Why do Christians constantly talk about Jesus being nailed to the Cross? Why is the Cross the symbol of the Christian Faith, the centerpiece of the Apostles’ Creed? Suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified – crucifixion was the standard Roman way of executing criminals. To say “Jesus was crucified” is like saying he was hanged or went to the electric chair. Fancy a school of scientists or philosophers, or the members of a political party, constantly repeating that their founder was put to death by the government, as a threat to law and order!
Pilate
Under Pontius Pilate — Hitler will be remembered as the man who gassed the Jews, and Pilate will be remembered as the man who ordered the death of the sinless Son of God! Under the Roman occupation, the Jewish authorities could not execute anyone, so when they had passed a sentence on Jesus for confessing His true identity as God’s savior-king, the Christ (they thought the confession blasphemous), they passed Him on to the governor for action. Pilate knew that Jesus was innocent, yet to keep the people happy and preserve his own position, he gave the green light to nail Jesus to the Cross. An innocent, sinless Man was put to death!
Passion
Suffered — The Latin word used was ‘passus’, giving us the noun “passion.” Why did Jesus suffer?
- He suffered because of human injustice. The Jewish religious leaders were envious of Him and the Roman authorities were guilty of a blatant miscarriage of justice.
- He suffered because of divine justice. He died in the place of sinners, to pay for the penalty that their sins deserve.
Acts 2:23 captures both aspects of the passion of Christ so succinctly: Him, being delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God, you have taken by lawless hands, have crucified, and put to death. The miscarrying of human justice was the doing of divine justice. Jesus knew on the cross all the pain, physical and mental, that man could inflict and also the divine wrath and rejection that my sins deserve; for He was there in my place, making atonement for me. “All we like sheep have gone astray … and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isaiah 53:6).
Propitiation
Here we reach the very heart of the Christian Faith. The reason why the Son of God became man was to shed His blood as a full, perfect, and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction, for the sins of His people. God “did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all” (Romans 8:32): that was the measure of God’s love for sinners (cf. 5:5–8).
The cross of Christ has many facets of meaning. It was a propitiation (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2, 4:10; cf. Hebrews 2:17) – the turning away of God’s wrath against us by blotting out our sins from His sight. It was reconciliation – the making of peace for us with our offended, estranged, angry Creator (Romans 5:9–11). It was redemption – the rescue from bondage and misery by the payment of a price (Ephesians 1:7; Romans 3:24; Revelation 5:9; Mark 10:45). It was a victory – the triumph over all hostile powers that had kept us, and wanted still to keep us, in sin and out of God’s favor (Colossians 2:13–15).
“The Son of God … loved me and gave himself for me”; so “God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:20; 6:14). Paul could say that. Thank God, I can say it. Can you?
Questions for Thought and Discussion
• Can our sins be forgiven without Jesus dying on the Cross?
• For whom did Jesus die on the Cross?
WEI En Yi
[Adapted from and based on J.I. Packer’s Growing in Christ]