CRUCIFIED, DEAD AND BURIED”

 

 

Before Adam  and Eve left Eden, God gave a promise of mankind’s deliverer.  Amazing example of prophetic writing.

 

We don’t  know how much Satan understood but he knew enough to try to thwart  that prophecy, first with the death of Abel (a twin?) and then attacking Christ’s ancestry – the Jews – spiritually and with attempts  at genocide – Pharaoh, Haman, Herod.  He tempted Christ when He came.  By then Satan seemed to have some idea that  the cross was essential to God’s purposes, and tried to bring about Christ’s death – several times.  When Jesus pursued the purpose of God’s will Satan entered into Judas – his great mistake.  In Gethsemane Satan brought pressures on Jesus who nearly died there but  was delivered.  The powers of evil began to see that no cross meant no redemption.

 

But the purpose of God and of  Jesus was irreversible.  Jesus prayed  in Gethsemane  that  that cup would not be taken away from Him, saying  Himself that he was stricken ‘unto death’. God answered, and saved Him there from dying by sickness. He certainly did not pray  that the cup of Calvary suffering would be taken away.  He had asserted so often  that that was what He had come for,  (See below)

 

The NT presents the teaching of the cross from many angles. In  theology scholars have taken up one angle or another to describe and understand what really happened at Calvary.  (See below)  My own lifetime contemplation and study shows me clearly  that the Cross established our salvation but we do not know fully how. It is a mystery and wonder because it leads into the heart and being of God.  Like all such mysteries – creation itself and all miracles – it is beyond human cognisance and observation.

 

Roman executions were carried out according to rank and varied in style. Roman citizens were beheaded. Top rank Romans found guilty of crime had to kill themselves. Some executions were by fighting for their lives in the arena against one another or against wild beasts. Christians were subjected to special cruelties by fire too harrowing to mention. Thieves, rebels and sometimes foreign prisoners were crucified which was a spectacle for ghoulish mobs enjoyed bating the sufferers devoid of all human feeling.

 

Victims of crucifixion did not die quickly – that was the idea of it. They could survive roasted by the eastern sun by day, and exposed at night to icy winds.  Actually they lost little blood on the cross. Most blood was by the scourging. Jesus’ blood the same and post-decease from His pleural sac when speared by the Roman officer. He did not die with loss of blood and had blood in his veins, judging by normal examples.  But His blood was spilled for us, a symbol of His death. Journalist, Author, Editor  

 

THE MYSTERY OF HIS DEATH.

 

The Gospels give important attention to Christ’s death scene. There are six words from the cross, but his actually decease is pinpointed. It was nothing like the usual death of a crucified man.

 

Mainly He died before they expected it. The thieves crucified  at the same time as Christ had to be killed. They came to kill Jesus but he had gone after only 6 hours.  He had said this kind of thing to the disciples. That He would l give His life Himself. “I lay down my life and take it up again. No one takes it from me,  but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again.” John 10.17/18.   His last walk to Jerusalem amazed everyone walking with Him – he led the crowd with hurried steps. Mark 10:32-34. They saw His death was at Jerusalem as inevitable but He strode before them eagerly to ‘his hour’. 

 

The cross did not kill him. There is ambiguity here – a paradox. The characters of Pilate, Caiaphas, Judas and the mob are held responsible for slaying  Him, Peter preaching said the Jews had put him to death by nailing him to the cross Acts 2.23 but it was by the predetermination of God. Isaiah 53 says “He has put Him to grief” and the whole chapter declares that His sufferings were laid on Him from God. He said “ I have a baptism to undergo and how distressed I am until it is completed.” Luke 12:50. He was dominated by one imperative “I must.” Jn 12:27 “For this very reason I came  to this hour”.

 

 The meaning of His death was objective, not subjective. It was not the effect it had on us, but its effect of God: “God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself”. The cross was not move us to repentance, but was the only means by which God could save us.

 

My own search throughout my ministry is to know how the death of Christ saves us.  We know it does, but how?  Leading theologians have given us their theories some very peculiar. Luther said God allowed Satan to get the better hand and then tricked him by raising Christ from the dead! I myself have put together a theory of the cross. Other theories relate to a commercial or moral ‘deal’  transaction. The best was by Dr. W of the Birmingham Congregational church about a century ago, but still an effort balanced on traditional interpretations.

 

My theory begins with God’s bearing our sins through all history and it becoming evident in the garden and then in physical form in Him at the Cross physically.  He suffered for ALL.  Sin was real and He suffered for it real. However  I will not go further into that. 

 

The Catholic attitude has stressed Christ on the cross as pitiable. To sorrow  with Him. Jesus always weak – a baby, or dead in His mother’s arms like La Pieta that marvellous marble work in the Vatican.  Monks would stare at a picture or skull for days to share Christ’s sufferings.  Just as in the Philippines devotees actually are crucified briefly –  their suffering with Christ saves them  - they think. They have lost the idea of Christ suffering for them to save them. Our salvation was more that spiritual – it cost pain, heartbreak, tears, blood.  

