Theological Significance of Jesus Christs Death On The Cross
Theological Significance of Jesus Christs Death On The Cross
Theological Significance of Jesus Christs Death On The Cross
Published by:
The Department of Religious Studies,
University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria.
Abstract
Christian theology teaches that the death of Jesus Christ on
the cross provided the perfect atoning sacrifice for the sin of
all humanity, thus making the cross one of the defining
symbols of Christianity. Also, scholarly discourse have been
centred on the historical events surrounding Jesus’
crucifixion; the historical objectivity of God’s grace in the
sacrificial love of Jesus Christ who substitutionally and
propitiatorily gave himself to the whole of humanity; and on
the eternal efficacy of Christ’s death on the cross as a central
factor in the whole redemptive and restorative action of
God’s grace; but with little scholarly attention paid on how
this Christ-event should translate into practical concerns of
the attitude and lifestyle of Christians.
Therefore, this paper highlights the theological significance
of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross and emphasizes the
behavioural implications for Christians in the quest for
national development. The paper concludes that the
presence of Christians in the nation should be for the
transformation and development of the various aspects of
national life, as they imbibe the behavioural lifestyle of
Jesus Christ as exemplified in his sacrificial death on the
cross, which are sacrifice and his servanthood. The
methodology used for this work included historical, critical,
and analytical methods while the analysis is done within the
ambit of Auguste Comte’s theory of altruism, which calls for
living for the sake of others.
The Theological Significance of Jesus Christ’s Death on The Cross.. 158
Introduction
Jesus Christ, the central figure of Christianity, died on a Roman
cross as recorded in Matthew 25:27-56; Mark 15:21-38; Luke 23:26-
49; and John 19:16-37. Christian theology teaches that Christ’s death
provided the perfect atoning sacrifice for the sins of all mankind,
thus, making the crufix or cross, the defining symbol of Christianity.
And as a result of this defining moment in Jesus Christ’s earthly
ministry, the Christian holy day known as “Good Friday”, observed
the Friday before Easter, Christians annually commemorate the
suffering and death of Jesus on the cross. His death on a cross is an
important truth of the Christian gospel. In fact, it is crucial to the
message of the gospel.
But many pertinent questions come to the fore at this juncture.
Has the death of Jesus Christ on the cross got any relevance or
meaning beyond the individual eternal destiny of his followers –
Christians? What does it mean, if anything, for the wider affairs of
our communities? Can the death of Christ on the cross offer the
Nigerian Christian any direction as we think about the challenges of
terrorism, poverty, oppression, financial corruption, human
trafficking, child abuse, political upheavals, socio-economic
strangulation, injustice, tribalism etc, and the many global challenges
we face as a nation? As we validate the cosmic reason for Jesus’
death, what are the implications today for Christians who are still in
transit to their eternal home? Thus, it was reported that at an
Evangelical Alliance’s symposium, Joel Green asserted that penal
substitution1 is “individualistic, mechanistic, and undermines calls for
Christians to live holy lives, and that it cuts the nerve to social
action.2 In essence, we need to examine whether the significance of
Jesus’ death is important for ethical comportment; whether salvation
can be separated from ethics.
1
This is the theory of the atonement that states that Christ paid for debt that we have
contracted to God because of our sin. By being divine he could pay the infinite debt and
being both human and sinless, he could properly represent mankind.
2
Matthew Mason, “Conference on the cross – the Evangelical Alliance Symposium”,
Evangelicals Now, http://eauk.org/content manager/content/acute/acute.cfm (accessed 5th
August, 2011).
159 Pastor Samuel Oluwatosin Okanlawon
But the paper seeks to extract the behavioural expression of the life
of Jesus here on earth as a model for every Christian who claims to
be a follower of Jesus. Christian practice must match Christian
doctrine. In this respect, George Macdonald rightly says, “I firmly
believe people have hitherto been a great deal too much taken up
about doctrine and far too little about practice.”4 Jesus Christ’s death
on the cross is ethically significant in respect of personal, social,
economic and political transformations.
Theoretical Framework
The conceptual framework for this study is the theory of altruism,
as proposed by the 19th-century French philosopher and sociologist,
Auguste Comte (1798-1857). His version of altruism calls for living
for the sake of others. Gabriel Moran says, “The law and duty of life
in altruism, for Comte was summed up in the phrase: “Live for
others.”5 In philosophy, altruism describes a theory of conduct that
aspires to the good of others as the ultimate end for any moral action.
3
James A. Fowler, Christianity is Resurrection (1999),
http://christinyou.net/pages/xnty=res.html (accessed 27th July, 2011).
4
George Macdonald, Christian Quotes, http://christain-resources
today.com/Christian_quotes.2.html (accessed 4th August, 2011.).
