The last three predictions that Christ gives of his own death (we’ve seen these in What did Christ say about his death?) all add to the prediction of death a promise that the Christ would rise again. For example, Mark 8:31 contains the promise “and after three days [Christ must] rise again”.

Understanding the way in which the death of Christ is linked to his resurrection adds a very important dimension to our understanding of his death, and how it relates to the Gospel. The fact that Christ’s death on the cross does not mean the end of his work for us is important for a number of reasons, amongst which two stand out:

First, had he not died, he would not have risen. We read in the letter to the Romans concerning the personal importance of this resurrection as follows:

⁴ We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. ⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.

Romans 6:4-5

Paul explains then that all who are in Christ receive the assurance of life because just as Christ died so too did he rise again from the dead. To say that Christ died and rose again is not just to speak of his saving work on the cross, but also to declare our own hope for life in him who says “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).

Secondly, it is because the death of Christ was followed by the resurrection of Christ that we know for certain that the work which he undertook in his death is finished. The definitive evidence that he has died for our sins, the certain sign that his suffering is complete, is the fact that he then rose again from the dead.

We see the same idea in Isaiah’s prophecy regarding the promised suffering servant, which concludes:

¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:12

So, although we have seen Christ who “poured out his soul to death”, it is because we see Christ now glorified in his resurrection and ascension, that we can be confident that he indeed “bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors”.

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The death of Christ is clearly set out in the Old Testament, in language which is then echoed by the words of the New Testament. In fact, it is the Old Testament which is used to support some of the most powerful statements of the Gospel recorded for us by the Apostles. Some of these passages are very clear, whilst others only become clear in the light of the events of Christ’s death. We’ve already seen some of these passages in our review of Christ; however here we in this discussion upon the death of Christ specifically as a fulfilment of this Old Testament prophesy.

As we’re only aiming at a short review, the structure of this answer will follow that of “How did Christ die?” (earlier in this chapter): betrayal, sentencing, and crucifixion.

The Betrayal

The betrayal of Christ is a particularly significant action, particularly given that it was a betrayal by his own disciple into the hands of his enemies. Matthew explains to us, in Matthew 27:9, that this is the fulfilment of a certain Old Testament prophecy, setting out not only the price at which Christ was to be betrayed, but the use to which the money would eventually be put:

Zechariah 11:12-13

¹² Then I said to them, “If it seems good to you, give me my wages; but if not, keep them.” And they weighed out as my wages thirty pieces of silver. ¹³ Then the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”— the lordly price at which I was priced by them. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord, to the potter

Matthew 27:9

⁹ Then was fulfilled what had been spoken by the prophet Jeremiah, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him on whom a price had been set by some of the sons of Israel, ¹⁰ and they gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”

Again, when John comes to explain that Christ is to be betrayed, he records Christ himself explaining that “the Scripture will be fulfilled, ‘He who ate my bread has lifted his heel against me.’” (John 13:18).

The Scripture to which he refers is from the Psalms, and reads as follows:

Even my close friend in whom I trusted,

who ate my bread, has lifted his heel against me.

Psalm 41:9

The Sentencing

Having been betrayed, you will recall that the next stage was for Christ to be tried and sentenced, both before Jews and in turn Gentiles. A good place to start to see how this is described in the Old Testament is Acts 4:25-28, where the disciples quote Psalm 2:1-2, and then show how it is that these words are fulfilled in the death of Christ:

Psalm 2:1-2 (OT) / Acts 4:25-26 (NT)

^1/25b ”Why do the nations rage

and the peoples plot in vain?

^2/26 The kings of the earth set themselves,

and the rulers take counsel together,

against the Lord and against his anointed”…

The explanation of the passage immediately follows, showing exactly where these events were fulfilled in the sentencing of Christ:

…Acts 4:27-28

²⁷ for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, ²⁸ to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place

Yet another example can be found in Psalm 69 which Christ applies to himself, showing how it is his rejection by the Jewish people which would lead to their false witness against him (and ultimately his death) were already set out:

⁴ More in number than the hairs of my head

are those who hate me without cause;

mighty are those who would destroy me,

those who attack me with lies.

Psalm 69:4

John quotes Christ explaining this passage as he sets out his forthcoming rejection and unjust sentencing:

²⁴ If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. ²⁵ But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’

John 15:27-28

The Crucifixion

If we have found the scriptures that shed light upon the betrayal and sentencing of Christ fascinating, those associated with the crucifixion are yet more so. These events, so close to the victory of Christ on the cross, are depicted with great detail. Psalm 69, from which we took a quote in the previous section, goes on to talk about the events of the crucifixion:

²¹ They gave me poison for food,

and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink.

