41 Why Jesus Came to Die. To Secure Our Resurrection from the Dead
For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. Romans 6:5 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11 If we have died with him, we will also live with him. 2 Timothy 2:11
The keys of death were hung on the inside of Christ's tomb. From the outside, Christ could do many wonderful works, including raising a twelve-year-old girl and two men from the dead-only to die again (Mark 5:41-42; Luke 7:14-15; John 11:43-44). If any were to be raised from the dead, never to die again, Christ would have to die for them, enter the tomb, take the keys, and unlock the door of death from the inside. The resurrection of Jesus is God's gift and proof that his death was completely successful in blotting out the sins of his people and removing the wrath of God. You can see this in the word "therefore." Christ was "obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him" (Philippians 2:8-9). From the cross the Son of God cried, "It is finished" (John 19:30). And by means of the resurrection, God the Father cries, "It was finished indeed!" The great work of paying for our sin and providing our righteousness and satisfying God's justice was finished in the death of Jesus. Then, in the grave, he had the right and the power to take the keys of death and open the door for all who come to him by faith. If sin is paid for, and righteousness is provided, and justice is sat- isfied, nothing can keep Christ or his people in the grave. That's why Jesus shouts, "I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades" (Revelation 1:18). The Bible rings with the truth that belonging to Jesus means we will be raised from the dead with him. "If we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his" (Romans 6:5). "Since we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so, through Jesus, God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep" (1 Thessalonians 4:14). "God raised the Lord and will also raise us up by his power" (1 Corinthians 6:14). Here's the connection between Christ's death and our resur- rection: "The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law" (1 Corinthians 15:56). Which means, we have all sinned, and the law sentences sinners to everlasting death. But the text contin- ues, "Thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ" (verse 57). In other words, the demand of the law is met by Jesus' life and death. Therefore, sins are forgiven. Therefore, the sting of sin is removed. Therefore, those who believe in Christ will not be sentenced to everlasting death, but will "be raised imperishable . . . then shall come to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory'" (1 Corinthians 15:52, 54). Be astonished, and come to Christ. He invites you: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live" (John 11:25).42 Why Jesus Came to Die. To Disarm the Rulers and Authorities
He set aside [the legal brief against us], nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Colossians 2:14-15 The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. 1 John 3:8
In the Bible, "rulers and authorities" can refer to human governments. But when we read that on the cross Christ "dis- armed the rulers and authorities" and "put them to open shame" and "triumphed over them," we should think of the demonic powers that afflict the world. One of the clearest statements about these evil powers is Ephesians 6:12. It says that Christians "do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places." Three times Satan is called "the ruler of this world." Just as Jesus was coming to the last hour of his life he said, "Now is the judgment of this world; now will the ruler of this world be cast out" (John 12:31). The death of Jesus was the decisive defeat of "the ruler of this world"-the devil. And as Satan goes, so go all his fallen angels. All of them were dealt a decisive blow of defeat when Christ died. Not that they were put out of existence. We wrestle with them even now. But they are a defeated foe. We know we have the final victory. It is as though a great dragon has had his head cut off and is thrashing about until he bleeds to death. The battle is won. But we must still be careful of the damage he can do. In the death of Jesus, God was "canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross" (Colossians 2:14; see chapter 7). This is how he "disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame." In other words, if God's law no longer condemns us, because Christ canceled our debt, then Satan has no grounds to accuse us. Accusation of God's people was the devil's great work before Christ. The very word Satan means "adversary or accuser." But listen to what happened when Christ died. These are the words of John the apostle: "I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, 'Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down'" (Revelation 12:10). This is the defeat and the disarming of the rulers and authorities. Now in Christ no accusations can stand against God's people. "Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies" (Romans 8:33). Neither man nor Satan can make a charge stick. The legal case is closed. Christ is our righteous- ness. Our accuser is disarmed. If he tries to speak in the court of heaven, shame will cover his face. Oh, how bold and free we should be in this world as we seek to serve Christ and love people! There is no condemnation for those who are in Christ. Let us then turn away from the temptations of the devil. His promises are lies, and his power is stripped.43 Why Jesus Came to Die. To Unleash the Power of God in the Gospel