5
Gabriel Moran, Christian Religion and National Interests,
http://nyu.edu/classes/gmoran/APPRE04.pdf (accessed 27th July, 2011.).
The Theological Significance of Jesus Christ’s Death on The Cross.. 160
(135kg), but the cross beam would weigh only 75-125 pounds (35-
60kg).10
The Greek word translated into English as “cross” is stauros.
Stauros originally indicated a pointed, vertical stake firmly fixed in
the ground. The word was then used for “fence posts”. Later, it was
used in the Greek language for a modern stake fixed in the ground
and used as an instrument of torture or death. The predominant form
of the stauros death instrument was the crossing of the two timbers.
These were sometimes crossed in the form of a “T”, “X” or
sometimes in the form of the perpendicular crossed timbers, “Y”.11
It was common in the biblical period for the bodies of executed
person to be publicly displayed by hanging them from the stakes of
the stockade wall. This was done to discourage civil disobedience
and to mock defeated military foes (Gen. 40:19; 1 Sam. 31:8-13).
This gruesome practice may explain how the stake eventually came
to be used as an instrument of civil and military punishment. 12 They
were later used with crossbeams as instruments of humiliation,
torture, and execution of persons convicted as enemies of the state for
desertion from the army, spying and treason, or civil criminals.13
Apart from the above mentioned general references to a cross as a
death instrument, all the other usages of stauros within the New
Testament gospel accounts refer to the physical, material object on
which Jesus was crucified (Ref: Matt. 27:32, 39, 40, 42; Mark 15:21,
30, 32; Luke 23:26; John 19:17, 19, 25). These eleven references
comprise all of the remaining usages of stauros in the gospel
accounts. In the New Testament, the word “cross” is used as a
summary of the gospel of Christ. The preaching of the gospel is “the
message of the cross”; it is “through the cross” that God has
reconciled Jews and Gentiles to himself (Eph. 2:16), “by making
peace through his blood, shed on the cross” (Col. 1:20); by fulfilling
10
Crucifixion in the Ancient World, http://orlutheran.com (accessed 3rd May, 2011).
11
James A. Fowler, The Cross of Christ (1999), http://christinyou.net/pages/crosschrist.html
(accessed 23rd May, 2011).
12
Herbert Lockeyer (ed.), “Cross”, The Hodder and Stoughton Illustrated Bible Dictionary
(London: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987), 265.
13
Ibid., p. 266.
The Theological Significance of Jesus Christ’s Death on The Cross.. 162
the demands of the Law, Jesus “nailed to the cross”, and “disarmed
demonic powers by the cross” (Col 2:15-15). Paul used the word
“cross”, in his epistles to represent the gospel of Jesus Christ that is
based on his atoning death. In context, these references carry
additional theological significance, as would be explored later in this
paper. The cross became an important part of Christian liturgy and art
after Jesus Christ was crucified on it. This is evidenced by certain
practices among certain sections of Christianity: some Christians
make a sign of the cross with the right hand both to profess their faith
and to bestow a blessing; larger crosses are carried in procession
during specific Christian celebrations; and crosses are placed in the
altars of some churches.
Crucifixion is the execution of a criminal by nailing or binding to
a cross. It was one of the most horribly painful and disgraceful
methods of capital punishment. The word “crucifixion” comes from
the Latin “crucifixio” or “crucifixus”, meaning “fixed to a cross”. 14
Crucifixion was a common form of capital punishment from the 6 th
century BC to 4th century AD, especially among the Persians,
Egyptians, Assyrians, Carthaginians, Germans, and Romans.15 The
Romans used crucifixion for slaves and criminals but never for their
own citizens. Roman law provided that the criminal be scourged
before being put to death; the accused also had to carry either the
entire cross, or more commonly the crossbeam (patibulum) from the
place of scourging to the place of execution. The practice was
abolished by Emperor Constantine 1 in AD 337, out of veneration for
Jesus Christ.16
Crucifixion methods varied considerably with location and time.
While a crucifixion was an execution, it was also a humiliation, by
making the condemned as vulnerable as possible. The Roman
historian, Tacitus, records that Rome had a place for carrying out
14
Mary Fairchild, “Facts of the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ,” About.Com Guide (2011),
http://christianity.about.com/od/goodfriday/p/crucifixionhub.htm (accessed 3rd May, 2011).
15
“Crucifixion”, Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD] (Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation,
2008), accessed 10th May, 2011.
16
Ibid.
163 Pastor Samuel Oluwatosin Okanlawon
21
Herbert Lockeyer (ed.), “Crucifixion of Christ”, The Hodder and Stoughton Illustrated
Bible Dictionary (London: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1987), 267.
