The Death of Christ (2)

But we've been talking for the last week or so, actually I guess we started last week talking about the death of Christ in this series of studies on what the Bible teaches about Christ. And last week we talked about some of the various interpretations of Christ's death, how people have seen that and explained it over the years. And we saw that many of those are inadequate really to explain the death of Christ. The one that the Bible really teaches is the substitutionary satisfaction view of the death of Christ. That Christ was a substitute for the sinner's sins and Christ satisfied the holy demands of a righteous God. And we'll see more of that as we go along. We talked about the importance of Christ's death. And we gave eight reasons why it is vitally important. First of all it is the central theme of Scripture. Then we saw that it is the first truth in apostolic preaching. It is the heart of the church's ordinances. It is the guarantee of every spiritual blessing that we have in Christ. It is the foundation of all Christian living, Roman 6. Every part of our life in Christ and our victory over sin is rooted in our identification with Christ and his death and burial and resurrection. And then it is the object of interest to those in heaven. We saw that Old Testament saints were obviously very interested in the death of Christ knowing that that would have to be accomplished for their sins to be fully cared for. Moses and Elijah talked with Jesus about his death on the amount of transfiguration. And then we saw the angels have a unique interest in the death of Christ as well. So it is the object of interest in heaven. It is the song of the redeemed in heaven and it will be remembered throughout eternity. For those eight reasons it is vitally important. It is the central truth of our faith. Now where we are going to pick up tonight is the necessity for Christ's death. Why was Christ's death needed? What was the necessity? What was the imperative behind Christ's death? We are going to begin in Matthew chapter 16 verse 21. So if you have your Bibles open there, if you have already looked at your outline, you know that is where we are. Matthew 16 verse 21. At a critical juncture in Jesus' ministry as it begins to make his way toward Jerusalem, he says, or verse 21 says of him, from that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Notice the use of the word must, twice in that verse. He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. The word from the original language that the New Testament was written in that is translated by our English word must is the strongest possible word that Matthew could have used. It actually means something that is binding, something that is absolutely necessary, that cannot be escaped. So it highlights the word day, does it highlights the necessity of Christ's death. Now this is a necessity that is voluntarily self-imposed. I think that is very important to see. There is no necessity forced upon Christ by determinism, fate, circumstances, anything like that. It was not that he was caught in a bad situation or in a series of circumstances that he could not avoid and so that necessitated his death. That is not it at all. The necessity is self-imposed. The necessity for Christ's death is voluntary. Now one passage that we have been looking at recently on Sunday mornings in John chapter 10 highlights this very clearly, John 10 verse 14. I am the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the father knows me and I know the father. And I lay down my life for the sheep. I have other sheep that are not of this sheep in. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice. There will be one flock and one shepherd. The reason my father loves me is I lay down my life. Second time he said that lay down my life only to take it up again. And now here's the clinching verse verse 18. 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. This command I received from my father. It was all part of the father's plan to provide for our redemption. But Jesus voluntarily laid down his life. The necessity of Christ's death is not because he's put in a bad situation that he can't get out of. It is self-imposed. He himself voluntarily lays down his life. There's another passage that I want you to look at. Ephesians chapter 5. Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 2. That describes the same thing but in a different way. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 2. Let's pick up the flow of thought in verse 1. Follow God's example, therefore, as dearly loved children and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. Some translations just say he gave himself. But I like the fact that the iniv says he gave himself up. Now, that giving himself up literally means to deliver himself over. It's not talking about the fact that he just gave himself to die and was lifted up on the cross. The up is not being lifted up on the cross. The giving oneself up literally is surrendering yourself. It actually is the same word that used of Judas' betrayal of Christ. Judas gave him up, gave him over to the ones who had come to arresting the temple guard. So the idea is that Jesus turns himself in, in a sense. He surrenders. He voluntarily lays down his life. Giving himself