The True Cost of Passover

Tuesday, April 3, 2012 (All day)

The "cost" of Passover is very high. It cost the death of the Son of God.

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[Steve Myers] How do you know the value of something? Well, we know the value by how much it costs. You go to the grocery store, you take that item to the check out and you know what you've got to pull out of your wallet in order to take that item home. Well, when it comes to a spiritual concept, here we are just on the verge of the Passover. And the Passover costs something extremely valuable—so much so that it's something we really need to step back and recognize how much Passover costs.

[Darris McNeely] The true cost of Passover really boils down to the cost of the life of the Son of God. When we observe the Passover service every year on the occasion of the death of Jesus Christ, as a memorial of His death, His suffering, it is the most momentous event of all time—that it took the death of the Son of God, God Himself to pay the penalty for sin is a remarkable matter. In John chapter 1 verse 29 we have a statement that is made about Jesus Christ by John the Baptist. "When John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward Him and said, 'Behold, the Lamb of God, Who takes away the sins of the world'"(John 1:29). He saw Jesus Christ for what He was—the fulfillment of the Lamb of the Old Testament Passover from Exodus chapter 12 and that whole system of sacrifices that surrounded the temple and the Levitical priesthood. He saw all of that fulfilled in the very life and personality and the death of Jesus Christ. And that is a tremendous cost.

[Steve Myers] It's an amazing cost when you consider it. And you fast forward to the New Testament, you fast forward to the crucifixion and the sacrifice of Christ and that Passover that He instituted with the disciples—the New Testament Passover. That's something for you and I that we need to observe, something that we need to proclaim the death of Jesus Christ because He died in our place. And we've accepted the Lamb of God as our Savior so that we don't have the penalty of sin looming over our lives. And that took the death of the One who created it all. You know, God the Father created all things through Jesus Christ. And so the significant cost of the Passover is that it took the death of the Creator for us—so that our sins could be forgiven.

[Darris McNeely] And that is the personal reflection and thought that everyone who attempts to come and take the Passover service should reflect on and think about. It cost a lot. It cost the life of God. And that's the highest cost of all.

10 comments
Submitted on Apr 3, 2012, 7:40 pm

David L. Nunn

David L. Nunn's picture

Well said. Thank you BT.



Submitted on Apr 4, 2012, 5:41 am

linda effenberger

linda effenberger's picture

Hello,

I have a question about the statement, "It cost the life of God". Does this mean that Jesus Christ was only human at the point of taking on the sins of the world, because the Father turned away from him - the Holy Spirit was taken from him? Could Jesus have eternal life in Him (from the Father)at the point of being sin for the world? Did Christ die as God at this point, since the one that sins dies?

I read that God the Father raised Jesus up and gave him life again in the resurrection. It is clear to me, at some point, Jesus died as God, but when?

Thank you.



Submitted on Apr 6, 2012, 5:35 pm

Amanda Boyer

Amanda Boyer's picture

When I read this, it reminded me of what we had been recently talking about in one of my ABC classes on the Epistles of Paul. From what I understand, Jesus Christ was human and God in the flesh. He took on servanthood and humanity. He was not "subtracted" from God, as I like to put it, because He was God--God AND human.

Philippians 2:5-8 says, "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross."

Jesus Christ's eternal existance was at risk as a human being because He could have sinned. But He didn't. It is very true that 'the soul that sins shall die', but Christ didn't sin, He took on the sins of the world though.

But as a human, he laid aside certain abilities that only God can do. Everything he did, all the miracles, He prayed to God the Father and He did it through Him. The things He did as a human came from God the Father. Christ was a real man, but different than us because of the Spirit.

So, I hope this helps and answers some of your questions. It is something that I don't think we can fully grasp because of the Spirit aspect of it.



Submitted on Apr 8, 2012, 12:33 pm

linda effenberger

linda effenberger's picture

•
Thank you, Amanda, for your comments. After posing this question, I asked God for understanding through His Word to arrive at a deeper understanding of the death of Jesus Christ as God.

