Death of Christ

The Place in the Gospels. In the records of Jesus that the Gospels give us, it is clear that a place of supreme significance is given to the deathand the resurrectionof Christ. The story of the events of Jesus' last few days, culminating in the crucifixion, is given a considerable proportion of each Gospel (Matt. 21-27; Mark 11-15; Luke 19-23; John 12-19), and the record of the journey to Jerusalem and to the cross begins respectively in Matthew 20:17, Mark 10:32, Luke 9:51, and John 11:7.

In each of the Synoptic Gospels Jesus specifically predicts his suffering and death three times ( Matt 16:21 ; 17:22-23 ; 20:17-19 ; Mark 8:31 ; 9:31 ; 10:32-34 ; Luke 9:21-22 ; 9:44 ; 18:31-33 ). Intimations of his death are also given in his words about his anointing in Bethany being a preparation for his burial ( Matt 26:12 ; Mark 14:8 ; John 12:7 ), in the parable of the wicked tenants ( Matt 21:33-39 ; Mark 12:1-12 ; Luke 20:9-17 ), at the transfiguration when Moses and Elijah spoke with him "about his departure, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem" ( Luke 9:31 ), in the words about the bridegroom being taken away ( Matt 9:15 ; Mark 2:20 ; Luke 5:35 ), and right back in the words of Simeon to Mary about the anguish that would come to her ( Luke 2:35 ). In John there is reference to the destruction of the temple of Jesus' body ( 2:19-22 ), and frequent reference to the "hour" ( 8:20 ; John 12:23 John 12:27 ; 13:1 ; 16:32 ; 17:1 ) of his being "lifted up" ( 3:14 ; 8:28 ; John 12:32 John 12:34 ), the hour of his crucifixion to which the whole of Jesus' ministry inexorably moved.

The Reasons. When we consider the Gospels as written for the early church and related to its life and mission we can appreciate three supremely important reasons for this emphasis on the death of Christ:

• The centrality of the crossand resurrectionin the preaching of the good news of Jesus.
• The centrality of the deathand resurrectionin the worship of the church, especially in relation to its ordinances of baptism and the Lord's Supper.
• The centrality of the suffering and death of Christ for the meaning of Christian discipleship.

The Preaching of the Early Church. The New Testament very clearly indicates that the death of Christ had central significance in Christian preaching. Paul could say to the Corinthian Christians, "I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified" ( 1 Cor 2:2 ). The gospel for him was "the message of the cross, " even though a "stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles" ( 1 Corinthians 1:18 1 Corinthians 1:23 ). He sums up what he received and passed on to others "as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures" ( 1 Cor 15:3-4 ). To the Galations he says, "before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified" ( Gal 3:1 ).