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Introduction
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Many years ago I asked a
Bible teacher
I greatly
respected the question,
“Since the work for
salvation was finished when
the Lord cried, ‘It is
finished’, why did He have
to die?” As I now review my
question, several
considerations come to mind. |
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a) |
Was the Lord speaking
prospectively, that is,
knowing He would rise from
the dead and was His
physical death and
resurrection included in
that cry? In legal terms, a
“case history” could be
shown by the woman who came
to Elisha when her son
died. The lad had died in
his mother's arms and she
then took the dead body,
laid her son on the bed, and
went to Elisha. Recognizing
her from a distance Elisha
sent Gehazi his servant to
ask if all was well? At
that moment, the mother knew
her child was lying on a
bed, a corpse but when
asked, “Is it well with the
child?” the woman answered,
“It is well” (2 Kgs. 4:26).
She was speaking
prospectively. Was the Lord
speaking prospectively in
this case? |
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b) |
Was the Lord speaking of the
redemption penalty that was
finished? In that case, the
Lord had suffered for sins
and provided the basis for
reconciliation and
redemption. In other words,
“Would the work of the Lord
for salvation have been
finished if after that cry
he got off the cross?” Make
no mistake, the Lord had to
die for multiple reasons. |
Why was it a necessity for the Lord
to die?
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Another way to consider the
question is, “What would
have been
deficient in satisfying
God's judicial moral
standard? This begs
the questions: |
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a) |
Had the Lord not died, would
the power of Satan have been
defeated? |
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b) |
Would the New Covenant, when
viewed as a will, be
ratified? |
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c) |
Could the pledge for Christ
to judge all men be
accomplished? |
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It is clear that for these
and other purposes of God to
be accomplished, the Lord
had to die. The answer to
each question is a
resounding “No”. |
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a) |
It was only through the
death and resurrection of
the Lord that the power of
Satan was broken. (Heb.
2:14) |
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b) |
Only through the death of
the Lord is the New Covenant
constituted a “will”. (Heb.
9:16-17) |
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c) |
It is only because of the
death and resurrection of
the Lord that all humanity
can be assured they will be
judged. (Acts 17:31). |
The Lord had to die
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There are multiple reasons
which necessitated the Lord
entering death as opposed to
being taken by death as many
of our loved ones have
been. There are at least
two fundamental truths that
must be acknowledged: |
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a) |
Our Lord was never a dying
man. |
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i) |
Many years ago a scholar was
asked, “What is life?” The
response was, “Life is the
measurement of death in an
individual”. I am now 79
years of age, and death is
slowly and stealthily
creeping over me. My eyes,
self-assuredness, strength,
and hearing are not what
they used to be. This body
is becoming weaker as time
passes. I am a dying man.
The Lord never was because
the damaging seed of sin was
never in Him. His was a
body that was impervious to
sin and the natural
consequences of it. |
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b) |
There can never be a medical
reason for the Lord's death. |
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i) |
I am confident that those
who have failed to know the
scriptures have put all
sorts of reasoning as to
what caused the death of the
Lord. It has been said and
written that He had a heart
attack or acute physical
stress, a dislocated
shoulder whereby He could
not lift Himself to take in
a breath, the brutal torture
attributed to it, loss of
fluid through dehydration
and hyperventilation are
some of the thoughts of
men. This is all
unbelieving nonsense. The
Lord said: “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
the power to lay it down,
and I have the power to take
it again. This commandment
have I received of my
Father” (Jn. 10:17-18). |
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(a) |
Note the words which
indicate personal activity: |
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(i) |
“I lay down my life . . . .
I have power to lay it down” |
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(ii) |
“No man taketh it from me”
makes it clear no man and
nothing can take His life
from Him |
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(b) |
“I am the good shepherd: the
good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep” (Jn.
10:11). Again, note the
wording, the good shepherd “giveth:”
The word translated “giveth
“ is in the present
imperative voice indicating
a command which was to be
done. It was something the
Lord was to do and not
others. |
When considering any aspect of
the Lord, the student
automatically launches into an
ocean of incomprehensible
truths. There are depths of
wonders in the Lord that only
God can know and appreciate,
consequently as one is by the
living Spirit led to “see” His
glories, the inability to
comprehend makes Him all the
more glorious. The physical
death of the Lord was an
activity pre-determined before
the world began. It was an act
of His own voluntary unprepared
will. It was an activity of
faith in His dependence on God
to raise Him.