22
Gunther Bornkamm, Jesus of Nazareth, trans. Irene Mcluskey, Fraiser Mcluskey, and
James M. Robinson (New York: Harper & Row Publishers), 168.
23
Carl Trueman, “Luther’s Theology of the Cross”, The Theologian: Internet Journal for
Integrated Theology (2005),
http://theologians.org.uk/churchhistory/lutherstheologyofthecross.html (accessed 25th July,
2011).
165 Pastor Samuel Oluwatosin Okanlawon
who picture God as one who only responds to those who are
intrinsically attractive or good, or who first reveals that favour. For
Trueman, the cross of Christ reveals that great blessing will come
through great suffering. God accomplishes his work in the believer
by doing contrary to what we expect.24
Some scholars have examined the death of Jesus Christ on the
cross as an event whereby he made atonement for sinners and
provided salvation for the whole of sinful humanity. Charles Ryle
states that the cross is the place where Christ made the complete and
perfect sacrifice for sin through the giving up of his body and the
shedding of his blood; and that man’s response should be that of
submission to Christ as Saviour.25 Fowler, on his part, states that the
crucifixion of Jesus Christ on the cross was not an end in itself, but a
remedial action, to remedy the problem of the death consequences of
man’s sin and that God, then, made his life available to mankind by
the resurrection.26 Christ’s crucifixion is analysed and interpreted
from the perspective of the “finished work” of the resurrection. That
is, it is Christ’s resurrection that gives meaning to the crucifixion or
else, Jesus would have simply been a martyr-hero. 27 He also asserts
that this Christ – event provides the grade-dynamic for Christians to
live in freedom from all self-effort or performance and productivity
to please God.28
Others have highlighted each of the events leading to Jesus’
crucifixion and when he was hung on the cross, and pointed out their
historical significant, theological import and practical significance for
Christians as indicated in the Gospels and in Pauline epistles. 29 While
24
Ibid.
25
J.C. Ryle, “The Cross of Christ”, Bible Bulletin Board (1986),
htpp://www.biblebb.com/files/ryle/the_cross_of_christ.htm (accessed 21 st April, 2011).
26
James A. Fowler, Christianity is Resurrection (1999),
http://christinyou.net/pages/xnty=res.html (accessed 5th August, 2011).
27
Ibid.
28
James A. Fowler, Stand Firm in Freedom: Galatians 5:1-12 (2004),
http://christinyou.net/pages/galsff.html (accessed 27th July, 2011).
29
Gunther Bornkamm, Jesus of Nazareth, pp. 153-168. see also Brain Schwertley, The
Crucifixion of Jesus Christ (2006), http://reformedonline.com/view/reformed
online/13%20%the % 20 crucifixion % 20 of % 20 Jesus % 20 Christ.htm (accessed 4 th May,
The Theological Significance of Jesus Christ’s Death on The Cross.. 166
Rene Girard opines that the death of Jesus on the cross is a sacrificial
death which is the solution to mimetic rivalry and the foundation of
it. That Jesus Christ was like the woman prostitute in 1 Kings 3 who
was willing to sacrifice herself for the life of the child, unlike the
other woman prostitute who desired that the controversial baby be
split into two in other to triumph over her rival. 30 In essence, Christ’s
death was a propitiatory sacrifice that makes him the ultimate
scapegoat, while the community is imputed with innocence.
Furthermore, Fuller examines the purpose of Christ’s death in the
context of the cruciality of the cross. He saw the crucifixion as the
end of Jesus’ mission of announcing the coming reign of God and
simultaneously the fulfillment of the vocation of the suffering servant
(Cf: Isaiah 53). The crucifixion was the decisive event through which
God will inaugurate that reign.31 On his identity as the Son of God
(“Messianic secret”), which was gradually unveiled at his death on
the cross,32 A.B. Bruce, as quoted by James Fowler, remarked that the
ethical aspect of Christ’s death is hardly touched on in Pauline
literature and that Paul contemplates the death of Jesus exclusively
from a religious and theological point of view.33 Obijole counters this
assertion when he writes that Paul’s theology of the cross has certain
ethical implications such as grace, dying and rising with Christ,
glorying in the cross, humility, and the cross as a model for the
Christian attitude towards “righteous suffering.”34 As much as it is
correct to affirm the objective theological significance of Christ’s
death on the cross, yet, we are not to deny that there will be
2011).
30
Horace J. Hodges, “Rene Girard: Two Types of Sacrifice”, Touchstone Magazine (2007),
http://gypsyscholarship.blogspot.com/2007/08/back_to_ren_girard_two_types_of.html
(accessed 28th June, 2011).
31
Reginald H. Fuller, The Mission and Achievement of Jesus (London: SCM Press, 1954),
77-79.