Jesus Christ committed no sin (1 Peter 2:22). We know he appeared in order to take away our sins, and in him was no sin (1 John 3:5). When Jesus Christ took on the sins of the world on himself as he hung on the cross, he became sin for us (2 Corinthians 5: 21). The sting of death is sin (1 Cor. 15:56) and the wages of sin is death (Romans 6: 23). Which death do we earn for sin? A spiritual death is the result, an eternal death (1 John 3:6). Christ appeared to do away with sin by the sacrificing of himself (Hebrews 9:20). Since he was God before he was a man, I take this to mean that he was willing to sacrifice himself (Numbers 23: 19, Psalm 110: 4).

Sin separates us from God, and God turns His face from sin (Is. 59:2). On the cross, Jesus Christ called out to His Father, “Why have you left me?” (Matthew 27: 46, Mark 15: 34). When all the sins were placed on him, God turned his face and left Jesus. The Holy Spirit was not in him at this point, therefore, I surmise that Jesus Christ was no longer God until he was resurrected by his Father after 3 days and 3 nights in the tomb.

Try to imagine what Jesus Christ went through before he was crucified. “He was troubled and sorrowful to the point of death (Mattthew 26: 37-38). He knew what his sacrifice meant, and that he would be separated from His Father, something he never experienced. For the first time in his existence, he had to face darkness. Just the thought of what he must go through caused Jesus Christ to sweat blood!

Christ lost the Spirit of God, just as God’s chosen people would lose God’s Spirit and eternal life when they continue to sin (Romans 8: 11). Without the Holy Spirit, Jesus was no longer God. When the Holy Spirit, that is, God in him (John 14:10), left him, Jesus Christ died as God. Even as he was just a man, he still was submissive to the will of the Father right up to the very end of his life, shown in his last words, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit” (Luke 23: 46). The final death from shedding all his blood, resulted in a human death.



Submitted on Apr 10, 2012, 4:27 pm

Amanda Boyer

Amanda Boyer's picture

Thank you for your comment. It gave me much to consider about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Here are a few comments I would like to make:

In John 19:30 it says, “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” In Matthew 27:50, the Bible gives another account to this and also says He gave up His spirit. I think it is critically important to recognize in both Matthew 27:50 and John 19: 30 accounts, the word for spirit is the Greek word “pnuema”. This word means literally physical “breath” or figuratively the “human spirit”. So I do not believe that Jesus Christ “lost the Spirit of God” or that He was “no longer God until His resurrection” and at the moment of His death.

The spirit that left Christ at His death was the human spirit. Jesus Christ had a physical death that paid for the penalty we would receive for sin—eternal death. He did not have a spiritual death because He never sinned and was God in the flesh. The reason I do not believe He had a spiritual death is because a spiritual death is permanent and eternal.

So, even at the point of death when He cried out to the Father and took on the sins of the world, Jesus Christ could not have been just a man. Otherwise His sacrifice would not mean anything for us. He had to still be God in the flesh at that point because a human being cannot forgive the sins of the world and reconcile man to God. It is impossible—only God can. Jesus Christ, who was God, had to die for us or we would have no hope for life eternal.



Submitted on Apr 10, 2012, 4:27 pm

Amanda Boyer

Amanda Boyer's picture

Thank you for your comment. It gave me much to consider about the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Here are a few comments I would like to make:

In John 19:30 it says, “So when Jesus had received the sour wine, He said, ‘It is finished!’ And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.” In Matthew 27:50, the Bible gives another account to this and also says He gave up His spirit. I think it is critically important to recognize in both Matthew 27:50 and John 19: 30 accounts, the word for spirit is the Greek word “pnuema”. This word means literally physical “breath” or figuratively the “human spirit”. So I do not believe that Jesus Christ “lost the Spirit of God” or that He was “no longer God until His resurrection” and at the moment of His death.

The spirit that left Christ at His death was the human spirit. Jesus Christ had a physical death that paid for the penalty we would receive for sin—eternal death. He did not have a spiritual death because He never sinned and was God in the flesh. The reason I do not believe He had a spiritual death is because a spiritual death is permanent and eternal.

So, even at the point of death when He cried out to the Father and took on the sins of the world, Jesus Christ could not have been just a man. Otherwise His sacrifice would not mean anything for us. He had to still be God in the flesh at that point because a human being cannot forgive the sins of the world and reconcile man to God. It is impossible—only God can. Jesus Christ, who was God, had to die for us or we would have no hope for life eternal.



