Jesus of Nazareth, The Crucified King

We come now to the climax of the account of the death of the Savior. One almost startling aspect of the account is the simple phrase, "…they crucified Him." It is such a simple and straightforward phrase and yet it is freighted with profound significance. Over and over again, Pilate has declared Him innocent of anything worthy of death. And yet, "they crucified Him." Over and over again, the Savior has demonstrated that He is the long-awaited King and yet, "they crucified Him." But that is not the whole story. It was no merely a miscarriage of justice; it was a miscarriage of justice with cosmic significance for as He died He bore the sins of the elect which had been imputed to Him so that you and I may be forgiven and receive the imputed righteousness of Him. But why was it necessary for Christ to suffer "death"? Because the justice and truth of God required that satisfaction for our sins could be made in no other way than by the death of the Son of God. And the story does not – must not – end here. In three days, the crucified king will rise again. – Pastor Schlegel