THE DEATH OF JESUS CHRIST

1. The Scope Of Christ’s Death

1) Jesus died for the

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(Jn 1:29; 3:16; 1 Jn 2:2; Titus 2:11; 2 Pet 2:1; 3:9; 1 Tim 2:6; 4:10)

2) Jesus died for the

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(Jn 10:26-28; 17:9; Mt 1:21; Acts 20:28; 2 Tim 1:9-10; Eph 1:4; 5:25; Rev 13:8)

3) Jesus died for

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man (Heb. 2:9)

2. Old Testament Typology Of Christ’s Death (cf. Lk. 24:25-27)

1) Coats of skin (Gen. 3:15)

• In Genesis 3:15 we have the first mention of a coming redeemer-the One who would crush the head of the serpent. Following this promise, God makes for Adam and Eve coats of skin to cover their nakedness. The coats of skin came from an innocent animal. Note that the first sin of man resulted in the
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  of an innocent animal (perhaps lambs) to cover the shame and guilt of man.

2) Passover Lamb.

• On the night before the Exodus, the Jews were to take a lamb, kill it, and smear its blood on the door posts and lintel of the home in which they ate the lamb. When God’s death angel passed over the land, if he saw the blood applied then God’s judgment passed over that home. (Ex 12, cf. 1 Cor 5:7)

3) The Exodus and Red Sea Passage

• The Israelites passing through the Red Sea and bringing about their total deliverance from Egypt and their complete separation from their old life pictures Christ passing through His cup of suffering. Even so, those who are in Christ have passed through His sufferings, death, burial, and resurrection and are delivered and separated from their old lives.

4) The Levitical offerings

• Every sacrifice and every offering under the Levitical system (i.e. the burnt offering, sin offering, meal offering, peace offering, and trespass offering), ultimately pictures Christ Who would come as the perfect and effectual sacrifice for our sins.

5) The ordinance of the Red Heifer

• On this occasion, an innocent sacrifice was slain without the camp to make those who are unclean clean. Even so, Jesus gave Himself without the camp (i.e. outside of Jerusalem on a hill called Golgotha) to make us who were unclean clean before God. (Num 19)

6) The sacrifice of the Day of Atonement (Lev 16)

• On this one day a year,
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  innocent sacrifice bore the sin of the whole nation.
  
  • It pictures how the one sacrifice, Jesus, bore all the sins of the world.

7) The branch cast into the waters of Marah. (Ex 15:23-26)

• As the branch cast into the bitter water of Marah in the wilderness made them
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  even so Jesus, the Branch (Isa 11:1, Jer 23:5) Who died for us makes the bitter sin unto death sweet unto life.
  
  • The tree was cast into the bitter waters and made them sweet. The cross is the “tree of life” which is cast into the bitter waters of sin and turns them into waters of everlasting life. (Jn 4:14, 7:38)

8) The brazen serpent (Jn 3:14-15)

• Because Christ was lifted up (to die on the cross for our sins), then just as the those bitten by the fiery serpents had only to LOOK to the brazen serpent in faith to live, even so, those bitten by the serpent of sin who look to Christ on the cross in faith (that his death was sufficient to pay the penalty of their sins and save their soul) will live.

3. The Importance Of Christ’s Death

• Henry Thiessen writes:

  • “The death of Christ is the essential thing in Christianity. Other religions base their claim to recognition on the
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    of their founders; Christianity is distinguished from all of them by the importance it assigns to the death of its Founder. Take away the death of Christ as interpreted by the Scriptures, and you reduce Christianity to the level of the ethic religions. Though we would still have a higher system of ethics were we to take away the cross of Christ, we would have no more salvation than these other religions. Napoleon said when banished to St. Helena, that Alexander, Caesar, Charlemagne, and he had founded mighty kingdoms on force, but that Jesus Christ had founded His on love. This is true, if we mean love expressed in His substitutionary death.” (Lectures In Systematic Theology, p. 313)

• Not only did the New Testament writers say much about the death of Jesus, but Jesus himself spoke of his impending death. (Jn 2:19; 3:14; 12:32; Mk 10:33-34; 14:8; Mt 17:22-23; 26:31, 46; Lk 9:22)

4. The Satisfaction Of Christ’s Death

• Jesus death on the cross was substitutional on the behalf of sinful mankind.

• Dr. John Walvoord writes: “Christ in His death fully satisfied the demands of a righteous God for judgment upon sinners and, as their infinite sacrifice, provided a ground not only for a believer’s forgiveness, but for his justification and sanctification.” (Jesus Christ Our Lord, p. 162)

5. The Necessity Of Christ’ Death

• Jesus’ death was necessary because of God’s
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  . God as the just, holy, and righteous Judge of mankind could not allow sin to go unpunished. (Lev 11:44; Prov 15:9)

• It was necessary because of man’s

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  . All men are guilty of sin by birth and by choice. (Rom 3:10-20)

• To fully understand not only why Christ had to die, but also why it was Christ who had to die, the following needs to be understood:

• The wages of the sin of men was the
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  of man. (Rom 6:23)
• No judge would accept one death row inmate’s death as a substitute for another death row inmate’s death. A guilty man would only be paying for his own sins. The only man who could be a substitute for a guilty man would be an
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  man.

• This is why an innocent man (Jesus) had to die for our sins.

• If many men were sentenced to death, no judge could accept

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  man as a substitute for all other condemned men.

• No judge could let one innocent man die as a substitute for all guilty men. A single man could only die as a substitute for one man.
• This is why an INFINITE man (Jesus) had to die for our sins.

6. The Results From Christ’s Death

1) In relation to sinners –

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(Eph 1:7; Gal 3:13; Rev 5:8-12)

2) In relation to saints –

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(Gal 1:4; Heb 10:10, 19-20)

3) In relation to Satan –

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(Heb 2:14; Col 2:15; 1 Jn 3:8; Rev 12:9-11)

4) In relation to sin –

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(Col 2:13-15)