 

The worst theory is that of JDS – Jesus died spiritually. It began with Kenyon and then Kenneth Hagan and his pupil Ken Copeland and also Benny Hinn have also taught it. Benny wears his own theology like a suit he made himself.

I have disagreed with him – he knows me.

 

JDS says that Satan took Christ’s life and carried His spirit to hell where he was tormented as a captive and bore our sins suffering in hell. Then God rescued Him raising  Him from the dead.

 

But Scripture says  that “He bore our sins in his own body on the tree”. 1 Pt 2:24.  The moment of the cross was the fulfilment of the Divine plan of salvation. We are redeemed by His precious blood. In fact there is no such place as hell as  the abode of the devil or the demons, for he is the prince of the power of the air.

 

I note that stress is laid in the Gospels on the fact that Jesus did die. We read that the Jews wanted to be sure no corpses were left hanging over the special Sabbath. They killed the two thieves and then found Jesus was already dead.  This surprised them and also Pilate himself wanted to be sure, so they pierced him with a spear.  Unless death was certain Joseph of Arimathea could not have been given possession of the body. John 19.

 

Jesus came to destroy death. To do so He had to grapple with that foe. He avoided attempts on His life several times. Quite mysteriously he slipped out of danger because ‘His hour had not come’.  He went to the cross purposely to confront Satan and death and deal with it.  We all avoid death.  He pursued death. He was not weak pushed around by evil forces but in fact drove death  to the Calvary – cornered death, by His obedience to God, cornered death, and on the cross tasted death for all men. He strangled the ‘life’ out of it.  

 

The Roman officers heard him die. Usually dying men make no noise. They never shout! They usually pass away peacefully. It must have shocked the soldiery to hear this man shouting on the cross – literally shouting out declaring His own death!  It was uncanny.  His last word was a roar, as if He had triumphed. “It is finished”. (Greek ‘tetelestai’). Nobody had ever died like that before.  What had finished? His work of salvation, obedience to God and giving His life.

 

Salvation was not worked out in heaven but on earth. It was real – a matter of hate, love, suffering, blood. 

 

It is not just  the fact that the authorities carried out His slaying but that He was in control from the start. It was a Divine plan to save us in place since the foundation of the earth. It was part of the creation plan. Creation was built on this central rock. 

 

Here  are the Gospel accounts of His last moments:

 

Matthew 27.50-54\; “Jesus cried with a loud voice  … then Jesus cried out again in a loud voice and He gave up his spirit. When  the centurion and those  with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that happened  they were terrified and exclaimed “Surely he was the Son of God”.

     The Greek word is that Jesus cried out with a MEGA voice, and ‘released’ (apheken) His Spirit.  It is more a warrior roar as at the tomb of Lazarus, where the word suggests a noise like a snorting horse in battle.  He shouted twice.  The NIV reduces it to ‘gave up’ His Spirit.  This is incorrect as if He was giving up, surrendering.  He did not give up, but in absolute control released His Spirit.

  

Mark: 15:37. “With a loud cry Jesus breathed his last. (Literally expired.) The curtain of the temple was torn from to bottom, and when the centurion who stood in front of Jesus, heard his cry and saw how he died, he said ‘Surely this man was the Son of God.’  Christ’s robust dying shout convinced this soldier.

 

Luke: 23:44. “The  curtain of the temple was torn in  two. Jesus called out with a loud voice. ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit’  When He had said this He breathed His last. (Expired)   The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God (literal Greek ‘glorified God’ and said ‘Surely  this was a righteous man.”

 

John: 19:30.  When he had received the drink, Jesus said ‘It is finished”. With that He bowed His head, and gave up His Spirit”.

     The word it is finished is “tetelestai”  (Greek perfect tense ‘‘It has been finished’.)  This cry could sometimes be heard in the arena when a gladiator got the better of an opponent. He would shout ‘It is finished’ and ask the crowd whether to administer the final death blow.  Christ had conquered and when He had finished He said so and surrendered  to God.

 

“Buried”.  The creed says that because only dead people are buried. It was an open fact nobody could challenge – and it answers those today who say Christ recovered and walked out of the tomb.  When Peter preached 50 days later and declared Christ was risen, anybody could have taken a short walk to the tomb to see if it was so.  Nobody went. It was established.  The tomb was empty.

 

      There has been many explanations of Christ three days in the tomb. Perhaps that should be.  But Scripture uses similar language to us when we say “ Two or three”, or “a dozen or score”.  A short period is always  “three days” and a longer period “forty days and nights”.  Why was Jesus there for a length of time?  To show He was really dead. He could have risen at once,  but that was impractical.

 

     The authorities had no doubt He was dead. They put a seal on the tomb. The Jews wanted to make sure His body was not stolen.

 

 

(Note.   For what Christ did or what happened during 3 days He was in the tomb,  please see notes on ‘hell’

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George Canty 2009.