Psalm 69:21

These are then fulfilled in the events of the cross, as the Holy Spirit records by Matthew:

³⁴ they offered him wine to drink, mixed with gall, but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. … ⁴⁸ And one of them at once ran and took a sponge, filled it with sour wine, and put it on a reed and gave it to him to drink.

Matthew 27:34,48

Again, the Psalms describe other details of the crucifixion. They show major things such as the piercing of the hands and feet of Christ as he is nailed to the cross (Luke 24:40) – but also smaller events such as the dividing up of Christ’s clothing and its distribution by lot (Matthew 27:35). The detail of the verses is remarkable, especially considering that they were written some thousand years before the death of Christ – centuries before even crucifixion itself was developed.

¹⁶ For dogs encompass me;

a company of evildoers encircles me;

they have pierced my hands and feet—

¹⁷ I can count all my bones—

they stare and gloat over me;

¹⁸ they divide my garments among them,

and for my clothing they cast lots.

Psalm 22:16-18

It is this very psalm that Christ goes on to quote in his last moments, declaring the same in Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). The Psalm reads:

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning?

Psalm 22:1

Whilst these details illustrate much about the crucifixion and show that despite it being the darkest of times God remained in full control, the more important references are those which explain the the crucifixion in terms of the giving of Christ’s life for us. These, in particular, are treated in the next chapter, entitled ‘for’, in which the relevance of Christ’s death to us is discussed in more detail.

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Although Christ’s disciples did not seem to fully understand that he’d have to die, he had already explained this – in increasingly plain terms – during his ministry. We will look at four examples of this all taken from Mark’s gospel.

The first occurs early in his ministry. It is, perhaps, slightly cryptic – Christ answers a question about fasting by talking about the time when ‘the bridegroom’, by which he means himself, will be taken away from the ‘wedding guests’, by which he implies his disciples.

¹⁸ Now John’s disciples and the Pharisees were fasting. And people came and said to him, “Why do John’s disciples and the disciples of the Pharisees fast, but your disciples do not fast?” ¹⁹ And Jesus said to them, “Can the wedding guests fast while the bridegroom is with them? As long as they have the bridegroom with them, they cannot fast. ²⁰ The days will come when the bridegroom is taken away from them, and then they will fast in that day.

Mark 2:18-19

The second occurs after a series of notable miracles. His disciples are starting to realise that Jesus is the Christ – and Peter has just said as much (Mark 8:29). The teaching that Christ gives here is now very explicit: he declares to them that he has to suffer, be rejected by the chief priests and other religious leaders, be killed, and then rise again. Here we have the main elements of the death of Christ already set out explicitly to his disciples:

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again.

Mark 8:31

In the third passage, Christ introduces the betrayal. He talks about how he will be delivered into the hands of men who will kill him:

³⁰ They went on from there and passed through Galilee. And he did not want anyone to know, ³¹ for he was teaching his disciples, saying to them, “The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men, and they will kill him. And when he is killed, after three days he will rise.”

Mark 9:30-31

So far, we have seen the departure of Christ from his disciples, the suffering of Christ, the betrayal of Christ, the death of Christ and the resurrection of Christ – all clearly predicted by Christ before they took place.

The final passage we will look at is the statement Christ gave as he got close to Jerusalem. To the already-clear prediction of what was to happen to him, Christ adds that the betrayal would come when they had reached Jerusalem, that it would be would be to the chief priests and scribes, that the Jewish court would pass a death sentence against him, and that they would transfer the case to the Roman court. He predicts the mockery which is to be made of him, the spitting, the flogging, and the killing. And yet again, he reiterates the prediction of his coming resurrection:

³² And they were on the road, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus was walking ahead of them. And they were amazed, and those who followed were afraid. And taking the twelve again, he began to tell them what was to happen to him,³³ saying, “See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles. ³⁴ And they will mock him and spit on him, and flog him and kill him. And after three days he will rise.”

Mark 10:32-34

The picture we get from these passages is almost as clear as that we get from the actual account of what happens. Christ is firmly in control of what is happening to him. It is important to notice that in the clearest three of our passages, the coming resurrection in three days is set out three times.

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We’ve just discussed how Christ died, and so it may seem odd to now ask how we know that he died. It is true to say that this question need not ever arise; for it is enough that the Bible says that he died. However, the Bible also addresses the question of how we know that he died, and it is from that material which we will draw here. It is useful to read some of this, especially given the popular theories held by Jews and Muslims which deny the actual death of Christ and so the whole gospel. For, we do not follow cleverly devised myths when we make known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (II Peter 1:16) but speak the one real and historical truth.

