one." (Gal 3,1)Why did Paul have to emphasize so strongly such a terrible death, which Holy Scripture considered a sure sign of God's curse?
Was that necessary?
Why did Jesus suffer such a terrible death in the first place? Probably Paul had dealt with this question long and hard. He had seen the risen Christ and knew that God had sent the Messiah in this very person. But why should God let that anointed one die to a death whom the Scriptures hold as a curse? (So even Muslims do not believe that Jesus was crucified. In their eyes he was a prophet, and God would hardly ever have allowed such a thing to happen to him in that capacity. They argue that someone else was crucified instead of Jesus been.)
And indeed, Jesus also prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane that there might be another way for him, but there was no. Herod and Pilate merely did what God had "predestined" to happen – that he should die in this cursed way.Apg 4,28; Zurich Bible).
Why? Because Jesus died for us—for our sins—and a curse rests upon us because of our sinfulness. Even our small transgressions, in their reprehensibility before God, are tantamount to a crucifixion. All humanity is subject to a curse, since it is guilty of sin. But the good news, the Gospel, promises: “Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, by becoming a curse for us.” (Gal 3,13)Jesus was crucified for each of us. He took upon himself the pain and shame that we actually deserved to bear.
Other analogies
However, this is not the only analogy the Bible gives us, and Paul only addresses this particular view in one of his letters. More often he simply says that Jesus "died for us". At first glance, the phrase chosen here looks like a simple exchange: we deserved death, Jesus volunteered to die for us, and so we are spared this.
However, it's not quite that simple. For one thing, we humans still die. And from another perspective, we die with Christ. (Röm 6,3-5)According to this analogy, Jesus' death was both vicarious for us (he died in our place) and participatory (i.e., we share in his death by dying with him); which makes it pretty clear what it comes down to: we are redeemed through the crucifixion of Jesus, so we can only be saved through the cross of Christ.
Another analogy, chosen by Jesus himself, uses ransom as a comparison: "...the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Mk 10,45)It was as if we were being held captive by an enemy and Jesus' death secured our freedom.
Paul makes a similar comparison by saying that we have been ransomed. This term may remind some readers of the slave market, others perhaps also of the exodus of the Israelites from Egypt. Slaves could be ransomed from slavery, and so God also freely purchased the people of Israel from Egypt. By sending his son, our Heavenly Father bought us dearly. He took the punishment for our sins.
In Kolosser 2,15 another image is used for comparison: “... he completely disarmed the authorities and the powers and put them on public display. In him [in the cross] he triumphed over them” (Elberfeld Bible). The picture drawn here represents a victory parade: the victorious military leader brings the disarmed, humiliated prisoners in chains into the city. This passage in Colossians makes it clear that Jesus Christ, through his crucifixion, broke the power of all his enemies and was victorious for us.
The Bible conveys to us the message of salvation in pictures and not in the form of firmly established, immutable beliefs. For example, Jesus' sacrificial death is ours instead of just one of many images of which the Holy Scriptures make use of to make the crucial point clear. Just as sin is described in many ways, Jesus' work to redeem our sins can be presented differently. If we regard sin as breaking the law, we can recognize in the crucifixion an act of punishment performed in our place. If we regard them as violations of God's holiness, we see in Jesus the atoning sacrifice. When it pollutes us, the blood of Jesus washes us clean. If we subjugate ourselves, Jesus is our Savior, our victorious liberator. Wherever she sows enmity, Jesus brings reconciliation. If we see in it a sign of ignorance or stupidity, it is Jesus who gives us enlightenment and wisdom. All these pictures are a help to us.
Does God's anger appease?
Godlessness provokes God's wrath, and it will be a "day of wrath" when he judges the world.Röm 1,18; 2:5). Those who “do not obey the truth” will be punished (verse 8). God loves people and would prefer that they change, but He punishes them when they stubbornly oppose Him. Whoever closes themselves off to the truth of God’s love and grace will receive their punishment.
Unlike an angry person who needs to be appeased before he can calm himself, He loves us and made sure our sins could be forgiven. So they were not simply wiped out, but given to Jesus with real consequences. "He made him to be sin for us who knew no sin" (2Kor 5,21; Zurich Bible). Jesus became a curse for us, he became a sin for us. As our sins were passed on to him, his righteousness passed to us "that in him we might become the righteousness of God" (same verse). Righteousness has been given to us by God.
The revelation of God's righteousness
The Gospel reveals the justice of God – namely, that he exercises justice by forgiving us instead of condemning us. (Röm 1,17)He does not ignore our sins, but addresses them through the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. The cross is a sign of God's justice. (Röm 3,25-26)...as well as his love (5:8). It stands for justice because it appropriately reflects the punishment of sin through death, but at the same time also for love, because the one who forgives willingly takes on the pain.
Jesus paid the price for our sins—the personal price in the form of pain and shame. He achieved reconciliation (the restoration of personal fellowship) through the cross. (Kol 1,20)Even when we were enemies, he died for us. (Röm 5,8).
Justice is more than law-abiding. The Good Samaritan obeyed no law requiring him to help the wounded, but he acted right by helping.
If it is within our power to save someone who is drowning, we should not hesitate to do so. And so it was within God's power to save a world fallen into sin, and he did so by sending Jesus Christ. "...he is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world." (1Joh 2,2)He died for us all, and he did it even “while we were still sinners”.
By faith
God's grace toward us is a sign of his righteousness. He acts justly by granting us righteousness even though we are sinners. Why? Because he made Christ our righteousness. (1Kor 1,30)Because we are united with Christ, our sins are transferred to him, and we receive his righteousness. Therefore, our righteousness does not originate from ourselves, but comes from God and is bestowed upon us through our faith. (Phil 3,9).
“I am speaking of the righteousness from God that comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile—for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood, to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had forgiven the sins committed beforehand. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, to be just and to justify those who have faith in Jesus.” (Röm 3,22-26).
Jesus' atoning sacrifice was for all, but only those who believe in him receive the blessings it brings. Only those who accept the truth can experience grace. In doing so, we acknowledge his death as our own (the death he suffered in our place, in which we share); and just as we acknowledge his punishment, we also acknowledge his victory and resurrection as our own. Thus, God is true to himself—merciful and just. Sin is no more overlooked than sinners themselves. God's mercy triumphs over judgment. (Jak 2,13).
Through the cross, Christ reconciled the whole world. (2Kor 5,19)Yes, through the cross the entire universe is reconciled with God. (Kol 1,20)All of creation will receive salvation because of what Jesus did! That truly surpasses everything we associate with the concept of salvation, doesn't it?
Born to die
The crucial point is that we are redeemed through the death of Jesus Christ. Indeed, it was for this very reason that he became flesh. To lead us to glory, it pleased God to let Jesus suffer and die. (Hebr 2,10)Because he wanted to redeem us, he became like us; for only by dying for us could he save us.
“Since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might break the power of him who holds the power of death—that is, the devil—and redeem those who all their lives were slaves to death through their fear of it” (2:14-15). By God’s grace, Jesus suffered death for each of us (2:9). “...Christ suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God…” (1. Petr 3,18).
The Bible gives us many opportunities to reflect on what Jesus did for us on the cross. We certainly do not understand in great detail how everything is "related", but we accept that it is so. Because he died, we can share eternal life with God in joy.
Finally, I would like to take up another aspect of the cross - that of the model:
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.” (1Joh 4,9-11).
by Joseph Tkach