32
Jack Kingsbury, “The Significance of the Cross Within Mark’s Story”, Interpretation 47:4
(1989), 370-379.
33
James A. Fowler, The Cross of Christ (1999), http://christinyou.net/pages/crosschrist.htm,l
(accessed 23rd May, 2011).
34
Olubayo O. Obijole, “The Ethics of St Paul’s Theology of the Cross”, Orita: Ibadan
Journal of Religious Studies 42:2 (December, 2010), 172-194.
167 Pastor Samuel Oluwatosin Okanlawon
These statements, which exult in the cross more than the person
who died on the cross, are unscriptural. Christian theology affirms
that salvation is in Jesus Christ alone (Acts 4:12; 1 Thess. 5:9; Eph.
1:10; Rev. 21:6; 20:13), not the cross. He only enacted that salvation
on the cross. We are not to deify the cross, spiritualize the cross, nor
personify the cross. These mystical applications of the cross are
simply misunderstandings and misinterpretations of the crucifixion of
Jesus. This has resulted in the history of Christians using the symbol
of the cross in superstitious ways, and in a “works” theology (self-
crucifixion). In spite of these, the paper acknowledges, as does the
Bible, the important place that the death of Jesus on the cross
occupies in Christianity.
35
Thomas a Kempis, Of the Imitation of Christ (New York: Thomas Y. Crowell, n.d.), 62-63.
36
Francois Fenelon, Christian Perfection (New York: Harper & Row Publishers, 1947), 17.
37
Gregory J. Mantle, Beyond Humiliation: the Way of the Cross (Minneapolis: Bethany
Fellowship, 1975), 66.
The Theological Significance of Jesus Christ’s Death on The Cross.. 168
38
James A. Fowler, A Call for Resurrection Theology, http://ukapologies.net/10
RESURECTION.htm (accessed 5th August, 2011).
39
Ibid.
continue to walk the Christian life by the receptivity of His
activity (Colossians 2:6) in faith.40
44
Ibid.
45 th
“John 19:30”, Bible Works (2006), http://bibleworks.com (accessed 18 August, 2011).
171 Pastor Samuel Oluwatosin Okanlawon
Also, Jesus Christ died as a substitute for all sinners because he was
sinless:
How much more, then, will the blood of Christ who through
the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God,
cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that
we may serve the living God! (Heb. 9:14 NIV cf: 5:7-10).
This implies that those who should represent the rest of the
citizenry must be above reproach, they must not be soiled in the
corruption and immoralities that the average person engages in. It is
then they can truly represent the nation and bring about the necessary
transformation that we need.
Summarily, the behavioural lifestyles to be gleaned from Jesus’
death on the cross, which have great benefit for national
development, are sacrifice and servanthood. The death of Jesus Christ
on a cross, seen as a sacrificial death in Christian theology, is an
altruistic behaviour. Jesus’ action was predicated on the desire to
bring salvation to man in all his ramifications of existence – benefit
of others, without expecting a reward. As such, John 15:13, says,
“Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his
friends” (NKJV). This is affirmed by Paul in his description of
love”…it is not self-seeking…” (1 Cor 13:5 NIV).
Christians should not only busy themselves about praying for the
country and evangelism, but take practical steps in serving people
and their communities. They could individually or collectively give
scholarships to indigent but brilliant students in the community,
organize free vocational training and entrepreneurial workshops for
youths in their localities, build new libraries or stock existing
54
Ibid.
175 Pastor Samuel Oluwatosin Okanlawon
Conclusions
The greater sections of the Christian church do not venerate
the cross as a material object seen in isolation, but as the symbol of
the sacrifice by which Christ saved us. The cross is not idolized, but
only God’s work upon it. As we acknowledge the objective and
historical death of Jesus on the cross, let his sacrificial death, which
is altruistic, translate into practical concerns of our attitude and
lifestyle as Christians who inhabit the earth on behalf of Christ. The
emphasis of this paper is that the presence of Christians in the nation
should be for the transformation and development of the various
55
All quotes were taken from Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD] (Redmond, WA: Microsoft
Corporation, 2008) accessed 28th July, 2011).
The Theological Significance of Jesus Christ’s Death on The Cross.. 176
56
Keith Verneulen, The Role of the Church in Shaping Public Policy (April, 2005),
http://sacc-it.org.za/karchurch.html (accessed 12th August, 2011. See also Nice Koopman,
Churches, Democracy and the Public Sphere (May, 2005),
http://sacc_it.org.za/koopman.html.
57
Quote was taken from Microsoft Encarta 2009 [DVD] (Redmond: Microsoft Corporation,
2008), accessed 28th July, 2011).