As we move toward the Passion and Resurrection of Jesus, I want to address some of the Scriptures and themes that bring us to the very heart of our faith. The death of Jesus is often presented as though Jesus was the victim of bad luck, the Temple authorities fear of His popularity, or Rome’s intolerance of any figure people might call King. Jesus, then, according to this telling, had no intention of dying, let alone of dying by being crucified. So, He died as a victim of circumstances. None of this is the view of the New Testament, especially the Gospels!
Why, then, did Jesus die? In this blog, I will primarily look at Luke’s story. Let me start at the end. Two dejected disciples were walking to Emmaus, thinking that Jesus was a victim, and all their hopes were dashed. They were joined by a “Stranger” who asked them why they were so downcast. After telling this “Stranger” of all that happened, the “Stranger,” who turns out to be none other than the risen Jesus, told them this:
Luke 24:25 He said to them, “How foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Did not the Messiah have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?” 27 And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. (NIV)
Jesus told Cleopas and his companion that He did not die as a victim, but in fulfillment of Scripture. In Luke 9, Jesus spoke to His disciples:
Luke 9:22 And he said, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.” (NIV)
The emphasized word above, and implied later in the sentence, is a key idea in understanding the death of Jesus. What demands the suffering of the Son of Man (Daniel 7:13-14)? It is not circumstances, but the will of God expressed in Scripture. The same thought is expressed a little later:
Luke 9:44 “Listen carefully to what I am about to tell you: The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.” (NIV)
But delivered by whom? Judas? Yes, but this happened by a decree beyond Judas (Luke 22:22, Psalm 41:9). Luke then tells us this:
51 As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.
Far from being a passive victim, Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem and the will of God, expressed in Scripture!
Now, let me go to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry.
Luke 3:21 When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened 22 and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.” (NIV)
The voice from heaven (the Father) quotes two Scripture passages. The first is from Psalm 2, and is a Kingly Psalm (which I will discuss in a later blog), but here is where the second comes:
Isaiah 42 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations. (NIV)
The servant songs of Isaiah reach their climax in chapter 53—the Suffering Servant. In Isaiah 53 we come to the fundamental answer of why Jesus died.
Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. (NIV)
Yes, as the lovely hymn says, it was “because He loved me so.” More fundamentally, it was because He was obedient to death on a cross (Philippians 2:8b). It was not a will He desired, but one He accepted (Gethsemane, Luke 22:42). Here, then, is the startling witness of the New Testament. Jesus died because, “it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer.” That was the will, expressed in Scripture, that Jesus was determined to embrace as He set His face to Jerusalem.
How do we hear this? God’s will for us is not always for the pleasant, but is always for the good. Our suffering for the Messiah, even if leading to our death, will not be in vain, for the risen Lord will give us the crown of life (Revelation 2:10).
Tim Kelley