If the benevolence manifested in the atonement does not subdue the selfishness of sinners, their case is hopeless.* —Charles G. Finney
It is not clear that the father received the sacrifice, not because He Himself demanded it or needed it, but only on account of the divine economy… that He Himself might deliver us, in overcoming the tyrants by His power, and by the mediation of His son bringing us back to Himself?* —Gregory of Nazianzus
As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by is knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.
—Isaiah 53:11-12
God's ultimate solution to the complex problem of reconciliation was, of course, the life and death of His Son, Jesus Christ. And as Malcolm Muggeridge observes:
One thing at least can be said with certainty about the crucifixion of Christ; it was manifestly the most famous death in history. No other death has aroused one-hundredth part of the interest, or been remembered with one-hundredth part of the intensity and concern.[1]
The death of Jesus Christ and the events which surrounded it were extraordinary, not in that a man died but rather in who it was that died. If Jesus’ life had not had a revolutionary significance and notoriety, His death would have gone unnoticed as just another victim of the Roman epidemic.
On several occasions in the New Testament, God declared His pleasure over the manner of life His Son was leading. As a result of His obedience the “second Adam” was able to bring to God’s heart what the “first Adam” never did.
This beautiful portrait of Christ’s obedience has been marred by the theological concept of impeccability. This concept teaches that Christ could not have succumbed to temptation. It is, of course, extremely difficult to explain the nature of a temptation that is impossible to succumb to. That temptation is no really honest temptation. The work of God refutes this concept.
For we have not a high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. —Hebrews 4:15
Jesus’ life was intended to serve as an example of how we are to overcome. If it was impossible for Christ to have acceded to temptation, then He was surely not tempted in all ways like we are! He could not have served as an example to us since there was nothing for Him to overcome! If Christ could not have succumbed to temptation then he could not have loved us, either, for love is a proper choice between at least two alternatives.
There are those who believe that the essence of the atonement existed in Christ’s obedience to the moral law on behalf of sinners. This also is questionable on several counts:
The chorus Amazing Grace would certainly take on new meaning were this the case. For it is truly “amazing” grace that requires a debt to be paid repeatedly before an obligation is discharged!
Various biblical words and phrases convey the idea that a payment was involved in the atonement; “ransom,” “redeem,” “you are brought with a price,” to name just a few. It is imperative to interpret these words in light of the overall teaching of the Word on salvation.
The payment theory, which is sometimes referred to as the satisfaction theory,* originated by and large with Anselm of Canterbury. “He clearly taught an ‘objective’ atonement, according to which God is the object of Christ’s atoning work, and is reconciled through the satisfaction made to His justice.”[2] This theory results from his confusion of the difference between an allegory and a metaphor.
An allegory is a story created to portray a spiritual truth. It can be taken literally with the details pressed for meaning. A religious metaphor on the other hand, while also meant to convey a spiritual truth, is not to be taken in a literal, physical way. “You are bought with a price” is a good example of a metaphor which is very often interpreted as an allegory. Furthermore, in this particular passage the word price can be translated honor.
Wherever… analogies from legal procedure are employed, they are usually assumed to prove the presence of the ‘objective’ or ‘judicial’ view of the atonement… there is need, therefore, of the greatest caution in the exegesis of the language used of the atonement.[3]
Christ has not redeemed us by giving His life as a ransom for our sins in order that He might release us for God never kept man captive in sin. On the contrary, it was He who wanted to make man free.
…the Scriptures frequently describe the atonement in language of a figurative character; and the literal construction (interpretation) which has been put upon this language has, no doubt, sometimes… misled the honest inquirer. We are informed by the pen of inspiration, that Christ ‘hath purchased’ the Church ‘with his own blood.’ Christians are said to be ‘bought with a price.’ …These and many other passages of similar import, are often pressed into a literal exposition, while their figurative character is entirely overlooked. When the Scriptures tell us, that Christ ‘hath purchased’ the Church, or that believers ‘are bought with a price,’ they do not intend to teach us that salvation of sinners through atonement is a pecuniary transaction, regulated according to the principles of debt and credit; but that their salvation was effected, in the moral government of God, by nothing less than the consideration —the stipulated consideration of the death of his beloved Son.
To these figurative expressions are super added others of human origin—such as: “Christ has paid our debt—has answered the demands of the law, and satisfied the justice of God in our behalf.” If we say that Christ has paid our debt, it is true only in a figurative sense; and can mean no more nor less than this, that the sufferings of Christ accomplished the same purpose, in the divine administration, which would have been accomplished by our rejection and punishment.