Submitted on Apr 10, 2012, 4:28 pm

Amanda Boyer

Amanda Boyer's picture

“Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).
“But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation” (Romans 5:8-10).

“God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. . . .For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:19, 21).

I hope this is helpful in your study.

Manda



Submitted on Apr 12, 2012, 9:53 am

linda effenberger

linda effenberger's picture

Thank you, Amanda, for your thoughts and comments. As Christians, we need to think through what we really believe, and then search the scriptures to determine if the scriptures confirm our beliefs. This is the only way we will grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Please consider very carefully what you believe! BT Daily proposed the statement that Jesus died as God. According to what you wrote, “The reason I do not believe He had a spiritual death is because a spiritual death is permanent and eternal”, you are unknowingly confirming the reason why many people do not believe that Jesus Christ was and is God. They cannot believe that God can die, but that is what the scriptures are telling us. God reveals to us the magnitude of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, and the great, awesome power and love He has for us.
Isaiah 53: 8-12 foretold the death of Jesus Christ as a man and as God: “For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many and he will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
In Luke 22: 37, Jesus Christ himself refers to these verses from Isaiah, “And he was numbered with the transgressors, and I tell you that this must be fulfilled in me. Yes, what is written about me is reaching its fulfillment.”



Submitted on Apr 15, 2012, 2:49 pm

David L. Nunn

David L. Nunn's picture

John 1:1 and 14 proves that Jesus Christ was God in the flesh when He died--fully human and fully God. In my opinion, the reason people do not believe Jesus Christ could die is because of misunderstanding about human mortality. They mistakenly believe that humans have an immortal soul already, and when they die, they are not realy really dead (like a doornail, as the saying goes). Thus, as the faulty reasoning goes, Christ must not have been realy really dead either when he died. However, the scriptures say that Christ emptied Himself of His privileges and became in all things like His brethren (Heb. 2:17; Phillipians 2:7). Thus, when He died, He was really dead like a human is dead. This is more fully explained in UCG's booklet: Jesus Christ the Real Story (see section--"Could God Die?").



Submitted on Apr 16, 2012, 4:16 pm

linda effenberger

linda effenberger's picture

I think we need to look at the death of Christ as God from a human comparison. If a person today, for instance, is called to be one of God’s chosen people, upon repentance and baptism, he receives the Holy Spirit. During his life, if he chooses to turn back to the way of sin, the Holy Spirit would be taken away from him. The way of sin separates him from God. When he dies, he has no chance to be resurrected to life again, only to eternal judgment and eternal death. This is what happens to a human being who has no more chance to eternal life (Ezekiel 18: 4, Romans 6: 23).

Christ was a human being and God at the same time. He confirmed many times that he was the Son of God. (The Jews knew clearly what he meant by this, that he claimed to be God, and they considered it blasphemy.) So, when he died as God, then something had to happen that caused him not to be God anymore. What did he possess in order to be called God? We read in Luke 1: 15 that John the Baptist was filled with the Holy Spirit, but he was not God. When Jesus cried out to his father, this is an indication for me to believe that he was no longer God or one with the Father at this point, since Jesus Christ said that he and his Father are one. They both possess the one eternal Holy Nature. As he took on the sins of the world, Jesus Christ was no longer one with God and could not be because of the sins put upon himself. No more eternal Spirit of life, no more God; sin separated him from His Father, the Father of all life.

No man can redeem the life of another or give to God a ransom for him (Psalm 49: 7), therefore, no mere man can die for the sins of others. Christ was not only man with human nature, but also God with Godly Nature and eternal life. Only God can redeem life from the grave (Psalm 49: 15). God, the Father accepted the death of his Son as an atoning sacrifice for the world’s sins (1 John 4:10). Jesus Christ willingly gave up His eternal life and Spirit as God, in order to pay the penalty for all the sins of mankind. He submitted himself totally to God, the Father, as a man, suffering severely, even a cruel death on a cross. Only a life of a sinless, blameless man who was also the Son of God could have made the perfect, acceptable sacrifice for the redemption of all mankind.



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