Jesus saw his death as a sacrifice for his people
The synoptic Gospels
It is clear from the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke) that Jesus expected to die at the hands of the authorities; that he expected his death to be premature and violent, and to involve suffering:
- Mark chapter 8 verse 31 and the parallels in Matthew chapter 16 verse 21and Luke chapter 9 verse 22
- Mark chapter 9 verse 31 and the parallels in Matthew chapter 17 verses 22-23 and Luke chapter 9 verse 44
- Mark chapter 10 verses 33-34, and the parallels in Matthew chapter 20 verses 18-19 and Luke chapter 18 verses 31-33
John's Gospel
In John chapter 1 verse 29, John the Baptist describes Jesus as
...the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!
To his Jewish hearers, 'lamb of God' could only have implied a sacrifice. John says this lamb '... takes away the sin of the world.' In other words, this was a sacrifice for sin.
In the 'Bread of Life' discourse in John chapter 6 verses 25-59, Jesus says,
I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.
This saying clearly includes the idea of his death, and of a benefit to others arising from his death.
Similarly in the Good Shepherd discourse in John chapter 10 verses 1-18, Jesus says,
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
The thought of a violent sacrificial death on behalf of his people is inescapable.
Sacrifice
What exactly does 'sacrifice' mean? The main place where sacrifices are described in the Old Testament is in Leviticus chapters 1-7. There were five main kinds of sacrifice, or offering (the names given here are those given in the New International Version of the Bible):
- The Burnt Offering
- The Grain Offering
- The Fellowship Offering
- The Sin Offering
- The Guilt Offering
All of the sacrifices included the idea of offering something to God. All except the Grain Offering involved the death of an animal, and at least three of the sacrifices - the Burnt Offering, Sin Offering and Guilt Offering - included the purpose of making atonement for sins which had been committed. The New Testament writer to the Hebrews summarises the function of the sacrifices succinctly by saying
In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. (Hebrews chapter 9 verses 22)
One of the most important points we need to understand is whether the the sacrificial animal died, in some sense, 'in the place of' the person making the offering.
In some cases the name of the sacrifices implies that they have some connection with sin: the Sin Offering, the Guilt Offering. Leviticus chapter 4 verses 1-2 say:
The Lord said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites: 'When anyone sins unintentionally and does what is forbidden in any of the Lord's commands...'
The connection with sin is explicit here. The same connection is found in verse 13, verse 22, and verse 27.
Concerning the Burnt Offering, Leviticus chapter 1 verse 4:
He is to lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it will be accepted on his behalf to make atonement for him.
Leviticus chapter 4 verse 20 says:
... In this way the priest will make atonement for them, and they will be forgiven.
The same thought is repeated in verse 26, verse 31, verse 35, and in chapter 5 verse 6, verse 10, and verse 13. It also comes in the description of the Guilt Offering, in chapter 5 verse 16 and verse 18, and chapter 6 verse 7. We will look more closely at the concept of 'atonement' on another page. It is enough here to see that the idea of the sacrifices as being in some way substitutes for the sinner is clear from these verses. The Zondervan NIV Study Bible footnote on Leviticus chapter 1 verse 5 actually says:
Only after the offerer killed the animal (symbolizing substitution of a perfect animal sacrifice for a sinful human life) did the priestly work begin.
Jesus saw his death as a sacrifice, and in the Old Testament, the animal sacrifices had to do with sin, and were substitutionary in nature. They are described in terms of making 'atonement' for the sinner.
The Passover
In both the synoptics and John's Gospel, Jesus's 'Last Supper' is celebrated as the passover meal. (Mark chapter 14 verse 24, and the parallels in Matthew chapter 26 verse 28 and Luke chapter 22 verse 20, John chapter 13 verses 1-5). This is not by accident. When Jesus spoke of his body being given for his people (Luke chapter 22 verse 19), and his blood being poured out for his people (Luke chapter 22 verse 20), it seems clear that
- the words themselves state directly that there is some benefit to us resulting from his death, and
- the circumstances of the meal allude strongly to the Passover described in Exodus chapter 12 verses 1-30.
It is clear that Jesus saw his death as, in some sense, a passover sacrifice for his people.
The significance of the Passover was that God sent a judgment on the Egyptian Pharaoh and his people, in which their first-born sons died. To avoid this judgment, the Israelites had to kill a lamb and put its blood on the door-frame of their houses. When the destroying angel saw the blood, he would 'pass over' that house. The key points were that
- An animal (a lamb) had to be sacrificed
- The sacrifice was subtitutionary - the lamb died in the place of the firstborn son
The Israelites were to celebrate the Passover annually thereafter, to remind themselves of the great deliverance that God had accomplished for them, bringing them out of their slavery in Egypt.
Putting all these passages together, the least we can say is that:
- Jesus expected to die a violent death
- he expected a benefit to accrue to his followers as a result of his death
- he saw his death as redemptive
- he saw it in terms of a sacrifice, a substitute, an atonement, a passover , and a ransom
More about the 'Lost Message'
- Introduction
- How did Jesus view human nature?
- What does the rest of the New Testament say about human nature?
- Unforgiven sin?
- Jesus' view of judgment
- Jesus saw his death as a ransom for many
- Jesus saw his death as a sacrifice for his people
- When was the message lost?
- Summing up
For more on this vital subject, visit Pierced for Our Transgressions. Better still, read the book...
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