“Then he took unto him the twelve, and said unto them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written by the prophets concerning the Son of man shall be accomplished. For he shall be delivered unto the Gentiles, and shall be mocked, and spitefully entreated, and spitted on: And they shall scourge him, and put him to death: and the third day he shall rise again. And they understood none of these things: and this saying was hid from them, neither knew they the things which were spoken.” Luke 18:31-34
If Jesus had not died for our sins and risen again, you and I could not be saved. It is as the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Corinth (1 Cor. 15:17-19): “And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; ye are yet in your sins. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished. If in this life only we have hope in Christ, we are of all men most miserable.”
Though Jesus told His disciples this, they did not understand (cf. Matt. 16:21-23). In fact, even after Jesus had died on the cross and risen again, they failed to understand. In Luke 24:44-47, we read: “And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me. Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.”
And many remain blind to this truth today, as well. They imagine that the cross was unnecessary and think that they can merit their own salvation by following the examples left for us by Jesus. For them, it really doesn’t matter if Jesus died on the cross and rose again bodily on the third day — Jesus’ death was only an unfortunate end of His life. They believe Christ lives on if we carry His love and concern for the poor and downtrodden into our age by following His example of meeting the physical needs of the poor, the sick, the imprisoned, the blind.
Though Christ had perfect love for His neighbor and indeed met the physical needs of those who came to Him, that’s not the most important reason for His coming. He came into this world to save sinners, as St. Paul wrote in 1 Tim. 1:15; and, to save sinners, it was necessary for Him to be mocked, scourged, beaten, crucified, and buried, and then to rise again from the dead on the third day. This is what the prophets had said He would do, and this is what was necessary to redeem us from our sin and the death we so deserve.
He was the Seed of the woman who crushed the head of the serpent but was bruised in His heel spoken of in Genesis 3:15. He is the promised Son of David who would redeem Israel from all his iniquities, as prophesied in Psalm 130:7-8. He is the Lord God Himself in human flesh and blood that He might take our place under the law and fulfill it perfectly for us and then suffer and die upon the cross to bear our iniquities (cf. Isa. 53; Ps. 22).
The Bible tells us: “His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men” (Isa. 52:14). “He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (Isa. 53:5-6). Jesus is “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). In Him “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace” (Eph. 1:7). “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities” (Isa. 53:10-11).
It was necessary for the promised Messiah, the Christ, to suffer and die for the sins of the world and to rise again on the third day; and it is necessary “that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations” that we might place our faith in Him and be justified, forgiven and saved!
We thank You, O Christ, for going to the cross, bearing our sins, and redeeming us to God. Open our eyes to see and believe that we may take comfort in You and the redemption You have provided for us with Your shed blood. Amen.
[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]