The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 1 Corinthians 1:18 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. Romans 1:16
Gospel means good news. It's news before it's theology. News is the reporting that something significant has hap- pened. Good news is the announcement that something has hap- pened that will make people happy. The gospel is the best news, because what it reports can make people happy forever. What the gospel reports is the death and resurrection of Christ. The apostle Paul makes the news quality of the gospel plain: I would remind you . . . of the gospel . . . that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day . . . and that he . . . appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive. (1 Corinthians 15:1-7) The heart of the gospel is that "Christ died for our sins . . . was buried . . . was raised . . . and appeared to more than five hundred people." The fact that he says many of these witnesses are still alive shows how factual the gospel is. He meant that his readers could find some witnesses and query them. The gospel is news about facts. And the facts were testable. There were witnesses of Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection life. The tragic thing is that, for many, this good news seems foolish. Paul said, "The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God" (1 Corinthians 1:18). This is the power that Christ died to unleash. "The gospel . . . is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Romans 1:16). Why is the death of Christ not seen as good news by all? We must see it as true and good before we can believe it. So the ques- tion is: Why do some see it as true and good and others don't? One answer is given in 2 Corinthians 4:4, "The god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ." Besides that, sinful human nature itself is dead to true spiritual reality. "The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him" (1 Corinthians 2:14). If anyone is going to see the gospel as true and good, satanic blindness and natural deadness must be overcome by the power of God. This is why the Bible says that even though the gospel is foolishness to many, yet "to those who are called . . . Christ [is] the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:24). This "calling" is the merciful act of God to remove natural dead- ness and satanic blindness, so that we see Christ as true and good. This merciful act is itself a blood-bought gift of Christ. Look to him, and pray that God would enable you to see and embrace the gospel of Christ.44 Why Jesus Came to Die. To Destroy the Hostility Between Races
He . . . has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments and ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility. Ephesians 2:14-16
The suspicion, prejudice, and demeaning attitudes between Jews and Gentiles (non-Jews) in New Testament times was as serious as the racial, ethnic, and national hostilities in our day. One example of the antagonism is what happened in Antioch between Cephas (sometimes called Peter) and Paul. Paul recounts the story: "When Cephas came to Antioch, I opposed him to his face, because he stood condemned. For before certain men came from James, he was eating with the Gentiles; but when they came he drew back and separated himself, fearing the circumcision party" (Galatians 2:11-12). Peter had been living in the freedom of Jesus Christ. In spite of the fact that he was a Jewish Christian, he was eating with non-Jewish Christians. The dividing wall had come down. The hostility had been overcome. This is what Christ died to achieve. But then some very conservative Jews came to Antioch. Cephas panicked. He feared their criticism. So he pulled back from his fellowship with Gentiles. The apostle Paul saw this happening. What would he do? Serve the status quo? Keep peace between the visiting conservatives and the more free Christian Jews in Antioch? The key to Paul's behav- ior is found in these words: "I saw that their conduct was not in step with the truth of the gospel" (Galatians 2:14). This is a crucial statement. Racial and ethnic segregation is a gospel issue! Cephas' fear and withdrawal from fellowship across ethnic lines was "not in step with the truth of the gospel." Christ had died to tear down this wall. And Cephas was building it up again. So Paul did not serve the status quo, and he did not maintain a gospel-denying peace. He confronted Cephas publicly. "I said to Cephas before them all, 'If you, though a Jew, live like a Gentile [non-Jew] and not like a Jew, how can you force the Gentiles to live like Jews?'" (Galatians 2:14). In other words, Cephas' withdrawal from fellowship with non-Jewish Christians commu- nicated a deadly message: You must become like Jews to be fully acceptable. This was the very thing that Christ died to abolish. Jesus died to create a whole new way for races to be recon- ciled. Ritual and race are not the ground of joyful togetherness. Christ is. He fulfilled the law perfectly. All the aspects of it that separated people ended in him-except one: the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is impossible to build a lasting unity among races by saying that all religions can come together as equally valid. Jesus Christ is the Son of God. God sent him into the world as the one and only means of saving sinners and reconciling races forever. If we deny this, we undermine the very foundation of eternal hope and everlasting unity among peoples. By his death on the cross, something cosmic, not parochial, was accomplished. God and man were reconciled. Only as the races find and enjoy this will they love and enjoy each other forever. In overcoming our alien- ation from God, Christ overcomes it between races.