The Crucifixion
by Rev. Steven Chinnock, Ph.D.
Presented by
Saint Luke Evangelical School Of Biblical Studies
Used by Permission

As Christians, we believe that Jesus Christ, the Living Son of God, saved us from eternal damnation in the hands of the enemy by dying for us on the cross at Calvary, and that by the shedding of his blood we are saved from our earthly sins.

And no one has ascended up to Heaven except He who came down from Heaven, the Son of Man who is in Heaven. But even as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him. (John 3:13-17 MKJV)

Jesus said to her, I am the Resurrection and the Life! He who believes in Me, though he die, yet he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this? (John 11:25-26 MKJV)

(Here Jesus talks of a spiritual death and not an actual (physical) death as we know it. We are all going to die in the respect of the earthly term but through Jesus we are spiritually saved.)

And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved, and your household. (Acts 16:31 MKJV)

If we receive the witness of men, the witness of God is greater: for this is the witness of God which he hath testified of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son. And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. (1 John 5:9-12 KJV)

So as we can see with just these few verses we have confirmation that it is through the death and resurrection that we can enter the Kingdom of Heaven. But what I want to look at is the in-depth study of why Jesus suffered the way he did for the sake of us. Let's start at the beginning of the Bible:

And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return. (Genesis 3:17-19 KJV)

These verses tell of the curse placed on the human race as a punishment for going against God's instruction and sinning.

Listed below are the consequences of sin from the above scripture:

1. The ground was cursed.
2. In sorrow man was to eat of the ground.
3. Weeds and thorns were to grow.
4. With sweat man was to eat.
5. To dust man was to return.
6. In all of these he had died spiritually and was separated from God.

Jesus completely bore the consequences of Adam's sin, therefore reversing everything that man had undone. Working from the above list we can see how.

With reference to number one on the list we can turn to Galatians:

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3:13-14 KJV)

So here we have it. Proof that the curse placed on all things was removed because Jesus himself became a curse.

Confirmation that Jesus suffered the sorrow of man as in number two of the above list can be found in Isaiah:

He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Isaiah 53:3-4 KJV)

Now turning to John we see here about weeds and thorns as in the third item on the list:

Then came Jesus forth, wearing the crown of thorns, and the purple robe. And Pilate saith unto them, Behold the man! (John 19:5 KJV)

The thorns and thistles that were to grow over the earth as a result of Adam's sin were worn by Christ in the form of a crown. By wearing this, Jesus symbolized the curse the he was bearing for the earth.

Scripture relating to number four on the list can be found in Luke:

And He was withdrawn from them about a stone's throw. And He kneeled down and prayed, saying, Father, if You are willing, remove this cup from Me. Yet not My will, but Yours be done. And an angel appeared to Him from Heaven, strengthening Him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly. And His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground. (Luke 22:41-44 MKJV)

We read here that Jesus sweats large amounts while in fear of what is to happen as he continues to speak to the Father.

Now looking at Psalm 22, Jesus tells us of what his crucifixion would be like hundreds of years prior to the actual event. Verse 15 relates to number five on the list.

My strength is dried up like a potsherd; And my tongue cleaveth to my jaws; And thou hast brought me into the dust of death. (Psalms 22:15 ASV)

Man came from dust and here we see that the term used is to be left for dead in the dust.

Finally we have number six in the list – being spiritually dead and separated from God the Father.

And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? That is, My God, My God, why have You forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46 MKJV)

The high point of the crucifixion was spiritual separation from God the Father. Here we see that Jesus the Son was separated from His heavenly Father. The reason for this was that God could not look upon His Son at the point of him carrying the sin of the world on his shoulders.

Now we can not only see that Jesus suffered for the sake of our salvation but also the reasons for why he suffered in the way he did.

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