Why Did Jesus Die? What the Bible Says About the Cross
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1 Why Did Jesus Die? What the Bible Says About the Cross Contents Page Foreword 3 Dedication 4 Preface 4 Introduction 5 Part 1 What the Bible says about the cross Images of the cross from the Old Testament 11 The tree of life 12 The serpent’s fatal wound 12 Thorns—symbol of the curse 14 Our nakedness covered through the shedding of blood 14 A God who is prepared to die 16 The Father’s sacrifice 16 Passover—safe beneath the Lamb’s blood 18 Bitter waters made sweet 20 The smitten rock—God in the dock 20 Animal sacrifices 22 Day of Atonement—the rent curtain 25 The bronze serpent 27 Isaiah’s Suffering Servant 29 The Psalms 34 Death leading to resurrection 36 The cross in the Gospels 39 The emphasis on the passion and cross in the Gospels 39 Hints and clear references to the cross before its occurrence 40 The Last Supper 49 Gethsemane 51 The trial 54 The crucifixion 59 The burial 67 The resurrection 69 Between resurrection and ascension 70 The cross—the focus of prophecy 70 2 The cross in Acts 73 The cross in the New Testament letters 77 Christ’s death “for our sins” 78 The blood of Christ 79 The cross in Paul’s letters 83 The cross and sin 85 The cross central in Paul’s preaching 86 Our identification with Christ in his death 86 Our identification with Christ in suffering 89 The cross and the wisdom of God 89 The cross and the challenge to godly living 90 Christ death and our death 91 The death of Christ and his exultation 91 Benefits of the cross 91 Forgiveness 91 Justification 92 Salvation 97 Reconciliation 98 Redemption 101 Sanctification 104 Propitiation 105 Adoption 107 The cross in Hebrews 109 The cross in 1 Peter 113 The cross in 1 John 115 The cross in Revelation 116 Part 2 Related themes The cross and the Trinity 119 The cross and the love of God 124 The cross and the justice of God 127 The cross and suffering 133 Why Easter Saturday? 139 3 God’s “Yes” of Easter Day 143 The cross and history’s reversal of values 145 Why the cross is not popular 146 The cross and discipleship 151 The cross and other religions 154 The cross and our response 156 Foreword The cross is the centre and heartbeat of the biblical faith. It is the hallmark of evangelical orthodoxy which has empowered the Church throughout its history in worship and in times of persecution and is the central motif for world evangelisation. It is surprising, therefore, how few books on the cross have stood the test of time. During the twentieth century, James Denny’s Death of Christ (1903), Leon Morris’s Apostolic Preaching of the Cross (1955) and John Stott’s The Cross of Christ (1986) are among the few outstanding works. Now in Dick Tripp’s Why did Jesus Die? What the Bible Says About the Cross, we have a work of outstanding and lasting worth—an amazingly comprehensive reference to all the biblical texts that point to Christ’s death, its meaning and significance for today’s Church. In Part I he traces the progressive revelation of God’s saving work from Genesis to Revelation. He takes us through the images of the cross in the Old Testament from the tree of life to the Passover, to the bronze serpent in the wilderness, to the Day of Atonement, to Israel’s Suffering Servant in Isaiah and the Psalms. Continuing in the New Testament, Dick Tripp takes us through the centrality of the cross in the Gospels, the Acts and the New Testament Letters and Revelation. Throughout, there is constant cross-reference to both Testaments, to the Church’s commentators throughout its history and to contemporary Christian writers. A mine of fact and interpretation to inspire the heart of any preacher and teacher of Scripture. In Part II he relates the cross to the theme of the Trinity, the love and justice of God, to suffering and resurrection and to other religious Faiths. Dick Tripp’s treatment of the cross as Christ’s atonement for sin brings together Christ’s identity with God his Father and with suffering and sinful humanity. He outlines the benefits of reconciliation and forgiveness, 4 justification and sanctification, adoption and union with Christ in victorious living. For here the cross reveals both the character of God and the purpose of Christ’s incarnation, that ‘Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures’. The Cross is shown to be the symbol of Christ’s saving act, universally recognised in every church and publicly displayed on the clothing of believers. Jesus promised that when he is lifted up he will draw all people to himself (John12:32). Dick