up, giving himself over for our salvation is the idea. So Christ declared that he must die. And when Christ declares that he must die in Matthew 1621, then that's what he's talking about. He's not talking about an imperative placed on him from outside. This is a voluntarily internal self-motivated giving himself over, giving himself up for our sins. So he declares that he must die and that's the necessity. Okay, any question or comment before we move on to some of the reasons why it was necessary for Christ to die? Comment, question. Okay, four reasons at least for the necessity of his death. The first reason is to accomplish his own eternal purpose. Look if you will at John chapter 12, John chapter 12 and verse 27. Jesus is talking about his death, which is just a short time away in John 12 and verse 27. He says, now my soul is troubled. And what shall I say? Father, save me from this hour? No. It was for this very reason I came to this hour. You see, Jesus knows that this hour, this appointed time, has been set through eternity past, predetermined in the plan of God. And there's a particular time, a set time, an hour, which John uses that phrase a lot in his gospel. This hour, this opportune and particular time of Christ's death, and Jesus, when he's ready to approach that hour, yes, his soul is troubled. But he knows that he will not ask to be saved from that hour because that's the very reason he came to this hour. The very reason was that it was appointed. It was God's eternal purpose was to accomplish our salvation. 1 Peter 1, 1 Peter 1, verses 19 and 20 say the same thing. Verse 18 says, where you know that it was not with perishable things, such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life, handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. Now look at verse 20. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. So the plan of redemption, which involved the death of Christ and the establishing of that as being the means of our salvation, was part of the eternal purpose of God. Christ was chosen for this work. This plan was set before the foundation, before the creation of the world. And all this has unfolded. It's been revealed to us. Peter says in these last times, but this is part of the eternal purpose of God. So one of the reasons for the necessity of Christ's death is this was determined before the creation of the world. This is part of the eternal plan of God that this would happen. And so that places necessity that this event will take place in Jesus willingly, voluntarily carries it out. Okay, comments, questions there. Okay, reason number one then to accomplish his eternal, his own eternal purpose. The second reason for the necessity of Christ's death was to obey the will of the Father. Remember Jesus came in submission to the will of the Father. And a part of that was his obedience when it came to this plan that had been set in eternity past. The Garden of Gethsemane is a beautiful example of this submission and this obedience to the will of the Father because Jesus in his humanity as he faces the cross. And not only the physical suffering, I don't think that's really what Jesus is dealing with in Gethsemane. I think he's dealing with the agony of knowing that he's going to be separated from his Father. Notice his prayer, you're familiar with this. Then Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, Matthew 26, verses 36 to 38. And he said to them, sit here while I go over there and pray. He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him. He began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, my soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me. Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, my Father, if it is possible, may this cut be taken from me, yet not as I will, but as you will. Now, Jesus was not necessarily afraid of death, although he had the normal human anxiety that would come with facing death knowing what he was going to face. But what he's talking about here is this thing called the cup. That's what he's agonizing over. And I believe the cup, given the Old Testament background, especially in the book of Psalms, where you often find the cup of God's wrath being poured out. It's an imagery that indicates the wrath of God being poured out. We have in the book of Revelation, in the tribulation, seven bold judgments, God's wrath being poured out upon the earth. So the imagery here is of the wrath of God. And I believe that's what Jesus is talking about. If this cup be taken from me, if it's possible, if there's some way to take care of it, if it's possible. Take care of the sins of people without me being separated from you. But he knows that's not possible. And so, in the very same breath, he says, yet not as I will, but as you will. And then he praised that on two more occasions through verse 44. He says, in verse 42, for instance, my father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away, unless I drink it, may your will be done. So there's this absolute obedience and submission to the will of the Father to be willing to be separated from him in order for our sins to be paid for. A couple of other passages will just note them. Philippians 2.8, he became obedient to death, even the death of the cross. So that obedience is highlighted