The position formerly taken by some who would deny the Gospel by saying that Jesus never existed has long since been discredited; the more popular denials today are those concerning the person being crucified being someone else (a last minute swap), or the idea that Jesus did not actually die but went into a deep coma and later recovered. Neither of these theories is backed up by anything but empty conjecture, and as we will see – both are directly opposed by the evidence and the full witness of Scripture.

Our references here fall naturally into two sets; the first being those events which verify that it was Christ who died on the cross, and the second the records through which the Holy Spirit corroborates the accounts to make them indisputable.

In the first set of events, the narrative sequence from Matthew 27 is particularly illustrative. The events of the death of Christ other than on the cross itself are remarkable such that they testify directly to this being ‘the real thing’:

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour. … ⁵¹ And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom. And the earth shook, and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs also were opened. And many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ When the centurion and those who were with him, keeping watch over Jesus, saw the earthquake and what took place, they were filled with awe and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:45,51-54

Just that account of supernatural testimony alone is more than sufficient cause for a reasonable man to conclude (with the centurion and his companions) that truly, this man who was crucified, was the Son of God. However, it is the Jews themselves who had perhaps the most specific testimony – as we saw in verse 51 – the temple curtain which had separated veiled the most holy part of the temple which was appointed for approaching God, was split apart. The veil cutting off sinful man from God and his wrath was now destroyed – for man is now being reconciled to God by the death of Christ for sin.

When it comes to the second group, those parts of scripture by which the death of Christ is corroborated, we will start by continuing on with Matthew 27.

⁵⁷ When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.

Matthew 27:57-58

How does that corroborate the account? Well, as Mark explains (Mark 15:44-45), Pilate actually sent the centurion to go and inspect the body to be sure it was dead. Not only was Joseph convinced, but so too was the independent centurion who, as it were, issued the death certificate.

John also gives us an account of these events, taking care to show that Jesus certainly was dead. His account of the death starts in John 19:30 and is followed (verse 33-35) with eye-witness testimony of Jesus being declared dead by Roman soldiers, and even his side being pierced with a spear. Whilst there is great significance in this passage beyond the testimony, the testimony itself firmly corroborates the claim that Jesus was indeed dead.

³³ But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. ³⁴ But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water. ³⁵ He who saw it has borne witness—his testimony is true, and he knows that he is telling the truth—that you also may believe.

John 19:33-35

From these, and from other passages, it should be apparent that the position that Christ did not actually die on the cross is unsustainable. Not only is it clear that the person who died on the cross was Christ, but it is likewise clear that he actually did die. These events have the testimony of God in the miraculous signs, the testimony of the apostles by their written accounts, and in the testimony of the hostile or independent parties including both rulers and soldiers.

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’died’ is the only verb in our Gospel statement, that Christ died for our sins. This then is the focal point of the action by which all was achieved – the actual dying of Christ on the cross.

Today, the cross is recognised as a Christian symbol in many countries of the world – even amongst those who know nothing more about Christ.

Indeed, it is interesting to observe how central this cross, the symbol of Christ’s death, has been throughout the history of Christianity. Although Christ performed many miracles, cast out demons, brought the dead to life and healed all manners of disease – the event for which he is most commemorated, and has come to symbolise Christianity as a whole, is his death.

In this section we are going to take a closer look at the death of Christ, and in so doing try to answer a few common questions.

• “How did Christ die?” gives a brief overview of the events of the death of Christ, setting out the who, the what and the when. This is a short overview of the crucifixion.
• “How do we know that Christ died?” takes a more detailed look at how the texts reassure us that Christ really did die on the cross. It’s a strange thing for a hero to die, and stranger still for God to die – so this bears careful reflection!
• “What did Christ say about his death?” focuses on the way Christ foretells his own death as he prepares those around him.
• “How does the Old Testament describe his death?” takes a step backwards to look at the statements from the Old Testament which prophesy and describe the death of Christ. Here we’ll see a little more about the way in which Christ fulfils the promises made by God.
• Finally, “Did his role end when he died?” steps forwards to look Christ’s death from our own time

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We are by now familiar with the idea that Christ died; but we’ve not yet discussed the way in which this happened. It is fair to say that much of the material presented by the four gospels is an account of Christ’s journey to his death – however what interests us at this point is the set of events which most closely precede the event itself.

These may be roughly grouped as the betrayal, the sentencing, and the crucifixion¹. So that we might gain a better picture of what happened, let’s look at the highlights of Matthew’s account. Although we’ll pick out the points we’ll be building on in this book, it would be very worthwhile taking the time to read through a copy of one or more of the gospels for yourself.

The Betrayal

Christ had appointed to himself twelve disciples; yet as he was reaching the time he knew he would be crucified, one of them decided to betray him by making an agreement to hand him over to the religious leaders in Jerusalem – leaders who felt greatly threatened by him and who wanted him dead.

¹⁴ Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests ¹⁵ and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. ¹⁶ And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.