‘Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.’ We need no other proof than that suggested in this passage, that Christ did not pay the debt, or literally suffer the penalty of the law for his people. He prepared the way for our debt to be remitted; or in plain language, dispensing with all metaphor, he made it consistent and proper and honorable for sin to be forgiven according to the prescribed terms of the gospel.[4]
The truth is, Christ paid no man’s debt. It is true, indeed, that our deliverance is, in Scripture, sometimes called a redemption; and this word refers to the deliverance of a prisoner from captivity, which is often effected by the payment of a sum of money. Christ is also called a ransom, and we are said to be ‘bought with a price.’ But it must be remembered that these are figurative expressions. They are designed to communicate this idea, that as payment of money as the price of liberty is the ground on which prisoners are released from captivity, so the atonement of Christ is the ground on which sinners are pardoned,or set free from a sentence of condemnation. These passages, thus understood, appear intelligible and consistent; whereas, understood literally, they would contradict other plain declarations of the Word of God. It is evident, therefore, that these are metaphorical expressions, and were never designed to be taken in a strictly literal sense.[5]
There is a very real sense, however, in which salvation did cost something. There was a very high price for the Father to pay. The cost was His Son’s life. C.S. Lewis comments:
It costs God nothing, so far as we know, to create nice things: but to convert rebellious wills cost Him crucifixion.[6]
There is another aspect to this cost factor. It is discovered in the spiritual equation that intimacy is proportional to grief. The more you love someone the deeper you can be wounded. Simply because God deeply loves us and wants us back, and has expressed His willingness to take us back with open arms, does not mean His forgiveness is without cost.
In the first place, it isn’t always that simple to forgive other people. If someone hurts you in a small way and apologizes, it is easy to accept the apology. But the greater the wrong or the injury, the harder it is to forgive. If a husband is unfaithful to his wife but comes back and asks forgiveness, she may be willing to forgive; but the forgiveness will not be an easy or casual thing. it will cost a great deal. It will hurt. For the essence of forgiveness is that you accept the wrong or the injury that has been done to you; you bear the consequences of it without retaliation and without being bitter or resentful.[7]
The danger lies in the redefining of God’s personal effort and sacrifice (in the atonement) to indicate some type of commercial transaction. If we accept the premise that Jesus literally purchased our salvation with His blood, this approach not only portrays God as vindictive and bloodthirsty and totally incompatible with biblical forgiveness, it also presents another grave difficulty. If Jesus literally paid for our sins with his blood (a paid debt is no longer a debt), and He died for the sins of the entire world, then we can come to only one conclusion, universalism, which means the whole world will be saved. If salvation is basically a legal transaction, then I have no debt or obligation remaining and my ignorance of this situation would not alter the fact.
An alternative offered by proponents of the Commercial Transaction Theory is that of a limited atonement. This view holds the same premise as the universalists that the atonement was an exact, literal payment for sin, but concedes that not all are being saved. Therefore, the atonement was not made for all but was limited to the “elect.” Since the concept of a limited atonement is conspicuously absent from the scriptures, we can only view this theory as the product of man’s presumption. This doctrine of election is clearly refuted in the following scriptural revelations:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life. —John 3:16 (NASB)
And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. —1 John 2:2 (NASB)
Behold, I stand at the door and knock, if any one hears My voice and opens the door. I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with Me. —Revelation 3:20 (NASB)
This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. —1 Timothy 2:3-4 (NASB)
We also have the problem of knowing whether or not we happen to be one of those fortunate enough “elected” to salvation. How dreadful to be commanded to repent under the penalty of death with only the possibility that an atonement was made for you.
Adherents to the Commercial Transaction Theory rightly believe that guilty sinners deserve to be punished. The theory falters, however, when it represents Christ paying the Father an equal amount of suffering in His own person that sinners would have otherwise been liable to pay. But if Christ was punished to purchase our salvation:
The difference between suffering and punishment is simply this: One is involuntary while the other is voluntary. The Bible clearly teaches that Christ willingly suffered and died for our sins.
Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No man taketh 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 commandment have I received of my Father. —John 10:17-18
Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin. —John 19:10-11
As we consider Old Testament procedures relating to offerings and sacrifices, we learn a great deal about God’s method of forgiveness. These offerings and sacrifices can be divided into two categories:
| Sacrifices/offerings for sin |
Sacrifices/offerings for thanks |
|---|---|
| (generally bloody) | (generally bloodless) |
Notice immediately that these sacrifices did not represent a substitutionary suffering for the sinner. We draw this conclusion for the following reasons:
Neither was the death of the animal a vicarious payment for sin for several reasons:
The Old Testament system of sacrificial offerings accomplished two important functions. First, the blood sacrifices were especially designed to allow God (according to public justice) to pass over the people’s sins and set aside the penalty. In order for pardon to be granted under public justice, the normal execution of the penalty which upholds the law, or gives it “teeth,” must be replaced with something equally as effective in upholding the law. The sinner needs to see how awful his sin is in God’s eyes and he must have a realization of his own guilt. All this could be accomplished on a limited and temporary scale through the Old Testament sacrificial system.
