~
7 Critical Facts About the Death of Jesus Christ ~
A Death of Shame
~ The
prediction: “I gave My back to those who
struck Me, and My cheeks to those who plucked out the beard; I did not hide My
face from shame and spitting” (Isaiah
50:6). The
historical account: “Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold
Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, ‘Prophesy!’ And the officers struck
Him with the palms of their hands” (Mark 14:65). The result:
“Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that
was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews
12:2).
A Death of Suffering ~ “When the hour had come, He sat down, and the twelve apostles with Him. Then He
said to them, ‘With fervent desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer; for I say to you, I will
no longer eat of it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God’” (Luke
22:14-16). “But we see Jesus, who was
made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with
glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for
everyone. For it was fitting for Him,
for whom are all things and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to
glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings” (Hebrews 2:9-10).
A Martyr’s Death
~ “For
to this you were called, because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His
steps: ‘Who committed no sin, nor was deceit found in His mouth"; who,
when He was reviled, did not revile in return; when He suffered, He did not
threaten, but committed Himself to Him who judges righteously; who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the
tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose
stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:21-24). “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a Man attested
by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs which God did through Him in your
midst, as you yourselves also know—Him, being delivered by the determined
purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have
crucified, and put to death; whom God raised up, having loosed the pains of
death, because it was not possible that He should be held by it” (Acts 2:22-24). “And though they found no cause for death in Him, they asked Pilate that He
should be put to death. Now when they
had fulfilled all that was written concerning Him, they took Him down from the
tree and laid Him in a tomb. But God
raised Him from the dead” (Acts 13:28-30).
A Sacrificial Death
~ “For
if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the
unclean, sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the
blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to
God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the
new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under
the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the
eternal inheritance” (Hebrews 9:13-15). “He then would have had to suffer often since the foundation of the
world; but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. And as it is appointed for men to die once,
but after this the judgment, so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of
many” (Hebrews 9:26-28). The implications: “Therefore be imitators of
God as dear children. And walk in love,
as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a
sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma” (Ephesians
5:1-2).
A Sin-Bearing Death
~ The
prediction: “All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned, every one, to his own
way; and the Lord
has laid on Him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6). The
appearance: “The next day John saw Jesus
coming toward him, and said, ‘Behold! The
Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”” (John 1:29). The
historical account: “Who Himself bore
our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live
for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed” (1
Peter 2:24).
A Voluntary Death ~ Jesus
said, “Therefore My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take
it again. No one takes it from Me, but I
lay it down of Myself. I have power to
lay it down, and I have power to take it again.
This command I have received from My Father” (John
10:17-18).
An All-Sufficient Death
~ “God,
who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by
the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has
appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being
the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding
all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat
down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better
than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than
they” (Hebrews 1:1-4).
the key question:
“Who do you say that I am?”
(Matthew 16:15). This is the most
important question you will ever answer. If you do not answer it, or answer it
incorrectly, you have made the biggest mistake anyone can make!
~ Robert
Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE
NOW
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