Matthew 26:14-16

In due course, that same disciple came to Jesus while he was praying and talking at Gethsemane, bringing with him the priests and soldiers who were to take him captive.

⁴⁷ While he was still speaking, Judas came, one of the twelve, and with him a great crowd with swords and clubs, from the chief priests and the elders of the people. ⁴⁸ Now the betrayer had given them a sign, saying, “The one I will kiss is the man; seize him.” ⁴⁹ And he came up to Jesus at once and said, “Greetings, Rabbi!” And he kissed him. ⁵⁰ Jesus said to him, “Friend, do what you came to do.” Then they came up and laid hands on Jesus and seized him.

Matthew 26:47-50

The Sentencing

Having taken Jesus to the high priest, it was time to find a charge against him which would justify him being put to death. Despite how angry they were with Jesus and his teachings, nobody was able to come forward with a valid allegation against Jesus.

⁵⁷ Then those who had seized Jesus led him to Caiaphas the high priest, where the scribes and the elders had gathered. ⁵⁸ And Peter was following him at a distance, as far as the courtyard of the high priest, and going inside he sat with the guards to see the end. ⁵⁹ Now the chief priests and the whole Council were seeking false testimony against Jesus that they might put him to death, ⁶⁰ but they found none, though many false witnesses came forward.

Matthew 26:57-60a

Not having anything worthy of death found against him by the Jewish court, it fell to the high priest to try to find some charge against him. The high priest asked him if he was Christ; to which he agreed, saying “You have said so”.

And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” ⁶⁴ Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.” ⁶⁵ Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has uttered blasphemy. What further witnesses do we need? You have now heard his blasphemy. ⁶⁶ What is your judgment?” They answered, “He deserves death.”

Matthew 26:63-66

The high priest refused to believe that he was the Christ; and so he called what was a true claim to be a false claim. The Jewish court decided that because he claimed to be “Christ, the Son of God” he should be put to death.

Now, the Romans who ruled over them at the time had reserved the death penalty to Roman courts. It was now time for the high priest to transfer the case to the Roman governor for another trial, this time under Roman law (Matthew 27:1-2).

Because Roman law did not think that claiming to be the Christ was an offence worthy of death, a new charge was needed. The charge before the Roman governor was to be treason – to say that because Christ claimed to be King of the Jews so he denied the Roman Emperor’s rule. The Roman governor asked him outright if was is the King of the Jews, to which Christ again agreed.

¹¹ Now Jesus stood before the governor, and the governor asked him, “Are you the King of the Jews?” Jesus said, “You have said so.”

Matthew 27:11

It seems that the governor was not convinced of the need to crucify Christ; however, the high priest and the Jewish elders brought heavy pressure to bear on him. He tried to suggest that Christ be freed according to a tradition of clemency before the passover feast – but this became no more than another opportunity for the religious leaders to foment opposition to Christ as they whipped up the crowds into a riot, demanding that he free a criminal rather than Christ.

¹⁵ Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted … ¹⁷ So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?” ²¹ The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” ²² Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” ²³ And he said, “Why, what evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”

Matthew 27:15-23

Finally, the governor, Pilate, gave in to the pressure from the religious leaders. Christ was to be scourged (a very heavy whipping), and then crucified.

²⁴ So when Pilate saw that he was gaining nothing, but rather that a riot was beginning, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd, saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood; see to it yourselves.” ²⁵ And all the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!” ²⁶ Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Matthew 27:24-26

The Crucifixion

The way Christ was treated on the way to crucifixion was very humiliating. The soldiers mocked Christ and made fun of him. Already scourged, he was spat upon, and a crown of thorns was placed on his head:

²⁷ Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the governor’s headquarters, and they gathered the whole battalion before him. ²⁸ And they stripped him and put a scarlet robe on him, ²⁹ and twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on his head and put a reed in his right hand. And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying, “Hail, King of the Jews!” ³⁰ And they spit on him and took the reed and struck him on the head. ³¹ And when they had mocked him, they stripped him of the robe and put his own clothes on him and led him away to crucify him.

Matthew 27:27-31

As Christ went to the place of the crucifixion, he was assisted in carrying the wooden cross on which he would be killed by a man named Simon. Finally, on arriving, he was crucified. This involved having his hands and feet nailed to a wooden cross, where he would hang until he died.

³⁵ And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots. ³⁶ Then they sat down and kept watch over him there. ³⁷ And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, “This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.” ³⁸ Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left.

Matthew 27:35-38

As he was dying on the cross, he was mocked by the chief priests, the scribes and the elders, who seemed to think that the fact he was being killed was proof that he was not, as he had said “the Son of God”. At the sixth hour, darkness fell over the land, and at the ninth hour the Christ died.

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