When a sinner was ready to offer up a sacrifice for his sins it was necessary, in the case of an animal, that it be without spot or blemish. The killing of anything less than perfect would diminish the impact on the beholder. The sacrificial lamb, for example, was to be a picture of health and innocence prior to slaughter. This was undoubtedly due to the fact, as we mentioned earlier, that our inclination to see sin as a cruel and reprehensible phenomenon is in proportion to the goodness and innocence of the victim. Malcolm Muggeridge recalls his experience at a sheep-shearing in Australia:
As the lambs looked up with their gentle frightened eyes, it quite often happened that the mechanical shears drew blood. The sight agitated me abnormally, the blood so red against wool so soft and white. Why did I feel as though I had seen it before, long ago? Why was the sight somehow familiar to me? That was it— the sacrificial Lamb, Agnus Dei.[8]
The Bible does not associate blood with death but with life.
The life of the flesh is in the blood; and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul… For it is the life of all the flesh; the blood of it is for the life therefore. —Leviticus 17:11,14
It is common in the Bible for blood to represent life. For example, when Jonathan declared to his father that David was innocent, he said "Wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood, to slay David without a cause?" (1 Sam 19:5).[9] In the New Testament the words life and blood are often interchangeable.
The Son of man came… to give his life a ransom for many. —Mark 10:45
We have redemption through his blood… —Ephesians 1:7
The one means the same as the other. God intended to put a premium on the concept of life through the blood. This was one of the reasons the Israelites were forbidden to eat blood.
Life is a prize of ultimate value, and when taken, the sinner is brought to a sobering realization of the significance God places on sin. The combination of the sacrificial lamb’s perfection, innocence and death made a profound impression upon both the individual and the nation.
To illustrate the effects of the sacrifice upon the sinner, we will return by way of imagination to ancient Israel. It was typical of many families in those days to keep animals, particularly lambs, as pets. As in our society, the young children grew very attached to their animals.
One evening as you and your brothers and sisters are running around outside your house, your father arrives to put a halt to the horseplay. After hustling you in for dinner, he snatches up your favorite lamb and ties it inside the door. On most days Dad’s arrival is a highlight, but today something must have gone wrong. He’s too serious tonight, not like usual when he throws you up on his shoulders and carries you through the door. Tomorrow, you discover, the family is going to the Temple, but what’s really great is that lamb gets to go, too!
Early the next morning your mother wakes you up, tells you to clean up and put on your best clothes. The fact breakfast was skipped this morning for the Lord wasn’t new, but Dad has never looked so serious… so sober. Anyway,’your guess is that he’s tying the lamb’s feet together so he won’t get loose in the Temple.
The family is finally on the way; Dad’s in front, with the lamb on his shoulders with Mom and all the siblings in tow. Nearing the Temple you notice some of your friends arriving, but Dad won’t let you talk to anybody. Once inside the Temple, all you can see are the backs and legs of a forest of grownups. Nobody’s talking; they’re all just kind of crying and moaning real loud. Every so often a family or group of people press their way through the crowd heading for the door of the Temple.
It’s hard to figure out what’s happening. You had never really noticed the people’s faces the other times. This was the first time, too, that Dad had ever let the lamb come, though many other people had brought theirs before.
After a very long two hours you have crept near the front. Occasionally you can see the priests’ legs and bare feet around the altar through a crack in the crowd. The wailing and moaning near the front is almost deafening.
Finally, your family is standing in front of the altar. There is blood all over the ground and splattered on the priests’ clothes. While your attention is fixed on all the blood, Dad has handed the lamb over to a priest. After saying something to Dad he lifts his head and speaks—again—probably praying. His hands are both resting on the lamb when you notice for the first time the long menacing knife at the side of the altar.
The lamb anticipates its future with a meek struggle but the leather cords hold firm. After the priest finishes praying he picks up the knife and puts his hand under the lamb’s jaw pulling its head back. Horror-struck, you watch the priest plunge the knife into its throat; the blood spills out onto the breast of the lamb, the priest and the altar. After one last spasmodic convulsion the life of your lamb is over.
As the priest spreads the blood around, the reality of the whole gruesome spectacle begins to melt your frozen stupor. Leaving the temple tears flow uncontrollably as you press through other Jewish families awaiting their turn to approach the altar. Nothing was said on the way home.
That evening, Father lifted your little frame off your tear stained pillow and gently explained as he had to your older brothers and sisters in prior years how a lamb could die instead of you.
One suspects that the child in our story began to grasp how revolting sin is to God after he saw the event in the Temple. There may not have been a thorough theological understanding, but it can doubtless be said that, at least for a while, sin would not be taken lightly by this child.
Blood signifies a cleansing agent, not a peace offering to an angry God. The blood, when sprinkled on the altar and mercy seat, was a sign to God that men had seen a life taken and that they, like-this youngster, had realized the awfulness of sin and were not inclined to hurry out and commit more.