there. Hebrews 10.7 says, Jesus, part of what he was thinking and saying is, he came, is low. I come and the book of his written, to do thy will, oh God. And so he has come to do God's will. And part of that will and purpose is his death. So the necessity for Christ's death, one reason, to accomplish God's eternal purpose and his own eternal purpose, but also to be obedient to the Father. It is the Father's provision of Christ for our salvation, which is in his plan, and Christ is willing to be obedient to that. Okay, comments there. Questions? It's just neat to see all the connections and all the different books that, whether it's Old Testament and New Testament, how you see it all fit together. I mean, we talk about evidence of different things, starting in it so many times. You know, and sometimes you just read over one book and walk over that, and then look at the book with the same predictions, telling the same, basically the same thing. Yeah. It's just kind of neat to see it all put together. I think it's one of the most fascinating parts of Bible study, what John has talked about, how everything fits together in the Bible. There are these strands from here and there that all come together. And certainly, as we talked about earlier, Jesus's death is the central theme of Scripture anticipated from the Garden of Eden, actually from eternity past, but in the record of Scripture from the Garden of Eden, right on through everything points toward it, everything looks back to it, and it all ties together in the sacrifice of Christ. It is fascinating. Okay. John has actually anticipated our next reason, so we'll jump into that. Good job, John. Anything else before we jump to that? Okay. One of the reasons for the necessity of Christ's death number three is to fulfill prophecy, and here's where we find everything tying together, and Jesus makes sure that we understand that in Matthew 26, verses 52 to 54. This is in the Garden of Gethsemane as Jesus is arrested. Remember Peter reached for his sword, verse 51, drew it out, struck the servant of the high priest cutting off his ear. And notice what Jesus says in verse 52, put your sword back in its place, Jesus said to him, for all who draw the sword will die by the sword. Do you think I cannot call on my father, and he will at once put it my disposal, more than 12 legions of angels? Okay. Peter, think about this. You're one guy. You're up against 600 Roman soldiers, temple guards, that was a cohort. 600 guys out here, and you're one guy, and you're hacking away with your sword. Come on, Peter, put your sword up. Don't you think I could call to my father, and he would not give me 12 legions of angels? How many soldiers in a Roman legion, you remember? 6,000, exactly. 72,000 soldiers. Yeah, 72,000 soldiers. You've heard the song, right? He could have called 10,000 angels. That's wrong. He could have called 72,000 angels. It doesn't really fit with the rhyme, you know, I guess, but he could have called 72,000 is what the scriptures say. So Jesus is saying, Peter, I don't need your help. There are 72,000 angels just gazing over the precipice that heaven waiting for my call. I've got plenty of help, but notice what he says next. But how then would the scriptures be fulfilled that say it must happen in this way? Why is Jesus doing this? Why is this death such a necessity to fulfill prophecy, to fulfill scripture? He could have had plenty of help in getting out of this. The Romans could not have taken him if he had uttered one word, help. 72,000 angels come rushing in. But how would the scriptures then be fulfilled? You see, that was very much on Jesus' mind, fulfillment of prophecy. And it was also on his mind after his resurrection. You remember that wonderful Bible teaching session in Luke 24? You remember that when Jesus is on the day of his resurrection, the very evening of his resurrection is walking. These two disciples who have been in Jerusalem have finally given up hope and they're going back home to a mess. And they're downcast and discouraged and all of a sudden a stranger kind of pulls up the side and starts walking. And they don't know who it is. It's Jesus. You're familiar with the story. It's absolutely fascinating. But listen to what Jesus says in verse 24 of Luke 24. He said to them, this is what I told you while I was still with you, everything must be fulfilled. That is written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the Psalms. In other words, three categories of the Old Testament. The whole Old Testament wrote about this. And I'm telling you, Jesus is saying to them, and this is after their... After he's already left the two and he's in the upper room with the disciples. Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. He told them, this is what is written. The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. And then he goes on to tell them what they will be doing and preaching that to the nations. But he said, I tried to tell you this during my ministry that all these Old Testament prophecies have to be fulfilled. And so I'm going to now open your minds to understand the Scriptures. This is what the Scriptures were saying, Old Testament. The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day. So his death is prophesied many times and pictured in many ways in the Old Testament. And so Jesus is saying to fulfill prophecy. It is necessary to fulfill prophecy, to fulfill Testament Scripture. Okay, that's third reason. Any commoner question there before we move to the fourth one. All right, the fourth reason for the necessity of Christ's death is to give eternal life to sinful men, to sinful people. John 3 verses 14 and 16, and notice the expression of necessity. This is the only way this is going to happen. John 3, 14, just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the son of man must be lifted up that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him, shall not perish but have eternal life. Just like Moses lifted up the serpent that was a necessity for the people of Israel to be healed, that was God's command. Just in the same way must the son of man be lifted up so that those who believe in having eternal life. And then John 12, 24, Jesus pictures it this way with an agricultural metaphor. Verse 23, Jesus replied, the hour has come for the son of man to be glorified. Very truly, I tell you, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. In other words, what's the picture telling us? Help me out here. What is the picture telling us? One life for many. One life for many, exactly. You get a seed and you take it home, put it on your shelf, and it's going to sit there. It has no life in it. But you put it in the ground and it gets a little moisture and it produces many seeds. So much life comes from one life that dies and is buried. And Jesus is using that to illustrate his own death that, you know, if the seed dies, it produces many seeds. And the only way we can live, the only way he can produce that spiritual harvest is if he dies. He is the seed that has to die and be placed in the ground from his death comes life. So to give eternal life to sinful people is another reason. So that's the necessity for Christ's death. It's not a necessity imposed from without. It is voluntary. It is part of the eternal plan and purpose of God. It is foretold and Old Testament prophecy. Jesus comes willingly to obey the will of the Father and to lay his life in the ground so that we might have life. That's all God's purpose and plan. It's all a part of his plan. Okay? Comments or questions there before we move to a different topic. The necessity for Christ's death. Okay, we're going to take a few minutes now to look at the nature of his death, the nature of his death. Just what is death? Just what is death and did Christ die a true death? Now the reason why it's so important to establish this from scriptures is because there are those who tinker with the death of Christ and try to separate his humanity from his deity at the cross and say that either Jesus, you know, he was not fully God, this God-like creature being came on him and in him during his ministry and left before he died. There are other ways that people deal with the nature of his death to kind of take away the fact that it was a real death. He was experiencing real death. So let's back up a few steps and let's define death what death is and then we'll see how the scriptures describe the death of Christ. So was it really a death in the terms that we think of death? What is the key concept in death? What happens at death that really defines what death is? What is it? Separation. Separation. Exactly. That is the key concept. Death is separation. That is the key word. And whenever you talk about death and there are three kinds of death in the New Testament, but all of them had to do with separation. All of them. So let's take a look at the two most prominent. There is first of all spiritual death and that is separation from God. Spiritual death is separation from God. If you passage us to highlight that, remember in the Garden of Eden what God told Adam, if he ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, he said in Genesis 2.17, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. For when you eat from it, you will certainly die. Now what did Jesus or what did God mean by that? What did he mean when he said you will die? What kind of death is he talking about? Spiritual. Anything else? Ultimately physical? Yeah. He is talking about both, isn't he? He is talking about physical death and that is what we most often think about when we think about what happened in the Garden because Adam would have lived forever if he hadn't sinned because when he sins, he is going to die. Now he did not die that day, did he? But he began the process of physical death that day he began to age and everything else began to suffer the effects of God's curse of condemnation because of sin. But there is more than just physical death here, there is spiritual death. Death is separation from God. Now Adam is going to ultimately, as Kishti said, ultimately, die physically. His spirit was not separated from his body that day so he did not die physically that day, although the process began. But he did die spiritually. He was separated from God. How do we know that? What happens next? Chapter 3. What happens? He hides from God, doesn't he? God comes down the cool today, evidently this is a pattern of fellowship that he enjoys with mankind, with Adam and Eve and Adam's hiding behind a bush somewhere. And he is evidencing his fear because of