shows that the cross is a magnet drawing people of every culture by his redeeming love. I unreservedly commend this book to pastors as a study guide for preaching on the cross and to all who seek to live out in daily life Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord. Bruce Nicholls Rev. Dr Bruce J Nicholls was a career missionary in India working in theological education and in pastoral ministry with the Church of North India. He was also Editor of the Evangelical Review of Theology for 18 years and is now Editor of the Asia Bible Commentary Series. Dedication To John Stott whose Bible teaching and encouragement in my formative days as a Christian laid a great foundation for understanding the Scriptures and whose faithfulness to the cross over a lifetime has been an example for so many Preface Why write a book on the cross? Since having first experienced the forgiveness and love of Jesus nearly 50 years ago, I have become more and more convinced that understanding the significance of the cross is important for a healthy perception of what Christianity is all about. It shapes the key issues – how you become a Christian, how you grow as a Christian, how you can find certainty in your relationship with God, and how you can be sure about where you are heading in the life beyond death. However, I have another reason for writing this book. Over the last 100 years, there have been endless debates in the name of “scholarship” surrounding what we can really know about Jesus, what he really taught, and what he achieved – if indeed such a person ever actually existed. Today, with the prominence and influence of the mass media, the situation is even 5 more confusing. The media tends to focus on the sensational and so highlights beliefs that would not be accepted by the vast majority of Christians. The result is a mass of misinformation that can confuse ordinary people and make them suspicious of Christianity. One of my main purposes in writing this book is to let the Bible speak for itself. The wonderful God that the Bible describes didn’t plan to make it difficult for us to understand his central message. He has given us a book that holds plenty of clues as to its divine inspiration and that contains an essential story that is not hard to understand. Though the Bible contains parable, symbolism, poetry and other literary styles, it usually means exactly what it says. The reader has every right to disagree with what it says, but no one has a right to say that it says something that it doesn’t, or deny that is says something that it does – even if they do so in the name of “scholarship”. My goal is simply to open up the Bible, and focus on its teaching about the cross. The Bible contains a mass of material that can be daunting for someone sincerely seeking the truth. Key passages can easily be missed if someone doesn't know where to start. I have sought to clarify the Bible’s central message in a manner that makes it impossible to miss. God planned the universe and the creation of a race of humans with whom he could enjoy a loving relationship both in this life and in eternity. My belief is that those who seriously consider this message will not find it easy to resist its appeal. It is a message that can satisfy the deepest longings of the human heart. Dick Tripp Introduction Wherever you find Christians, you find crosses. There are huge crosses towering in the Alps and Andes. There are little crosses that hang around people’s necks. They are found on spires and gravestones, at roadsides, on dashboards and shelves. There are Celtic crosses, Crusader crosses, crosses of St Anne, and Coptic crosses. They are made of gold, silver, bronze, plastic, wood and stone. Churches have traditionally been built in the form of a cross. And, of course, there is no counting the frescos, mosaics, icons, and oil paintings that have the crucifixion scene for their subject. The only corporate ceremony that Jesus commanded his followers to observe, the Lord’s Supper, celebrated every Sunday in thousands of churches, focuses on the cross with its central symbols, bread and wine, portraying his body broken and his blood shed. The ceremony he gave us for initiation into the Christian faith, baptism, symbolises our dying and rising with Christ. 6 Malcolm Muggeridge wrote in The Observer on 26 March 1967: One thing at least can be said with certainty about the crucifixion of Christ: It was manifestly the most famous death in history. No other death has aroused 100th part of the interest, or been remembered with 100th part of the intensity and concern.