After Jesus told of His Church in response to Peter’s statement identifying Jesus as the Christ, Jesus gave the ultimate prophecy of His murder and of His resurrection, as revealed in Matthew 16:21.
Then after what is commonly referred to as the transfiguration of Jesus, He stated the Son of Man was going to be raised from the dead, as revealed in Matthew 17:9.
A third time, all of which may have been within a week or so, Scripture records Jesus again giving this ultimate prophecy:
When they came together in Galilee, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life.” And the disciples were filled with grief (Matthew 17:22).
Thus we can know in our hearts it was God’s plan for Jesus to die on the cross as the substitutional atonement for our sins. Why? Considering Jesus knew ahead of time that certain chief priests and certain Roman leaders were going to convict Him, abuse Him, and take actions which resulted in His murder, Jesus could have fled. In fact, Scripture reveals that Jesus is God the Son. He had the power to prevent people from killing Him. Instead, He allowed Himself to be murdered. It was the salvation plan of God from all time.
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
We people have done wrong in our hearts, all of us, which is often termed “sin” in the Bible. God, who is just, demands an atonement for such wrong. And since the consequence of sins is physical and spiritual death, the atonement must involve death. And that is what Jesus did. Taking the sins of all people into His heart, Jesus physically and spiritually died on a cross for anyone.
Death is horrible beyond my ability to express. Yesterday I was doing some genealogy research, and I re-read about how a great-great-great-Grandpa, Michael, through my Grandma’s maternal lineage, was robbed and then murdered. His death even resulted in much hardship for family members for years to come. And when I read that family history this fall, there was some grief for me as I suffered a bit for a relative murdered over 132 years ago.
God, who is just, is also merciful. His atonement on the cross is offered to all people. Because of the ultimate suffering and sacrificial atonement of Jesus, we people can be forgiven of our sins. And we people can be enabled to forgive others. In order to receive forgiveness, you must believe in Jesus as your Savior and Lord. In doing so, you will be saved of your sins. Those who do not will spiritually die. Those who are saved will have eternal life if heaven.
I close with that last sentence in Matthew 17:22 – “And the disciples were filled with grief.” When the disciples of Jesus were listening to Him, they latched onto His statement that He was going to be killed. “Holy Thursday” and “Good Friday” are days where I personally devote some time to ponder the suffering and sacrifice which Jesus made on the cross.
Yet thanks to God, we can know what happened next, which is what we celebrate tomorrow, and what we Christians can celebrate in our hearts every day!
Hunter Irvine