The atonement was in the bloody realization of God’s view of sin and His law, and in its ability to humble the sinner who recognizes his guilt and responsibility. When man is in this condition, God can pardon him and reconciliation takes place. The atonement becomes the at-one-ment.
And according to the Law, one may almost say, all things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. —Hebrews 9:22 (NASB)
The word “almost” in this verse is a reminder that on rare occasions poor people could bring fine flour as an atoning sin offering. This reinforces the fact that God is primarily looking for a heart realization. Though best brought about through blood, it could also be produced through a cost recognition of another sort—such as food-stuff which was life sustenance to poor families. There are many interesting scriptures in the Bible, particularly in the Old Testament minor prophets, which indicate that if there is no heart realization, no contrition, no impact on the one who offers a sacrifice, that blood or no blood, it is not pleasing to God.
For I delight in loyalty rather than sacrifice, and in the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. —Hosea 6:6 (NASB)
Since Ephraim has multiplied altars for sin, they have become altars of sinning for him. Though I wrote for him ten thousand precepts of My law, they are regarded as a strange thing. As for My sacrificial gifts, they sacrifice the flesh and eat it, but the Lord has taken no delight in them. Now He will remember their iniquity, and punish them for their sins; they will return to Egypt. —Hosea 8:11-13 (NASB)
’I hate, I reject your festivals, nor do I delight in your solemn assemblies. Even though you offer up to me burnt offerings and your grain offerings, I will not accept them; and I will not even look at the peace offering of your fatlings. Take away from Me the noise of your songs; I will not even listen to the sound of your harps. But let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever-flowing stream. Did you present Me with sacrifices and grain offerings in the wilderness for forty years, O house of Israel? You also carried along Sikkuth your king and Kiyyun, your images, the star of your gods which you made for yourselves. Therefore, I will make you go into exile beyond Damascus’ says the Lord, whose name is the God of hosts. —Amos 5:21-27 (NASB)
With what shall I come to the Lord and bow myself before the God on high? Shall I come to Him with burnt offerings, with yearling calves? Does the Lord take delight in thousands of rams, in ten thousand rivers of oil? Shall I present my first born for my rebellious acts, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He has told you, O man what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? —Micah 6:6-8 (NASB)
Therefore, when He comes into the world, He says, ‘Sacrifice and offering Thou hast not desired, but a body Thou hast prepared for Me; in whole burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin Thou hast taken no pleasure.’ —Hebrews 10:5-6 (NASB)
For many the sacrifices had become nothing more than a tiresome ritual. People grew hard and callous and eventually began to engage in deceit and profiteering in the Temple. As long as there was an absence of heart contrition there was no efficacy in the sacrifices. Twice Jesus had to drive out merchandisers from the Temple who were making enormous profits from animals sold as sacrifices. It was against this perversion that Jesus burned with indignation. This practice, however, was nothing new, as we note in the book of Malachi:
‘Oh that there were one among you who would shut the gates, that you might not uselessly kindle fire on My altar! I am not pleased with you,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘nor will I accept an offering from you. For from the rising sun, even to its setting, My name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name will be great among the nations,’ says the Lord of hosts. ‘But you are profaning it, in that you say, “The table of the Lord is defiled, and as for its fruit, its food is to be despised.” You also say, “My, how tiresome it is!” And you disdainfully sniff at it,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘and you bring what was taken by robbery, and what is lame or sick; so you bring the offering! Should I receive that from your hand?’ says the Lord. ‘But cursed be the swindler who has a male in his flock, and vows it, but sacrifices a blemished animal to the Lord, for I am a great King says the Lord of hosts, ‘and My name is feared among the nations.’ —Malachi 1:10-14 (NASB)
The difficulty of the sacrificial system was that it was only a temporary solution. The lingering effect of the sacrifice of the little child’s lamb lasted for weeks or perhaps months. But eventually the impression wore off and had to be continuously repeated to remind the people of the true nature of sin.
But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year. —Hebrews 10:3
A person needed a system whereby one could be totally and permanently changed from, within, a system whereby one’s sin wouldn’t be merely covered but removed!
Now let us examine the second function of the old covenant sacrificial system. Because man had strayed so far from God and had lost his concept of God, it accordingly became necessary to slowly and progressively bring him back to the place of complete fellowship. In other words, the old covenant was a foreshadowing of an awesome event. The sacrificial system was to build anticipation, looking forward to the full solution of the problems of reconciliation in the Person of Jesus Christ.
| Blood sacrifices could not take away sin. | The atonement of Christ did take away sin. |
|---|---|
| And every priest stands daily ministering an offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins... —Hebrews 10:11 For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins. —Hebrews 10:4 |
...but now once at the consummation He has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. —Hebrews 9:26 |
| The repeated ritual of sacrifices: | The one-time, voluntary sufferings of Christ: |
|---|---|
|
|
Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. —Hebrews 10:9
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God. —Hebrews 7:19
The blood of Christ opened, as the song says, “a new and living way.“ No longer would we relate to God on the basis of an external set of laws. Something happened to us when we saw Christ die under the weight of our sin. We were won by the love of Christ back into relationship. He put His laws in our hearts and minds. We keep them without even thinking about them because we’re back in a love relationship!
