An innocent man who had only done right, yet He hung on the cross between two thieves. People hurled insults at Him from the crowd, mocking the words He had once spoken. Here was One who had spent His ministry caring for the poor, healing the sick, and preaching the message of the Kingdom. He had done nothing deserving capital punishment. But still He was crucified, and He died a painful death as people looked on and counted Him a criminal.
Other people, though, acknowledged that He was indeed innocent. Pilate saw no reason to put Jesus to death, finding nothing against Him. The Centurion also declared that Jesus was righteous when he saw the Son of God take a final breath and felt the earth tremble beneath his feet. The spotless and sinless Lamb of God had been slain, but why? And was there a reason He had to die by one of the most painful methods of punishment – crucifixion?
Scripture tells us that His death was not an accident. The law and prophets all spoke about the Messiah’s coming and how He would have to suffer and die, and on the third day, be raised to life (Luke 24:25-27). People did wrongly hand Him over to be killed, but Jesus willingly gave His life to accomplish the Father’s will. He did so out of love for all people – even those who nailed Him to the cross.
Jesus Died on the Cross for Our Sins
Numerous people throughout time have been put to death; many have also been wrongly condemned. However, Jesus’ death was different because He was more than just a man. He was, and is, a perfect man and the Lord God. As God incarnate, He did what no one else could – live a sinless life completely free of any wrongdoing (1 Peter 2:22). Unlike all others, He was born without a sin nature because He was born of a virgin.
When others die, no matter how “good” they may seem, they cannot take the sins of others upon themselves because they are only human. Jesus is the Son of God, so when He died on the cross, He died as a substitute for our sins. To the Jewish people, this concept would have been more understandable since they offered sacrifices in the Temple whenever they sinned. Any wrongdoing required a sacrifice. As the Bible states, “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness” (Hebrews 9:22, NLT). A substitute had to be given to atone for the world’s sins. Jesus Christ was that perfect and final sacrifice (Hebrews 10:1-18).
Our Lord endured being brutally treated and suffered agony by being nailed to a cross to bring us forgiveness of sins. By the blood of the Lamb of God, our sins are atoned for, and we are made clean. This is why believers sing about the blood of Christ and the cross (think of the old hymns like “Blessed Be the Fountain of Blood” or “The Old Rugged Cross”). Through the blood He shed on the cross, Jesus paid for our sins and showed His love for us – sinners who are unworthy of such love (Romans 5:8).
Jesus Died on the Cross to Satisfy the Righteous Wrath of God
When injustice occurs in our lives, or when someone hurts us, we desire vengeance. Enraged at the blatant acts of sin we see and experience, our thoughts turn to punishment. We cry out for justice.
How much more, then, should we expect God, who is perfect in holiness, to desire justice? Sin involves anything that goes against His righteous standard, and we all fall short of these standards (Romans 3:23). The terrible sins that humanity has committed throughout time cannot just be swept away as if they never happened. If God did that, He would not be holy. Sins must be paid for, or there is no justice.
The Father sent His Son for this very reason. Humans could not wash themselves clean of the blight of sin. We are all contaminated and unable to free ourselves of its oppressive control since we are slaves to sin. And God cannot condone wrongdoing. Even now, His wrath is stored up for those who continue in their rebellion, choosing to turn away from Him. The Son entered the world to live a perfect life and die so that He could satisfy the wrath of God.
Scripture uses the word propitiation when referring to what Christ did for us. The term carries the idea of turning away or appeasing the wrath of God. As 1 John 2:2 says, “He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world” (ESV). We might be tempted to think that this makes the Father a monster who must be placated with a bloody sacrifice. But Scripture shows us that God the Father and Son acted in love – in the Father’s part by sending His Son to die, and in Jesus’ part by willingly giving His life to save us. The Apostle John even went as far as to write that what God did was the definition of love (1 John 4:10). If we ever wonder what true love is, we need look no further than the cross.
Jesus Died on the Cross to Bring Us New Life
In the Bible, we often encounter truths that seem counterintuitive. Bless your enemies. Turn the other cheek. Lay down your life to find it. Yet, these truths come to life when we consider how Jesus acted while He was on the cross, and what He accomplished through His death. The One who had preached to His disciples about the need to show mercy and grace, prayed for His persecutors as He struggled to breathe. Here was the Lord of all, who created the heavens and earth, and yet He allowed Himself to be flogged, stripped, and humiliated. In all of this, He uttered no word of retaliation.
And astonishingly this terrible death brought about something the disciples did not originally expect: New life. We are healed by His wounds, and out of His death comes our salvation (Isaiah 53:5; 1 Peter 2:24). All who place faith in Jesus’ death and resurrection are washed clean, declared righteous before the Father, and given the gift of eternal life. From the darkness of the crucifixion springs the light of new life.
Believers are no longer slaves to sin, nor are we defined by our wrongdoings. Instead, we are set free to live for the One who loved us and gave Himself for us (2 Corinthians 5:15; Galatians 2:20). We can walk as new creations – imitating our Lord’s mercy, grace, and humility – because of what He did on the cross.
Jesus Died on the Cross to Fulfill Old Testament Prophecy
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, He reiterated that He would be handed over to be killed, would die, and then be raised to life on the third day (Matthew 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19; 26:1-2). He foretold this, which aligned with what Scripture had already spoken about these events. In the Bible, we find direct passages that refer to Jesus’ death, as well as images in the Old Testament that looked forward to what He accomplished on the cross.
Isaiah’s Suffering Servant was described as Someone innocent who would bear the iniquities of many, and whose wounds would bring healing (Isaiah 53). Specifically, Isaiah wrote about how Jesus would be pierced (Isaiah 53:5). This was a prophecy of Jesus’ crucifixion, since His hands and feet were nailed to a cross. He was also pierced by the spear of the Roman soldier. The prophet foresaw that the Messiah would be pierced for our transgressions, which was fulfilled in the cross.
The law of Moses stated that a curse was on anyone who was hung on a tree (Deuteronomy 21:23). Repeatedly, the New Testament emphasized that Christ died on a tree, referring to the wood of the cross (Acts 5:30; 10:39; 1 Peter 2:24). Jesus took this curse upon Himself so that He could redeem us from the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13).
In thinking about the term “tree,” His death on the cross also holds significance, considering Adam and Eve brought sin into the world by eating from the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 3:6-7). This tree brought death, whereas the tree that Jesus died on brought life. Some scholars therefore connect the cross with the tree of life, a tree that granted immortality to those who ate its fruit (Genesis 3:22). Likewise, all who eat of the fruit of the cross (i.e., trust in Jesus’ death and resurrection) receive eternal life.
In addition to taking on the curse of the law for us, He is the ultimate Passover Lamb, the final sacrifice. Like the Passover Lamb, which had its blood sprinkled on the doorframes so that the destroying angel would pass over the Israelites, Christ shed His blood on the cross to save us (Exodus 12:7; 1 John 1:7). None of His bones were broken, following the instructions for the Passover sacrifice (Exodus 12:46; John 19:33-36). On the cross, Jesus offered Himself once for all, fulfilling all the images and symbols of the Old Testament sacrifices.
The innocent Son of God lovingly gave Himself to save us – That is why the cross is an important symbol of the Christian faith and why we celebrate our Lord’s sacrifice on Good Friday each year. We join with the heavenly song: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (Revelation 5:12, NIV).
Photo Credit: © Unsplash/Yannick Pulver
