Someone asked, If Christ were hanged or put to death any other way, instead of crucifixion, would it still hold the same meaning for us?
Studying the scriptures. Jesus died physically on the cross, as was plain for all to see ( John 19:34 ). But there was also the matter of a spiritual death for Christ. When we sin, we become separated from God and this makes us spiritually dead to Christ, until we ask for his forgiveness and repent. Repent means to have a change of heart and want to follow Christ as Savior, and turn from our old ways, to a brand new life in Christ, forsaking old sinful ways. It is having a sorrowful heart for sinning against God, and a longing to have fellowship with him, once again. We suddenly realize we don't want to live the old ways anymore or do things that hurt God. We then make a commitment to follow Christ, ask for his forgiveness, he forgives us as promised, and we then begin our brand new life in Christ. A new creation in Christ. We become part of his family and enjoy this relationship. Since Jesus paid for our sins in full, we then become "one in the Spirit" with Him, and as part of his family now, we inherit eternal life in heaven with him, when we die. However, there's so much more, God wanted us to know.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He experienced death on our behalf. He took upon himself all our sins. Sin actually brings death to our Spirit. It happens, that death is the consequence of sin. Spiritual death and physical death. Jesus's whole mission was to take all of our sins upon himself in both body and spirit, so we would not have to pay the consequences of sin. That's how much he loves us. Here's why:
In the spiritual realm, sin is the worst offense, because it's separates us from God. It keeps us from having fellowship with him, as he is Holy and cannot allow sin into heaven. This is why his son, Jesus, stepped in, as the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and volunteered to take our place and pay for our sins on the cross. Having him forgive our sins, is important, because it erases our sins and brings us back into right standing and fellowship with God the Father.
We could never pay for it ourselves, because it took a pure, sinless sacrifice. Jesus knew that, so he paid the price, for us. Why?
Under the old Hebrew laws, before Jesus died, people had their sins paid for by sacrificing a white lamb. In the spiritual realm,
Hebrews 9:22 - "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins."
However, when Jesus died, he became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and we no longer needed any other, because his sacrifice was the best, since he was without sin, and under the New Covenant, we now pray to Jesus, our sacrificial "Lamb of God", and no longer need the old sacrificial ways. It is also why we no longer need priests to intercede on our behalf, because Jesus, under the New Covenant, became our Great High Priest, once and for all. That means we pray directly to Jesus now, no one else, when we want our sins forgiven... no matter where we are. Priests cannot forgive us, as he has sin like everyone else. Now that Jesus paid the price for our sins, we can go directly to Him, asking for forgiveness and he shall do so, as promised in Scripture. We are no longer under the old laws, but under the New Covenant by Christ. He promised to turn no one away. But did Jesus have to be crucified?
As a substitutionary sacrifice, Jesus had to die the way we would have died back then, by execution. He could not have paid the penalty for our sins by dying any other way, as it had to be a blood sacrifice/atonement. Yes, Jesus took the death penalty, but it was God who raised Him from the dead, after all our sins had been washed away by the blood of Jesus, and paid for by His righteousness.
Scripture says over 500 people witnessed that Jesus had come back from the dead, and later watched His ascension to the heavens, to go back to His Heavenly Father and Kingdom. He demonstrated that through Him, death cannot defeat us and the grave won't be able to hold us from reuniting with our Lord, Savior, and Creator. That's something to rejoice about! We live on! If you accepted Jesus' pardon for your sins, you'll live on forever in Heaven, where there's no more death, sin, sorrow, diseases or anything else like that. Our fellowship with him, will be restored to the place it was, in the beginning, before man chose to sin. After Jesus came back from the dead, he visited his disciples in the Upper Room. Thomas didn't recognize him at first. But then....
John 20:28, “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
Col. 2:9, “For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
Movies never even come close to depicting the horror of crucifixion. Modern capital punishment seems humane, almost gentle, in comparison to the real thing that Jesus suffered. He not only said he loves us... he proved it. It was us he had on his mind that day, as he hung on the cross. He proved he would go to any lengths, even death, to save us from the condemnation that sin placed on us.
In Jesus' day, crucifixion was considered so gruesome that it was reserved for slaves and the worst criminals or enemies of the state. Death usually took days, unless the victim had been severely beaten or scourged first, which was often the case. To maximize the impact, crucifixions often occurred along public highways or other very visible areas, as lessons for all, of what would happen to enemies of the state or incorrigibles. They were also without clothing.
The Romans usually left the bodies to rot or be eaten by scavengers. No doubt Jesus had seen the remains of many crucifixions as He traveled up and down Galilee and Judea. He knew He would someday experience it firsthand.
This type of execution so perfectly depicted the many things necessary, for a full comprehension of how serious sin is to God. He doesn't hate us. He hates sin, because it can separate us from God forever, if we reject his plan of rescue for us. Sin demanded death as payment, but praise God, He met our need for salvation. That "whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Today we execute criminals by a variety of means: lethal injection, gas, firing squad, hanging or electric chair. In Jesus' time, the Romans preferred crucifixion.
A primary factor in Jesus' death is that it was substitutionary. This penalty cannot be paid by dying a natural death of old age, by accident or by disease, as this is the way everyone dies, as a matter of course. Hebrews 9:27 says, "It is appointed for men to die once." If "merely" dying any old way were the payment for sin, sinners would be completely absolved of their sins upon their deaths. But don't forget. Sin cannot be forgiven, until someone pours out his blood to cover the transgression. The penalty for sin, is therefore, death by execution.