I think this issue was well captured in a story I’ve often heard repeated. A young woman in starry-eyed haste married a man who turned out to be a cruel tyrant. He often stayed out late drinking. One thing he faithfully saw to was a daily list of chores and duties which he expected his wife to complete. At the end of the day, if the duties were not accomplished or executed to his satisfaction, he would beat and abuse his wife. In time, this husband died a broken and bitter man. Shortly thereafter, the woman remarried. This time she married a man whose character was diametrically opposed to that of her first husband. He was a gentle, sensitive and loving man who spent many hours holding his wife’s wounded personality in his embrace. In time, remarkable emotional healing became manifest. One afternoon, as she went through the house singing and cleaning, she found a scrap of paper wedged in the crack of the sofa. Switching off the vacuum cleaner, she sat down to read it. Slowly tears began to well up in her eyes and trickle down her cheeks. It was one of her previous husband’s old lists. As her eyes descended the list, she realized that she was doing everything on it, without being told. No external list was given her each morning. It was written on her heart.
Paul sums up the effect of the new love, relationship.
For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified. And the Holy Spirit also bears witness… ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws upon their heart, and upon their mind I will write them.’ —Hebrews 10:14-16 (NASB)
The blood of Jesus is no admission fee which God has accepted to let sinners into Heaven; it is the means He Himself has given to sinners to cleanse them from sin… Jesus’ blood was not shed for the purpose of inducing God to let the unclean stand for the clean; but to make the unclean clean.[10]
It is important when we are discussing the new covenant that we maintain our theological equilibrium. In recent days many castigate the law as if it were the brainchild of Lucifer. Have we so quickly forgotten David’s words, “Thy law is my delight?” (Psalm 119:77). “More desirable than gold” he tells us, “Sweeter also than honey.” Let us recall Moses’ words, “So the Lord commanded us to observe all these statutes, to fear the Lord our God for our good always and for our survival…” (Deut. 6:24).
When the Bible talks about an imperfect law and replacement of the old system, it refers to Ceremonial Law, not the Moral Law. Those who fail to make a distinction here will develop serious difficulties in their lives as well as their theology.
This is a most important question if we are ever to fully understand the inner workings of Jesus' atoning death. If it were anyone else's death the question might seem academic. In this case, however, the implications are far too demanding. What other death, for instance, has been remembered with such passion for so long? Martyr's deaths, though perhaps remembered for a time, are prone to fade into the din and expediency of contemporary living. But Jesus was no mere martyr; for while a martyr dies to support a cause, the death of Christ began a movement that has swept the earth. And while it goes without saying that the blood of martyrs incites and inspires, and is even the seed of the church, who will be so brash as to claim it can forgive men's sins?
What killed Jesus? If the Bible is taken as a reliable source, it was clearly something other than crucifixion. While this declaration is sure to trigger scoffing among casual inquirers, those who take the time to explore will discover the evidence is solid. If, for example, crucifixion is accepted as the cause of death, it follows that Jesus was murdered; and murder is simply not consistent with scriptural revelation. Murder is the taking of a life, and Jesus' life was never taken from him. It was, quite to the contrary, willingly given or, in biblical terminology, "laid down." Jesus made this point abundantly clear so that there would be no misunderstanding.
For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down my life that I may take it again. No one has taken it away from Me but I lay it down on My own initiative... —John 10:17-18 (NASB)
The two questions concerning the death of Christ upon which most theologians are fairly well agreed encompass where he died, and when he died. Few will dispute the fact that Jesus' final physical demise took place while he was suspended from a Roman cross. There is likewise little controversy over the matter of his unusually rapid death. Although Pilate was initially startled by the news of Jesus' early death, he settled the situation by summoning eye-witness verification.
And Pilate wondered if He was dead by this time, and summoning the centurion, he questioned him as to whether He was already dead. —Mark 15:44 (NASB)
The real issue in question is how Jesus died. Here both medical and theological authorities offer varied explanations. While some appear plausible enough, others are weighted with speculation. Disagreement, present not only within the respective disciplines, but between them as well, has at times been difficult to sort. However, in keeping with modern scientific trend, medical "experts" seem to have usurped the last word with increasing consistency by virtue of the sanctity of their empirically verifiable evidence. All theological theories must these days run the scientific gauntlet in order to earn their credibility.