his sin, his recognition that something is broken now between him and God, he hides. So God seeks him out, asks him where he is, not to gain information, but to bring a recognition on the part of Adam that he is now separated from God. And then God pronounces the curse on various implications of that. But then what happens? What does God do to Adam and Eve? Kicks him out of the garden, doesn't he? That place of he had created for them, that place of he had created to be the place of fellowship where he had come down and walked with them. They are excluded from that. And part of the reason for that is if they would not eat of the tree anymore, the tree of life. But there are other reasons for that. It is really symbolic of the fact that they are now separated from God. Their sin has separated them from this place and this opportunity for fellowship with God. But then what happened? There was a sacrifice, wasn't there? And God sacrificed an animal to make them garments to wear and cover up their nakedness. And so all of that, I think, is symbolic. There is very real physical activity going on there. But all of that is symbolic of the fact that man's sin separates from God. God comes seeking us, finds us, convicts us, brings us to himself. And in order to take care of the punishment, he himself provides a sacrifice and a covering for us. It is the story of redemption in chapter 2. But Adam was separated from God by his own sin. One of the greatest statements of this, as you know from the New Testament, is Ephesians chapter 5. Excuse me Ephesians chapter 2. As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins. That is talking about spiritual death, separation from God, spiritual death. And he goes on to talk about the implications of that in the lifestyle of the person who's spiritually dead. So spiritual death is separation from God. Now physical death is what? Separation of body and soul, or the way we're going to put it on the screen, is separation of the spirit from the body. But you could say soul there as well, those two terms, both Old Testament and New Testament are sometimes used interchangeably. That's why I'm a dichotomy rather than a tricotomy. We'll get into that and we'll get into the doctrine of man. We'll deal with that later. But yes, spirit or soul, separation of that from the body is what physical death is all about. A few examples. Genesis 35. Genesis 35 in verses 18 and 19. Rachel is giving birth and she is dying in the process of giving birth. Verse 17 and as she was having great difficulty in childbirth, the midwife said to her, don't despair for you have another son. As she breathed her last for she was dying. As she breathed her last for for the breath to go out of us is is one of the Bible's ways, one of the Bible's ways of describing death to breathe your last for the breath to leave you. By the way, in the Old Testament, the word for breath is the same word as the word for spirit. Same Hebrew word, ruak. It's breath or spirit or wind. So the idea is that the spirit leaves you breathe out your last, your spirit leaves your body. That's what the Ecclesiastes 12.7 says. Clesiastes 12.7 says the dust returns to the ground. It came from and the spirit returns to God who gave it. So the spirit leaves the body. Body returns to dust. The spirit leaves. And it goes on to the afterlife to be with the Lord, to meet the Lord. Okay. James 226, remember that passage for as the body without the spirit is dead so faith without works is dead. That's a, you know, like a biblical definition of death. James 226, let me get the right wording here. As the body without the spirit is dead. So faith without deeds is dead. Okay. What is death? It's the body without the spirit. It's the separation of body and spirit in material part on the inside from the material part who you really are on the inside leaves at death. So those are, those are two kinds of death in the Bible. Spiritual death, separation from God. Physical death, separation of the spirit from the body. Now what's the, what's the third kind of death mentioned in the Bible? Trick question. What's the eternal death? Okay. Can be called death. There's another term for it. The second death. It is eternal death. It's called in Revelation 20, the second death. And when you see this, the second death is really an eternal extension of the first one we have up there. A separation from God. It is separation from God in eternity. That's the second death. It's mentioned in Revelation 20. The first six verses are talking about the first resurrection. Those who are involved in the resurrection of believers are considered the first resurrection. And he says in verse six, the second death has no power over them. But notice in verses 11 through 15 we talked about the great white throne judgment where all the unsaved dead are resurrected to appear before God in judgment. And he judges them from the books that he has according to the things they've done. Verse 12. Verse 13 everyone was judged according to what he had done. Verse 14, then death and Hades were thrown to the lake of fire. The second death is the second death because the lake of fire is the final place of punishment for all unsaved people. And so that is an internal extension of spiritual death. So when the Bible talks and