A Goodly Heritage

When we look at the terms which the biblical writers use to explain the death of Jesus, the meaning and purpose of his death becomes clear. Jesus is said to die as a substitute for the sinner, in whose place, Jesus is said to die. In Mark 10:45, we read, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” In his Epistle to the Ephesians, Paul notes that “Jesus Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:2). In John 10:14-18, Jesus speaks of his death in the following terms: “I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep....the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may 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 I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” Jes...

1. The death of Christ is the last act of his humiliation in which he underwent extreme, horrible, and most acute pain for the sins of men. 2. It was an act of Christ and not a mere matter of enduring because be met and endured it purposely.  John 10:11 , I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep; and 10:18, No man takes it from me, but I lay it down myself. For the same reason it was also voluntary and not compelled. The act arose out of power and not merely out of weakness – out of obedience to his father and love for us, not out of his own guilt or deserving. It was designed to satisfy through victory and not to ruin through surrender. 3. It contained the greatest punishment because it equaled all the misery which the sins of men deserved. Therefore, there is an abundance of words and phrases describing this death in the Scriptures. For it is not simply called a death but a cutting off, a casting away, a treading under feet, a curse, a heap...