It was unquestionably a fortuitous moment for Christendom when that spear was so precisely thrust into Christ's defenseless side. Although it is doubtful that any of Calvary's speculators, sympathetic or otherwise, paused to interpret the subsequent flow, today in retrospect when the
account is read from John's gospel one gets the distinct impression from his almost impassioned emphasis that it is a clue which will in time bear some noteworthy significance.
But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately there came out blood and water. And he who has seen has borne witness, and his witness is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. —John 19:34-35 (NASB)
With one fateful blow the anonymous legionnaire opened a channel for physician and theologian alike to gaze into the Saviour's heart. For Christians, it merely substantiates what they have intuitively known all along. As for medical men, they shall have their mini-autopsy.
As the initial phase of God's marvelous plan to reveal Himself to man drew to a close, He raised up a special man. He was called a forerunner to further stimulate man's anticipation of a stunning climax. This remarkable event took place, of course, when:
the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us…. John bore witness of Him, and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, 'He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me."' —John 1:14-15 (NASB)
This was also the Man of whom the prophet Isaiah wrote:
He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face. He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried… —Isaiah 53:2-4 (NASB)
He was the humble Servant who came to earth to identify with our situation; the one John recognized from the beginning as The Sin Bearer.
The next day he saw Jesus coming to him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" —John 1:29 (NASB)
As the drama unfolds, we begin to understand the significance of Isaiah's words: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows…” What an ignominious scenario!
In the beginning was the Word (Jesus), and the Word was with God and the Word was God.
He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him.
He came to his own (Greek-his own things, possessions, domain), and those who were His own did not receive Him. —John 1:1,10-11 (NASB)
As Jesus moved about the people He knew so well it hurt that they didn't know Him. Christ treasured God's original design for man in His heart and mind, for, though in human flesh, He was as Paul reminds us "the exact representation of His (God's) nature." From the multiple marriages of the woman of Samaria, to the deceit in Jerusalem's marketplace, to the rotting flesh of Lazarus, the unnatural perversions of sin must have begun to weigh on the soul of The Sin Bearer.
And when evening had come, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill; in order that… (it) might be fulfilled, "He Himself took our infirmities, and carried away our diseases." —Matthew 8:16-17 (NASB)
And they brought to Him one who was deaf and spoke with difficulty… and looking up to heaven with a deep sigh, He said to him, "Ephphatha!" that is, "Be opened!" —Mark 7:32,34 (NASB)
When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews who came with her, also weeping, He was deeply moved in spirit, and was troubled, and said, "Where have you laid him?" They said to Him, Lord, come and see." Jesus wept. —John 11:33-35 (NASB)
And he sighed deeply in his spirit and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation. —Mark 8:12
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! —Matthew 23:37
And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. —Luke 19:41
Although it has been many years since grief was openly recognized as a cause of death, a growing number of physicians are once again giving attention to the relationship between various sociopsychological factors and heart disease. Dr. James J. Lynch in his highly acclaimed book, The Broken Heart, states, "Stress, pain, anxiety, fear, and rage sometimes appear in indexes of textbooks on the heart, but never love." And yet, "In a surprising number of cases of premature coronary heart disease and premature death, interpersonal unhappiness, the lack of love, and human loneliness seem to appear as root causes of the physical problems … We have learned that human beings have varied, and at times profound, effects on the cardiac systems of other human beings." Lynch goes on to say, "Loneliness and grief often overwhelm bereaved individuals and the toll taken on the heart can be clearly seen. As the mortality statistics indicate, this is no myth or romantic fairy tale—all available evidence suggests that people do indeed die of broken hearts."[11] Grief researcher Colin Parkes notes in his book, Bereavement, that in seventy-five percent of the cases studied, the cause of death in bereaved individuals was coronary thrombosis or arteriosclerosis.[12]
Dr. Arthur Brown of the University of Texas has been involved in extensive research on nervous and ionic factors in sudden cardiac death. His findings, acknowledged in more than sixty publications, also strongly suggest a significant relationship between emotional stress and heart disease. Another endorsement of the sociopsychological link to heart disease comes from Dr. C. David Jenkins, who, after reviewing some of the psychological and social precursors of coronary heart disease, stated in the New England Journal of Medicine, "A broad array of recent studies … point with ever increasing certainty to the position that certain psychological, social and behavior conditions do put persons at a higher risk of clinically manifest coronary disease."[13]
It has been said that grief is proportional to intimacy. The greater degree of knowledgeable love one has toward another, the greater one's potential for being hurt. This is no profound revelation; it is something a great many of us have personally experienced. Hurt or grief, while rare in casual relationships, is often manifest in intimate encounters. Dr. George Engel of the Rochester University Medical School, in a carefully controlled six-year study in which he reconstructed the backgrounds of 170 sudden deaths, was able to document that in a great majority of the cases some type of interpersonal loss preceded the deaths.[14] The high coincidence of grief and loss that surrounded many of the deaths noted by Dr. Engel is striking. Further laboratory experiments involving various cardiac responses in animals to loss and affection, as well as clinical studies in psychiatric wards and hospital shock-trauma and coronary care units, all suggest the human heart is profoundly and sometimes mortally affected by human emotions.
