What Is the Full Significance of Jesus’ Crucifixion? (Matthew 27, Mark 15, Luke 23, and John 19)

A Few Thoughts to Consider

Couldn’t Jesus have paid the price for humanity’s sin without going to the cross?

In all four gospels, we see the gruesome picture of the passionate narrative of Jesus's crucifixion. This raises the question: Why? Couldn’t Jesus have still paid the price for humanity's sins some other way? This question has led many to say they cannot believe in Christ. The idea that God paid the penalty for the sins of humanity seems unfathomable.

Jesus was righteous in every way, yet he chose to die for the unrighteous. He could have destroyed this world and built another that robotically loved him. Instead, he gave men and women the choice to reject him and demonstrated the ultimate loving act through his death on the cross. In this death, there are several important notes to remember.

First, Jesus’ death on the cross was a voluntary act. He could have called ten thousand angels to bring him deliverance, yet he chose the cross (Matt. 26:53). Jesus died because humanity was lost. He died because he had great love and mercy for others. He died because he was the only one who could legitimately accomplish this work. He died because he loved the world.  

Second, Jesus died for those who were ungodly (Rom. 5:6-8). This demonstration of inconceivable love was for all people (2 Cor. 5:14). He died for our transgressions (Isa. 53:5) so that we could have the opportunity to experience eternal life (John 3:16). He took the curse that was upon sinful humanity and placed it upon himself (Gal. 3:13) – thus carrying the greatest burden anyone has chosen to carry.

Third, Christ had to shed his blood. According to God’s law, there could be no forgiveness of sins without blood being spilled (Heb. 9:22). The blood that was spilled had to be from a perfect sacrifice. Because humanity is conceived in sin, no mere man or woman could atone for our sin. Only Jesus, in his deity, could perform what was necessary. Through the precious blood of Jesus, we are redeemed (1 Pet 1:18-19)! He came with the purpose to wash our sins with his own blood (Rev. 1:5) and to destroy the works of the devil in our lives (1 John 3:8). He came to break us free from the chains and bondage of sin and to break sin’s power over us.

Fourth, Jesus' death fulfilled what had been prophesied. Zechariah 12:10 says, “They will look at me whom they pierced,” and Psalm 22:16 says, “They pierced my hands and my feet.” But why would the Holy Spirit inspire such prophecies in the first place? Jews stoned their criminals, and Rome beheaded its citizens, so why is the brutality of crucifixion necessary? Jim Denison offers this explanation: 

The cross shows how horrible and heinous sin really is. If Jesus' death had been painless and antiseptic, the sins for which he died could seem less catastrophic. As it is, every time we are tempted we can remember the thorns that lacerated our Savior's scalp, the whip that scourged his back, the nails that pierced his wrists and feet, the spear that ruptured his heart. That's what your sins and my sins did to Jesus. That's what he chose to suffer for us.^[1]