His Triumphant Resurrection
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The physical bodily
resurrection of the Lord was
the supreme sign of who He
was and what the Father
thought of Him. His rising
from the dead was an
activity of holiness (Rom.
1:4) for God never does
anything covertly or
deceitfully. |
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a) |
Some deny the physical
bodily resurrection of the
Lord. The Lord raised,
Lazarus, Jairus's daughter,
the widow of Nain's son and
they were all physical
bodily resurrections.
Surely God was able to raise
His Son from the dead in a
bodily resurrection. |
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b) |
Because the Lord has died
and is risen again,
Christianity is unique and
supreme above all other
religions and religious
founders. It is the only
religious Founder whose
religion is based on a
vacated tomb. The
prominently resurrected man
living in the power of an
indissoluble life, whose
fulness of glorification on
earth has not yet been
fulfilled, is now a
Forerunner bringing others
to glory and can bring
others with Him and
can fit and
maintain others in
perfection before God. |
Some of the accomplishments of
the resurrection of the Lord
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1) |
Personally: |
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a) |
Jesus
was
declared
the Son of God with power by
the Spirit of Holiness (Rom.
1:4). |
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b) |
Jesus
has become the firstfruits
of those who sleep (1 Cor.
15:20) |
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c) |
He has been raised to the
right hand of God (Acts
2:32-34) |
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d) |
God raised Him from death
and He was seen openly (Acts
10:40) |
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e) |
He received the promises of
David (Acts 13:34) |
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f) |
He ever liveth to make
intercession for us (Heb.
7:25) |
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g) |
He lives by the power of an
endless life (Heb. 7:16) |
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h) |
He has the keys of hell and
death (Rev. 1:18) |
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i) |
He has declared He is alive
forevermore (Rev. 1:18) |
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j) |
He is
Lord
of the dead and the living
(Rev. 1:18) |
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k) |
He lives unto God (Rom.
6:10) |
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l) |
He will judge the world
(Acts 17:31) |
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2) |
The power manifested and
available for salvation: |
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a) |
The power that raised the
Lord from the dead is the
power that spiritually made
us alive. (Eph. 1:19-20;
2:1) |
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3) |
Some of the spiritual
results: |
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a) |
We
have the
assurance
that no longer are we in our
sins (1 Cor. 15:17, 20) |
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b) |
We
have been Justified (Rom.
4:24-25) |
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c) |
We
are united to His
resurrection
(Rom. 6:5-11) |
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d) |
We
can bear
fruit
for God (Rom. 7:4) |
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4) |
The endorsement of the
scriptures: |
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a) |
Scripture
was Fulfilled (Acts 2:31-32;
26:22) |
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5) |
Some of the present bodily
results: |
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a) |
“But if the Spirit of him
that raised up Jesus from
the dead dwell in you, he
that raised up Christ from
the dead shall also quicken
your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in
you.” (Rom. 8:11) |
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b) |
We
might “walk in newness of
life.” (Rom. 6:4) |
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6) |
Some of the anticipative
results: |
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a) |
We
will be raised incorruptible
(1 Cor. 15:42) |
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b) |
We
will be raised in glory (1
Cor. 15:43) |
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c) |
We
will be raised in power (1
Cor. 15:43) |
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d) |
We
will be raised a spiritual
body (1 Cor. 15:44) |
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e) |
We will bear the image of
His heavenly body (1 Cor.
15:49) |
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f) |
We
have hope for those who have
died in
Christ
(1 Thess. 4:14-17) |
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g) |
Made partakers of the
inheritance of the saints in
light (Col. 1:12) |
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h) |
We shall be like Him morally
(1 Jn. 3:2) |
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i) |
We shall be like Him
physically by having a body
like His (Phil. 3:21) |
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j) |
We
wait for
Him
from heaven (1 Thess.
1:9-10) |
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k) |
We
have a lively hope (1 Pet.
1:3) |
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l) |
We
will be presented before God
(2 Cor. 4:14) |
The only response is how can we
not sing, “Hallelujah, What a
Saviour”
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