Jesus took it all in—identifying with the sin and sorrow of humankind. Finally the load He was carrying accumulated to the point that He took the disciples aside and said:
Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and all things which are written through the prophets about the Son of Man will be accomplished. —Luke 18:31 (NASB)
And lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, "Father, the hour has come. John 17:1
His time was at hand. How did He know? I believe His knowledge came from deep within, perhaps regulated by the pressure upon His heart. And it was this inner knowledge which told Him His heart was at the straining point. He would soon undergo, as the French physician Pierre Barbet describes,
An appalling mental agony, produced by the foreknowledge of His physical Passion, and the knowledge of all the sins of men, the burden of which He was Himself assuming for their redemption. He Himself had said to the Apostles: 'My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death.' Such deep distress can bring on a phenomenon which is known to medical men. This phenomenon, which is also extremely rare, is provoked by some great mental disturbance, following on deep emotion or great fear.[15]
This phenomenon to which the doctor refers is, of course, the sweating of blood in the Garden of Gethsemane. Jesus recognized within Himself that He was soon to face that moment for which He had come into the world. This was the moment of truth, the moment of destiny. The climax to which all of God's prophets, covenants and forerunners had led was now ready to unfold its awesome drama on Calvary.
As Jesus took the sins of the whole world deep into his heart and mind, the anguish of His soul reached unbearable proportions when, for the first time in eternity, there was a breach in the fellowship of the Trinity. We hear the lonely wail of One who recognized the full terror of sin.
And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" which is translated, My God, My God, why hast thou forsaken Me? Mark 15:34
Finally the increasing weight of our sin could be borne no longer and Jesus, who had identified so long with us, died of grief with a broken, heavy heart!
And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness… —1 Peter 2:24
As a result of the anguish of His Soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death… —Isaiah 53:11-12
Much of the excruciating agony connected with crucifixion centered on the victim's incessant quest for air. Initially when the nails were pounded into the extremities, the victim was laid out, arms extended, at a 90 degree angle parallel to the crossbeam. But as the cross and its pendent flesh were hoisted into an upright position, the arms with the weight of the entire body dragging on them sagged to approximately 65 degrees. Shortly thereafter the muscles started to contract violently. The cramps began in the forearm and spread to the upper arm and shoulders before moving rapidly into the lower limbs and trunk. Soon the spasms which caused the fingers and toes to curl inward were generalized in a state of tetany. The stomach muscles tightened to form a hollow beneath the grotesquely distended ribcage. The lungs filled with air, but due to the contraction of the expiratory muscles, were unable to expel it. Asphyxiation then began.
The only way to remedy the situation and stave off death was to relieve the drag on the hands and arms which, in Jesus' case, has been estimated to have been nearly 240 pounds per hand. Using the nail through his feet as a fulcrum, the victim was, with considerable effort, able to raise himself to an upright position. This maneuver relaxed the effects of the tetanization in the muscles (at least some of them),unloaded the air trapped in the lungs and avoided asphyxiation. The relief, however, was only temporary and within moments, the victim sunk inevitably into a state of tetanization. This macabre struggle continued until exhaustion prevented the victim from escaping asphyxiation and finally ushered him to death's door.
The Jews had a great dread about the overnight presence of corpses, and this was a particular worry on the eve of the passover. Since few, if any, at the time recognized Jesus as the Paschal Lamb, his presence, along with that of his two fellow victims, was construed in the Holy City as an unclean, not to mention unsightly, nuisance. Accordingly, Jerusalem's rule-keeping power-brokers approached Pilate with the request, as John records, "That their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away" (John 19:31). The breaking of the legs effectively hastened death in that it prevented the victim from pushing up for air. Once this occurred, asphyxiation quickly claimed the unfortunate souls. It was an unpleasant end to an agonizing process.
Ill intent notwithstanding, the snapping of Jesus' bones simply wasn't to be. When the soldiers arrived to end it all, they discovered, probably much to their chagrin, that Jesus had already expired. One legionnaire, frustrated that the fun had ended prematurely, and in order to leave an official insignia of death, thrust his lance into Jesus' side as a parting coup de grace. Out of the wound, as John's gospel records, flowed "blood and water."
As has already been mentioned, crucifixion was a slow, lingering death that could, in some cases, take a strongman several days to die. Thus, when after only a matter of hours the body of Jesus was requested from Pilate, the Roman governor marveled that Jesus had died so quickly.
