THE MOTIVE FOR CHRIST’S DEATH
1 Corinthians 15:3
Imagine the scene: the Sinless Son of God hangs on a cross, rusty spikes have been driven through His hands and feet. Blood pours from His brow where a cruel crown of thorns has been placed. The flesh on His back hangs like ribbons from the awful scourging He has endured. For hours He hangs there in indescribable agony, suffering for the sins of the world. At noon the earth becomes as dark as midnight, the separation that Jesus experiences at this point is far more excruciating than the physical pain He has faced thus far. In great anguish He cries "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?"
His suffering continues for a while longer and when all things are accomplished He says "Father, 'into Your hands I commit My spirit.' His sacrificial work is complete, He declares "It is finished". The precious Lamb of God takes His last breath. Jesus dies and an earthquake rumbles across the earth. The veil of the Temple rips into, the enemies of Christ rejoice, and a few faithful followers weep and mourn. This was a tragic scene, but this was not the end; three days later, Jesus rose from the grave.
- We rejoice in the hope that the Resurrection brings, but we must never forget the agony of the Cross, and the reality that Jesus’s sacrifice was for us. I would like to look to I Corinthians 15:3 and consider:
THE MOTIVE FOR CHRIST’S DEATH
Paul says to the Corinthian Christians, “For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures”.
In this declaration, Paul echoes the teachings of John the Baptist, the Apostles, and of course Jesus Himself. John the Baptist said of Jesus, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29). The Apostle Peter said, “Jesus bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed. (1 Peter 2:24). The Apostle John said, “Jesus appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin”. (1 John 3:5) and “God loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10). The Apostle Paul said, “Jesus was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:25). Later in Romans, Paul would proclaim “But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8). Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. (John 3:16-17). In Mark 10:45 Jesus declared His purpose for coming to earth, He said “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)
- These verses (and many more) teach us that:
CHRIST’S DEATH WAS VOLUNTARY
Jesus laid aside the glories of Heaven and took on a robe of human flesh. That condescension in itself is beyond our comprehension. Even more astonishing is the reality that He did this knowing that He would face rejection, suffering, and ultimately death.
Perhaps the most amazing truth is that He did it for us. Paul says that (Jesus), though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. (Philippians 2:6-8)
The Jews who were so intent on killing Jesus did not have that power. The Sanhedrin did not have the power to kill Him. Even with their legitimate governmental and religious authority among the people, Herod, Caiphas, Annas, and Pilate did not have the ability to kill Jesus. Even the Romans soldiers that carried out the crucifixion were not able to kill Him. Jesus’s life was not taken from Him by any mortal man, He willingly laid it down.
The fact that Jesus voluntarily gave up His life is seen throughout the events of His passion. The gospel writers tell us how He was betrayed by Judas, denied by Peter, abandoned by the Apostles, falsely tried and condemned by the Jews, rejected by the crowds, and executed by the Romans. We are given graphic details concerning His death; scripture tells us that He was stripped of His clothes, mocked and blasphemed, beaten, spat upon, and scourged. We read about the scarlet robe, the crown of thorns, the wooden cross, the spikes driven through His hands and feet, and the spear that was thrust through His side.
Of all of the astonishing truths surrounding the Crucifixion of Christ, perhaps the most amazing is the fact that He endured such suffering and shame willingly. The religious and government leaders sought the death of Jesus long before it happened, but they were prevented time after time because “His hour had not yet come”. When the hour did come, they did not have to aggressively seize Him, He went willingly.
After 6 hours suffering in agony on the Cross, when all things were accomplished, Jesus said, “It is finished!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit” (John 19:30). Jesus’ head did not fall down because He died, Jesus purposely bowed His head and willingly “gave up His spirit”. Up to the very moment that He drew His last breath, Jesus retained the ability to call to His Father who could have sent legions of angels to prevent His death; but this was the reason that He came.
Our Savior laid down His life on His own accord and He did so to secure our salvation. Jesus paid the ultimate price to atone for our sins and to reconcile us to God. Through His work of propitiation, Jesus satisfied the wrath of God and reconciled us to Him. Therefore, we now have access into the Kingdom of God, and we have been saved from the due penalty of our sins.
- The scriptures show us that Christ’s death was voluntary and as we dig a little deeper we will see that:
CHRIST’S DEATH WAS VICARIOUS
Vicarious is a word that speaks of “something that is done for another.” Jesus Christ needed no atonement for sin, for He was sinless. Therefore, His atonement is vicarious in that it was done for us, the Savior died in our place.