Remember also that Jesus' death resulted from a pronouncement of Pilate, when he handed Jesus over "to be crucified" (John 19:13-16; Matthew 27:26). Pilate felt forced to execute Jesus, and literally washed his hands of the whole affair by saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it!" (Matthew 27:24) He made the judgment and sentenced Him to death. And as Jesus hung suspended between Heaven and Earth, this also symbolizes that Jesus is our only Mediator between God and man.
When Jesus was hanging on the cross, He experienced death on our behalf. He took upon himself all our sins. Sin actually brings death to our Spirit. It happens, that death is the consequence of sin. Spiritual death and physical death. Jesus's whole mission was to take all of our sins upon himself in both body and spirit, so we would not have to pay the consequences of sin. That's how much he loves us. Here's why:
In the spiritual realm, sin is the worst offense, because it's separates us from God. It keeps us from having fellowship with him, as he is Holy and cannot allow sin into heaven. This is why his son, Jesus, stepped in, as the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5), and volunteered to take our place and pay for our sins on the cross. Having him forgive our sins, is important, because it erases our sins and brings us back into right standing and fellowship with God the Father.
We could never pay for it ourselves, because it took a pure, sinless sacrifice. Jesus knew that, so he paid the price, for us. Why?
Under the old Hebrew laws, before Jesus died, people had their sins paid for by sacrificing a white lamb. In the spiritual realm,
Hebrews 9:22 - "Without the shedding of blood, there is no remission of sins."
However, when Jesus died, he became the ultimate sacrifice for our sins and we no longer needed any other, because his sacrifice was the best, since he was without sin, and under the New Covenant, we now pray to Jesus, our sacrificial "Lamb of God", and no longer need the old sacrificial ways. It is also why we no longer need priests to intercede on our behalf, because Jesus, under the New Covenant, became our Great High Priest, once and for all. That means we pray directly to Jesus now, no one else, when we want our sins forgiven... no matter where we are. Priests cannot forgive us, as he has sin like everyone else. Now that Jesus paid the price for our sins, we can go directly to Him, asking for forgiveness and he shall do so, as promised in Scripture. We are no longer under the old laws, but under the New Covenant by Christ. He promised to turn no one away. But did Jesus have to be crucified?
As a substitutionary sacrifice, Jesus had to die the way we would have died back then, by execution. He could not have paid the penalty for our sins by dying any other way, as it had to be a blood sacrifice/atonement. Yes, Jesus took the death penalty, but it was God who raised Him from the dead, after all our sins had been washed away by the blood of Jesus, and paid for by His righteousness.
Scripture says over 500 people witnessed that Jesus had come back from the dead, and later watched His ascension to the heavens, to go back to His Heavenly Father and Kingdom. He demonstrated that through Him, death cannot defeat us and the grave won't be able to hold us from reuniting with our Lord, Savior, and Creator. That's something to rejoice about! We live on! If you accepted Jesus' pardon for your sins, you'll live on forever in Heaven, where there's no more death, sin, sorrow, diseases or anything else like that. Our fellowship with him, will be restored to the place it was, in the beginning, before man chose to sin. After Jesus came back from the dead, he visited his disciples in the Upper Room. Thomas didn't recognize him at first. But then....
John 20:28, “Thomas answered and said to Him, ‘My Lord and my God!’”
Col. 2:9, “For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form.”
Movies never even come close to depicting the horror of crucifixion. Modern capital punishment seems humane, almost gentle, in comparison to the real thing that Jesus suffered. He not only said he loves us... he proved it. It was us he had on his mind that day, as he hung on the cross. He proved he would go to any lengths, even death, to save us from the condemnation that sin placed on us.
In Jesus' day, crucifixion was considered so gruesome that it was reserved for slaves and the worst criminals or enemies of the state. Death usually took days, unless the victim had been severely beaten or scourged first, which was often the case. To maximize the impact, crucifixions often occurred along public highways or other very visible areas, as lessons for all, of what would happen to enemies of the state or incorrigibles. They were also without clothing.
The Romans usually left the bodies to rot or be eaten by scavengers. No doubt Jesus had seen the remains of many crucifixions as He traveled up and down Galilee and Judea. He knew He would someday experience it firsthand.
This type of execution so perfectly depicted the many things necessary, for a full comprehension of how serious sin is to God. He doesn't hate us. He hates sin, because it can separate us from God forever, if we reject his plan of rescue for us. Sin demanded death as payment, but praise God, He met our need for salvation. That "whosoever believeth in him, shall not perish, but have everlasting life." John 3:16
Today we execute criminals by a variety of means: lethal injection, gas, firing squad, hanging or electric chair. In Jesus' time, the Romans preferred crucifixion.
A primary factor in Jesus' death is that it was substitutionary. This penalty cannot be paid by dying a natural death of old age, by accident or by disease, as this is the way everyone dies, as a matter of course. Hebrews 9:27 says, "It is appointed for men to die once." If "merely" dying any old way were the payment for sin, sinners would be completely absolved of their sins upon their deaths. But don't forget. Sin cannot be forgiven, until someone pours out his blood to cover the transgression. The penalty for sin, is therefore, death by execution.
Remember also that Jesus' death resulted from a pronouncement of Pilate, when he handed Jesus over "to be crucified" (John 19:13-16; Matthew 27:26). Pilate felt forced to execute Jesus, and literally washed his hands of the whole affair by saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just Person. You see to it!" (Matthew 27:24) He made the judgment and sentenced Him to death. And as Jesus hung suspended between Heaven and Earth, this also symbolizes that Jesus is our only Mediator between God and man.