He did not die of crucifixion, but rather from the internal agony of His soul. Crucifixion merely facilitated his death. No man took the life of Jesus. He died as a result of a voluntary identification, the sin of the world crushing out His life.*
During a time in Israel's history when the hills surrounding Jerusalem had become a virtual forest of crosses, even the hardened and calloused Roman executioner recognized that he had never seen a man die like this before.
And Jesus uttered a loud cry, and breathed His last… and when the centurion, who was standing right in front of Him, saw the way He breathed his last, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God!" —Mark 15:37,39 (NASB)
And, as the holy Day of Atonement, the sacrifice had a profound impact on the beholders.
And all the people that came together to that sight, beholding the things which were done, smote their breasts, and returned. —Luke 23:48
As Jesus uttered these memorable words, the veil to the Holy of Holies was rent from top to bottom, signifying an answer had been found to history's most complex set of problems. Let us look at how the life suffering and death of Jesus fully solved the problems of restoring the broken God-man relationship.
One does not solve an unlovely problem with a lovely solution. That's, like sentencing a convicted murderer to a week's work in a florist shop. It doesn't help him and it certainly devastates society. If all we desire to do is protect society, then full punishment is sufficient. But God wanted more than this. He wanted the protection of society and the reformation of a sinner.
As Jesus with all His rights to dignity and greatness died in such a gruesome manner, the entire spectacle took on overwhelming impact. This was no mere bleating animal, but the man who had claimed deity, substantiating His claim with remarkable miracles and impeccability. The moral force generated by the life and passion of this Lamb proved to be of far greater intensity than the threat of eternal punishment had ever been.
The account of the Greek king, Zaleucus, is a prime analogy of God's remarkable solution on Calvary. His kingdom plagued with chronic adultery, Zaleucus issued an edict that anyone caught in the act would lose their eyesight. The result was a dramatic and immediate halt to the epidemic of infidelity. Then with a tragic twist of irony, the King's son was indicted as the initial violator of the new edict.
After wrestling with the situation, in much the same way as his historical predecessor Darius, the king made his decision. Assembling the people together King Zaleucus, in the audience of his subjects, proceeded to put out one of his son's eyes and then-one of his own. In this act the king was able to uphold his law, reveal conclusively his hatred of evil, and free the son he loved. In that kingdom the sight of a one-eyed king was a far greater moral deterrent than a totally blind son.
In the atonement God revealed Himself to man in the clearest of terms. The Bible tells us that Jesus was an exact representation of God's nature. Jesus states, "He that hath seen Me hath seen the Father… " (John 14:9). The heart of God Himself was lifted up on a cross for the world to behold as He suffered, agonized and finally burst under the weight of man's sins.
It was evidently a new and deeper revelation of the depth of God's love to the host of heavenly beings. This revelation would have been lost had there not been an opportunity for God to pour Himself out in such a manner.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son… —John 3:16
What then does the crucifixion signify in an age like ours? I see it in the first place as a sublime mockery of all earthly authority and power. The crown of thorns, the purple robe, the ironical title, 'King of the Jews were intended to mock or parody Christ's pretentions to be the Messiah; in fact, they rather hold up to ridicule and contempt all crowns, all roses, all kings that ever were… look under the crown and you see the thorns beneath; pull aside the purple robe, and lo! Nakedness; look into the grandiloquent titles and they are seen to be no more substantial than Christ's ribald one of 'King of the Jews' scrawled above His cross… it was the sort of incident-a man dying in that slow public way—which must have generated its own immediate tension in the beholders, even though they were unaware of the nature and magnitude of the stupendous drama being enacted before them. In some vague way they expect something to happen, and so it does…[16]
The power of the cross does not lie in some abstract, ethereal, cosmic transaction but rather in a literal subduing of the rebellious human heart.[17] God's desire was never to suppress rebels, for certainly that would have been easy enough, but to subdue their pride to once again enjoy their fellowship.
The exertion of force, though it results in rapid submission, cannot subdue the heart. Consequently, true fellowship devolves to respect based on fear. God's ultimate goal has never been to save us from hell. He came rather to save us from ourselves—from our sin.
And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call His name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins. —Matthew 1:21
Although it is true that the atonement or substitutionary death of Christ markedly reduces the amount of suffering in the universe, the divine objective was to reveal the true human condition. While it would take a far greater effort to subdue man's heart rather than simply doling out His just deserts, this was the path God chose.
The cross of Jesus Christ thus understood provides an imposing barrier to the individual contemplating sin. To do so he must harden himself against the loving gaze of a suffering Savior as he moves toward each selfish gratification. He must stubbornly ignore the cross as a roadblock, and reject the sacrifice of Jesus.
Jesus was able through his suffering to do what the Old Testament sacrifices never could—provide a lasting, moral force to alter our entire outlook on sin. Perhaps in time the death of an innocent lamb might fade in our minds and be forgotten. But neither heaven nor earth will forget the day God came to earth to wash the feet of His enemies.
While we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son… —Romans 5:10