The doctrine that teaches that Christ died in our place, and for our sins is called “penal substitutionary atonement”. Penal is a word that references the due penalty of man’s sin. Substitutionary speaks to the fact that Jesus died in our place. Atonement speaks of the fact that through His sinless sacrifice and ultimately His death, Jesus has satisfied the justice of God.
Paul teaches us in Romans 6:23 that the “wages” of sin is “death”. This is not just physical death; it is a reference to spiritual death and the resulting condemnation. Each and every one of us is guilty of death, for we have all sinned. Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
In the Garden of Eden, Adam sinned and as a result, sin and the resulting punishment was passed on to all his posterity. Paul said in Romans 5:12 “Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned”. There was nothing that mortal man could do to satisfy the justice that God demanded. Therefore, Jesus came to earth to redeem His people. He was born of a virgin, lived a sinless life and lived in complete obedience to the Law. Through His obedience, Christ fulfilled the Law’s righteous demands. By keeping the law, Jesus achieved a perfect righteousness, which is reckoned to believing sinners so that they are declared righteous, or justified, before God.
Our Heavenly Father has made a way for us to escape the due penalty of our deeds. (I Corinthians 5:21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.) As Christians, our sins have been atoned for by the sacrifice or Jesus,
and because of this we have been reconciled to God. Because of His sinless life, Jesus qualified to go to the Cross and die in the place of guilty, condemned sinners.
There on the Cross, Jesus experienced the undiluted wrath of the Father for the sins of His people. God transferred the sins of all those who would believe onto His dear Son. Jesus went to Calvary as our sin bearing sacrifice. The Savior died a substitutionary death in our place, and this was by His own volition, He chose to suffer and die for us. Jesus said in John 10:18, “No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again”.
Jesus did not just die for us so that we could live spiritually, abundantly, and eternally. While this is certainly true, it is even more astonishing to know that Jesus died in our place. His sacrifice was substitutionary, that is the punishment He endured was the punishment that we deserved. Isaiah said, “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. 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 53:4-6
We are the ones who deserved death, judgment, and eternal condemnation. However, because of His great love, Jesus came and suffered on our behalf, and ultimately He died in our place. On the Cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ experienced the full weight of divine judgment, and He did so willingly.
- His death was voluntary, it was vicarious, and the scriptures also show us that:
CHRIST’S DEATH WAS VICTORIOUS
Jesus gave His life as a sacrifice for us, and He gave His life as a sacrifice to God. The sacrifices in the Old Testament were offered by a priest, on behalf of the people and to God. Those sacrifices were only a “shadow of the good things to come”. The writer of Hebrews said, “For the law, having a shadow of the good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect.” (Hebrews 10:1).
Jesus is that final, ultimate sacrifice that all the Old Testament sacrifices pointed to. The blood of goats, oxen, sheep, and doves never had the power to save man. Hebrews 10:3 says, “For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins”. Jesus was the true sacrifice and the only sacrifice that has the power to save lost men and women.
When you examine the sacrificial work of Jesus Christ, you see a sacrifice that was made to God for us. Jesus gave His life to satisfy the wrath of God, and in His sacrifice the Father was glorified. We must never forget that it was the Father who sent His Son to be that perfect sacrifice that we so desperately needed. Therefore, when we see the Son voluntarily offering Himself, and His vicarious sacrifice for our sins, we are also reminded of the Father’s love for us, and His willingness to sacrifice His only begotten Son so that we can be redeemed.
In order for Christ’s sacrifice to be applied to us, the Father had to be satisfied. There is a visible representation in the scriptures that proves that the Father was pleased with, satisfied by, and that He accepted the sacrifice of the Son. This reference is found in Luke 23:44-46 “Now it was about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over all the earth until the ninth hour. 45 Then the sun was darkened, and the veil of the temple was torn in two. 46 And when Jesus had cried out with a loud voice, He said, “Father, ‘into Your hands I commit My spirit.’” Having said this, He breathed His last”.
If the Father had not accepted the sacrifice of Jesus, it would have all been in vain. But Jesus came to lay down His life for the sheep, He did what He said He would do, the Father was glorified, and we now have access to and assurance of salvation.
What is the motive for Christ’s death? Why is it that He had to die? The Apostle Paul answers that question in I Corinthians 15:3, “Christ died for our sins”. May we never forget the reason for the Cross! We should be reminded daily that Jesus died for our sins. We can and should rejoice in the reality that:
Christ’s Death Was Voluntary
Christ’s Death Was Vicarious
Christ’s Death Was Victorious
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