so and that's an eternal separation from God is what that is. So when the Bible talks about death, it's talking about separation. Now I want to get to this quickly. I don't want to leave us hanging. Look at Matthew 27. Did Jesus really die a real death? Matthew 27. Verse 46. Verse 45 says from noon until three in the afternoon darkness came over all the land about three in the afternoon. Jesus cried out in a loud voice about three is about the time he's ready to die. Remember the last four sayings on the cross happened boom, boom, boom, boom right in succession right before he died. And this is the first of those four. Ali Ali, Lamas Abakhtani, which means my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? What kind of death is that? Separation from God, right? That is spiritual death. Now it's important to understand that on the cross, Jesus experienced separation from God. The word for abandon is a very strong word. It's actually the air, Mayek word translated for sake and Jesus spoken air, Mayek, which was the common language of the Jew in the first century. Hebrew was kind of fading out air, Mayek was the spoken language, but it was it was a word which means to abandon. To be totally separated from. And so when Jesus is why have you forsaken me? He is expressing what he's experiencing, especially in those three hours of darkness on the cross that he has been separated from God. The father has forsaken him. Only Jesus as the God man could in that limited time suffer what would take us and eternity to suffer separation from God. He was separated from God. And one of the fascinating things to me is that he was 13.5. We'll put it on the screen here. He was 13.5. Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have because God has said, never will I leave you, never will I forsake you. That's spoken to believers. We will never be forsaken by God. We will never be separated from God for eternity because Jesus suffered that for us. And in that time on the cross, he suffered our spiritual death. He took on us the separation from God that sin requires. So he died spiritual death, but he also died quickly. Our time is up. Physical death. The physical death of Christ is described a few verses later in Matthew 27 and verse 50. And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, John's Gospel tells us it was it is finished. He gave up his spirit. The Old Testament was saying that as he breathed out his last, he voluntarily, however, dismissed his spirit. That's physical death. The spirit is separated from the body. In Jesus' case, it was voluntary, but it was a real physical suffering and death, but Jesus voluntarily committed his spirit to the Father and his spirit left his body. So when Jesus died on the cross, he really died. He suffered spiritual death and physical death. He suffered our spiritual death by being abandoned by the Father, separated from the Father for forsaken by the Father. He died a real physical death too in the sense that his spirit left his body. So this was not just a swoon, a fainting spell that he revived from in the cool tomb as liberal theologians used to teach. This was a real death. His spirit left his body. Jesus died. Jesus died a real death. Okay, our time is up. We'll get to the meaning of Christ's death next time. But any quick question before we go. The soul and spirit interchangeable words. They can be. The spirit left your soul leaves. It's basically about the immaterial part, the inside of us leaves. Let me just quickly say this. The Bible basically teaches there are two parts of a human being. One is the physical part, the other is the what's called the immaterial part. The spirit is not material, not physical. And that is subdivided into many categories. Soul, spirit, mind, emotion, will, lots of different things. Soul and spirit are only two of those. But as a package, they all go together into the immaterial part. Sometimes for economies sake, for use of words, you know, the words, the Bible refers to that whole immaterial part as the soul. Sometimes it refers to it as the spirit. They can be used interchangeably. And that can be proven if we take the time when we get to the doctrine of man, we'll prove that by using the Hebrew and Greek words and showing how they are the overlap for soul and spirit. They are two different functions of the immaterial part. The soul is self-awareness. The spirit is relating to God. So they have two different functions. But sometimes the Bible uses them of the whole immaterial part of man. And so sometimes it will use soul, sometimes it will use spirit. It basically means what's inside this body. The real me, you know, we talk about this is my hand. Who's the my? Who am I talking about when I say it's my hand? I'm talking about the real me down inside this body. That's my soul, spirit, mind, intellect, emotion, will, all of those things and more. That's the real me. And that's what can be referred to as either the soul or the spirit. Okay. Troops are restless downstairs and they're waiting for parents. So we better, we better close. Let's pray. Father, thank you for our Lord and Savior, the one who gave himself up for us willingly, dying for us, a real death spiritually and physically. Thank you for his death and what it means for us in Jesus' name, Amen.