Christ’s Death and Resurrection, Rev Dr John Kwasi Fosu

Amazing Grace Baptist Church, Hamburg, Bible Study Material on Christ’s Death and Resurrection

Introduction
In Christianity, the death and resurrection of Christ serve as the cornerstones of the faith. It is the lifeblood of the Christian hope. Our eternal destiny is contingent upon what happened when Christ died on the cross and was resurrected three days later. In today’s study, we are looking at some pictures of the death and resurrection of Christ and what it achieved for humanity.

The arrest, death and resurrection of Jesus
After several unsuccessful attempts the Jewish leaders to undermine Jesus’ ministry and popularity, or frame him for sedition, through God’s will and purpose for humanity, the chief priests and scribes finally had Jesus in their clutches. Outraged at Jesus’ claim to be the Son of God, these religious leaders brought Jesus before Pilate and levelled a series of accusations against him. Jesus who had not sinned was humiliated and hanged on the cross like a criminal. Jesus who was one with the Father willingly came and identified with sinners like us. He was willing to become our sin and go through the hellish punishment that we deserved so that on the cross he could die in our place. The Son of God endured God’s wrath to set us free. On the third day, Christ resurrected in fulfilment of Scripture. The death and resurrection of Christ changed humanity’s story.

Some pictures that bring out the meaning of Christ’s death
Jesus died and was resurrected to bring us to God. The New Testament writers use some striking pictures to bring out the meaning of Christ’ death and resurrection.

A. JESUS DIED AND WAS RESURRECTED AS:

• Our substitute (Is. 53:5-6)
  Jesus died for human sinfulness. All of humanity has inherited the Adamic sin and so are sinners. In Rom. 3:23, Paul describes the sad state of man and the consequences thereof in Rom. 6:23, “for the wages of sin is death … Through the death, we do not have to bear the consequences of our sins anymore. If we trust in Jesus, we do not have to bear the ultimate penalty for sin – death or separation from God. Jesus Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, 1 Pet. 2:24. The prophet Isaiah foresaw this when he wrote, “He was pierced through for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities … the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on him.” To this, the Apostle Paul writes that “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, 2 Cor. 5:21.
• Our redeemer (Gal. 3:13)
  This picture was familiar to people in the marketplace (a slave market) in the ancient world. Jesus has paid the price so that we can go free. The price of sin is death. Jesus has bought us back. He became our ransom, Matt. 20:28 “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law becoming a curse for us. According to the writer of Hebrews, Jesus entered the Most Holy Place for all his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption, Heb. 9:12.

b. WHEN HE STOOD IN FOR US AS OUR SUBSTITUTE, REPRESENTATIVE, AND REDEEMER, HE ACHIEVED FOR US:

• Justification (Rom. 5:1)
  A picture from the law court that has it that the consequence or punishment for sin must be death. God cannot simply overlook evil, that would be to deny His own character, but Jesus has died for us and so we have been acquitted.
• Victory over Satan and the powers of darkness (Col. 2:15)
  Christ’s death was a defeat of the power of Satan. “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, triumphing over them in him. Satan’s only weapon that can ultimately hurt people is unforgiven sin. Christ took this weapon away from him for all who would believe in Him. Thus, Satan was defeated and all the powers of darkness.
• Once and for all Sacrifice for us (Heb. 7:27)
  In the Old Testament, repeated sacrifices were made, and the life and blood of animals were shed to symbolize death, Ex. 30:10; Lev. 9:7. These sacrifices looked forward to that one act that can ever effectively deal with our guilt before God. That is what Christ’s death and resurrection accomplished for us, a once and for all sacrifice. Jesus’ death was a sufficient sacrifice to cover once and for all the sins of everyone who believes in Him.

Conclusion
When we speak of the death of Christ, it includes Christ’s resurrection. We cannot think of them in isolation, even when one is mentioned. All that the death and resurrection of Christ mean, and what it achieved for us, should be central to our lives.