Triumphant and crucifixion don’t seem to go together, do they? As Christ’s crucifixion has been explained throughout the centuries, the focus has mostly been upon the suffering saviour of the human race who died so we might have forgiveness of sin and so we might go to Heaven when we die. Yes, the forgiveness of our sin did come as Christ died on the cross, but so much more was going on during this planned event. If we look below the surface of Christ’s death on the cross, we will see that remarkable things happened that completely changed the course of our world.

     In the first post of this series, we talked about Christ being a new creation with his inner being (the spirit of righteousness) given to him by God and his human flesh given to him by Mary. Remember what we read in Proverbs 12:28 (NKJV)–”In the way of righteousness is life. And in its pathway there is no death.” Christ was the righteousness of God which empowered him to cleave to God and to never let go, to never sin. Thus, he had the life that came from righteousness, the life without death. As we work through several of the events that comprised Christ’s crucifixion (we will be looking at the Garden of Gethsemane and the cross), we need to keep this concept of righteousness and life in mind.

     Throughout human history, many people have died unjust, unearned deaths, and sometimes those deaths have been just as horrible as (or worse than) Christ’s death. Why was Christ’s death any more significant than any of their deaths? Many people have been martyred for their faith in God, for their committment to a cause, or for both. Why was Christ’s death any more different than any of  their deaths? Let’s start in the Garden of Gethsemane and find out.

     Matthew 26: 36-46 and Mark 14:32-42 relate the same series of events in Gethsemane while Luke 22:39-46 gives a summary of the time Christ spent there. All of these accounts point to one main theme, Christ was in so much agony as he prayed to his Father that his sweat became as great drops of blood. Why would he be in this much agony–he had already known that he was going to have to die and he already had his Father’s promise that his death would be temporary. Why did he ask his Abba Father to let this cup pass from him because with God all things are possible? Something was going to happen that had never happened or would never happen to any other human being ever. Something was going to happen that required more than Christ’s strong will to please his Father, that required him to rely on the strength of his Father’s will, and that required an angel ministering that strength to him. Something was going to happen.

     Now, let’s look at what happened on the cross. In John 19:25-27, we read that Christ committed the care of his mother to his disciple John. In this action, Christ fulfilled his responsibilities to his mother as her first-born son. By choosing John, the one who understood the power of love, Christ made sure that Mary would never be mistreated. By assuring the care of Mary, Christ was in the position to let go of his physical life, but there was still much to accomplish.

     Irregardless of what various creeds have said, Christ knew he was going to Paradise when he died–that is exactly what he said to one of the thiefs who were crucified with him. Let’s pause here and see why that is so. Remember the parable of Lazarus and the rich man in Luke 16:19-31? Although the rich man was in Hades, he could see Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. This is so significant. When Satan “built” the dividing wall between God and the human race, he extended it into physical death. Thus, when those who kept the sacrifices included in the law died, they did not go to be with God in Heaven; instead, they went to Paradise which was visible to those in Hades. (In the Bible, only three Old Testament people are recorded to have been in Heaven with God–Enoch and Elijah, who never died, and Moses, who actually was in God’s presence for an extended time.) Now, as the Son of Man, Christ kept the Law, therefore upon his death as a human being, he went to Paradise. While he was in Paradise, not only could he relate to those saints that were there, but he could also communicate with those who were in Hades.

     We’re going to stop here for now. In my next post, we will find out what made Christ’s death so different from any other death that ever was and ever will be. As alsways, please feel free to comment–just be respectful.

 

     ©2009 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.